A former 18th century manor house in the neoclassical style, the Palau Savassona is the building that houses the headquarters of the Ateneu Barcelonès. It is listed in the register of Cultural Assets of National Interest of the Catalan heritage and was also declared a historic-artistic monument in 1981.

To access the building, one must enter via Carrer de la Canuda, from a carriage entrance, which is currently used for exhibition projects. It was originally part of an open-air courtyard, now covered by a skylight. On the right-hand side there is a noble staircase, which allowed the former tenants of the palace to access the first floor. When the Athenaeum acquired the building, Josep Maria Jujol opened an access from the staircase to the mezzanine. As a curiosity, by the same architect is the modernist lift, one of the first to be installed in Barcelona, which still retains its original appearance.

Also on the ground floor is the so-called Sala Verdaguer, a small assembly hall that was previously used as a gymnasium and sports area for the members of the Athenaeum.

The social activity of the Athenaeum takes place essentially on the mezzanine floor of the building, as this is where the conversation rooms, the meeting room, the bar and the gardens are located.

The conversation rooms have housed the organisation's historic gatherings. With the exception of the renovated Joaquim Borralleras room, the rest of the rooms have retained their traditional appearance, with the columns and windows, designed by Jujol, standing out.

At the back of the mezzanine is the romantic-style garden, made up of several geometric flowerbeds. It is presided over by a pond with a small fountain, where the tradition of "L'ou com balla" is recreated every year. The vegetation includes centenary palm trees, lemon and loquat trees and ribbons. On the walls of the courtyard there is a sculpture by Manuel Cusachs and some terracotta figures attributed to Ramón Padró.

When we reach the first floor we can see what was the noble floor of the former residence, which housed the main rooms of the palace: the great hall, the bedroom, the baron's office, the dining room, the ballroom, etc.19 The first floor is currently occupied by the library of the Ateneu Barcelonès, considered the most important private library in Catalonia, with nearly 300,000 volumes and 1,800 magazine titles.

All the ceilings on the first floor are decorated. Of particular note are the 18th century mural paintings by Francisco Pla, "El Vigatá", which are preserved in five rooms (one of which was restored in 2007). Four other ceilings are coffered ceilings, the result of redecoration by Elías Rogent in the 19th century. The rest of the ceilings in the library have modernist and Pompeian paintings, corresponding to the refurbishment by Font i Jujol in 1906. At the entrance to the library is the mural "La porta dels lectors" by Frederic Amat, installed after the refurbishment in 2007.

On reaching the first floor, we enter the highest floor of the original building, which was used for service. It houses the Oriol Bohigas Assembly Hall, built in 1968 and completely refurbished in 2010, and the Pompeu Fabra Hall, for smaller events.

Floors 3, 4 and 5 are the result of an extension built by Joan Bassegoda in the 1960s. They are used as classrooms for the Athenaeum's Writing School. Three writers' associations have their headquarters on the fifth floor: the Association of Catalan Language Writers, the Collegiate Association of Writers of Catalonia and Catalan PEN.