Martín Domínguez Esteban (

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

, December 26, 1897 –

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, September 13, 1970) was a Spanish architect.

Biography

Son of Concepción Esteban Guerendián and Martín Domínguez Barros. At seven years Martín Domínguez exhibited a fascination with drawing, he registered in the School of Arts and Offices of

which he attended at night while finishing high school. At 17 years of age and after taking his school examinations, he moved to Madrid, passing the entrance exam at the Higher School of Architecture in 1922. He stayed at the

Residencia de Estudiantes ESO Hotel at Cerro Paranal (or Residencia) is the accommodation for Paranal Observatory in Chile since 2002. It is mainly used for the ESO ( European Southern Observatory) scientists and engineers who work there on a roster system. It has been ...

in Madrid which housed students from different disciplines. There he made friends with Miguel Prados, José Antonio Rubio Sacristán, José Moreno Villa and

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

. Martín Domínguez received his diploma in 1924. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were not many students of architecture, some of Martín Domínguez's classmates and personalities deserve to stand out for they would be important in his development and career later, such as José María Arrillaga, Fernando Salvador Carreras, Fernando de la Cuadra, Eduardo Figueroa, Eduardo Laforet Altolaguirre, Emiliano Castro Bonel, José Luis Durán de Cottes and Alfonso Jimeno, Felix Candela, Fernando Chueca Goitia, Manuel Múñoz Monasterio or Manuel Rodríguez Suárez. Martín Domínguez and Carlos Arniches began to work together. At this time Martín Domínguez developed his ideology, maintaining a certain rivalry between technocrats and humanists. In 1924 he was involved in the intellectual and artistic panorama of Madrid and started working with Secundino Zuazo, collaborating with his partner and friend the architect Carlos Arniches. During this period, Martín Domínguez developed new housing, residences, and hotel projects throughout Spain. In 1925 Martín Domínguez received the commission to reform the ground floor of Madrid's Palace Hotel. In 1928 he participated, along with Carlos Arniches in the

architectural design competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

organized by the National Tourism Board for the construction of various roadside lodges, they eventually built 12 of them; this association continued until his exile from Spain in 1936. Martín Domínguez worked with Carlos Arniches between 1924 and 1936, collaborating in turn with Secundino Zuazo, highlighting works such as the modern and disappeared Café "Záhara" in the Gran Vía, 1930. He also worked on the Project for a hotel in Córdoba, 1928, and the complex of buildings for Primary and Secondary Education at the School Institute, as well as its auditorium and library, 1926 / 1930–1935. The old Hipódromo de la Castellana (1877–1888), on the site of

Nuevos Ministerios Nuevos Ministerios () is a government complex in central Madrid, Spain. The complex houses several government departments: Development, Labour, Social Security, and Ecological Transition. It is located in the block delimited by the Paseo de l ...

, wa265px, s demolished as required by the development of Madrid to the North according to the Plan de Zuazo-Jannsen (opening of the prolongation of the Castellana). The Access and Special Technical Office of Madrid announced a tender to build another one in the term of the Zarzuela (Quinta de el Pardo). The project of Carlos Arniches, Martín Domínguez and the engineer

Eduardo Torroja Eduardo Torroja y Miret, 1st Marques of Torroja (27 August 1899 – 15 June 1961) was a Spanish structural engineer and a pioneer in the design of concrete shell structures. Education Torroja was born in Madrid where he studied civil engineerin ...

was built between 1934 and 1936. The roof reached 12.8 meters of the span with only 5 centimeters of thickness at its ends, it rests on pillars 5 meters apart.

Le Corbusier

In 1928,

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

visited the Residencia de Estudiantes, Martin Domínguez spoke with him about the values of Spanish vernacular architecture and motivated Le Corbusier to visit the south of Spain in the summer. The following year, both architects dined with

Pierre Jeanneret Pierre Jeanneret (22 March 1896 – 4 December 1967) was a Swiss architect who collaborated with his cousin, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier), for about twenty years. Early life Arnold-André-Pierre Jean ...

, cousin and close collaborator of Le Corbusier, and the painter

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

Theory

With regard to style Martín Domínguez, he was attracted by the architectural and urban ideas of Le Corbusier. He never approved a project that was not backed by serious thought, constituting in part one of the principles of rationalism, not to deceive, things should be what they seemed, what they are. For Martín Domínguez, the elements to be used will not be as important as the way to use and combine them. He shared many of the theories defended by

Adolf Loos Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos (; 10 December 1870 – 23 August 1933) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, and a polemicist of modern architecture. He was inspired by modernism and a widely-known c ...

and Tony Garnier, presenting in his works that logical rationalism of Loos along with Garnier's deep concern for society and the environment. This was highlighted by technical, progressive and scientific concerns, where culture and tradition had a relevant and special role to play in modernity far from personal impositions or academic norms. Fascinated by dynamic and aesthetic impulses, Martín Domínguez made his first trip to the United States in 1932–33.

Exile

He left Madrid at the end of 1936 since he had to go into exile when the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out. He left for France, going first to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

where he had to take a boat to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and cross the border through the Catalan

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains. On this road, he met

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

, whom he had met at the Residencia de Estudiantes. He embarked in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in December 1936, arriving in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Diario de la Marina, which facilitated his participation in numerous social housing projects, although in collaboration with other architects since he did not have his Cuban architect's registration. In Havana, he collaborated with three Cuban architecture teams. He worked with Honorato Colete between 1938 and 1943. Later he worked with Miguel Gastón and Emilio del Junco between 1943 and 1948, although since that year he will collaborate only with Gastón until 1952. And finally, with Ernesto Gómez Sampera and Mercedes Díaz between 1952 and 1960, year that must have a second exile, towards the United States. *With Colete he designed the Gil Plá house, the La Sortija apartments and the Teatro Favorito in Havana (1938), and three houses for the Gómez Mena family in Varadero (1940). *With del Junco and Gastón, he designed build four houses on the Bocanegra beach, the Enríquez, Roca and Prío houses in Marbella, the Prat and Grau houses in Havana, two apartment buildings in Miramar and Miramar Heights (1946), the Radiocentro CMQ Building (1947), which was a milestone in Havana architecture because it was the first modernist building sporting a curtain wall facade and to be seen by all in one of the most important corners in the city. He also designed the Prado and Record Theaters, the Miralda building, the Air Express Office, and in addition the Jibacoa Beach Plan as well as the home of President Grau San Martín in

Varadero Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach is rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Travel ...

(1948). *With Gastón he designed the Miramar Theater and Shopping Center (1949), the Marianao Regulatory Plan (1950), the Santa María del Mar Beach Plan, the Miramar and Atlantic Theaters, a Municipal Building and the open-air Auditorium in Marianao. They also designed the San Diego Spa and the home for President Carlos Prío Socarrás (1950) near Havana. *The collaboration with Ernesto Gómez-Sampera and his wife, Mercedes Díaz, was a fifty percent partnership that would remain active until 1960, in which the engineer Bartolomé Bestard would be part of the group and, ultimately, the engineer Ysrael Seynuk. They designed the Ministry of Communications (1951–1954), the Workshops Ambar Motor, in Vía Blanca and the building for the Studios of Channel 4 television station. It was this facility that opened the doors for them to other facilities of radio and television on the island. Their great work was the FOCSA Building (1952–1956), which would become the tallest building in Havana with 39 floors and perhaps launching a new typology in modernist single loaded residential design. They also did a series of collective housing projects and inexpensive houses for union pension funds. They also designed the National Institute of Savings and Housing (INAV) after the triumph of the 1959 revolution.

Second exile

In 1960, after his second exile from Cuba, he was hired as a professor in th
Department of Architecture
at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. During this time he traveled to Canada to learn about the new commercial and urban complexes there. He also traveled to South America to advise different governments and housing agencies. Martín Domínguez was a consultant to the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

focusing on school projects for the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, collaborating with the BDI to form a study with Peter Cohen in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

writing the remodeling project for the Third District of the city and the design of primary school no. 28. As of 1965, Martín Domínguez was a member of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), his career was recognized through a monograph exhibition held at Cornell University in 1962 at the

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States, and served as its first president for nearly two de ...

Museum of Art. In 1967 he executed projects for a single-family home for the Lennox family in Pittsford (Rochester), New York.

Death

Martín Domínguez died in New York City on September 13, 1970, at age 72. A funeral was held in that same city, although he was buried in

, Spain. On October 19 a funeral was celebrated in his honor at

where he spent the last ten years of his life teaching architecture. Dean Burnham Kelly, Professor Colin Rowe and Felix Candela spoke at his memorial. In 1978, the Department of Architecture of the College of Architecture, Arts and Planning of Cornell University dedicated the annual prize "The Martin Dominguez Distinguished Teaching Award" in his honor. In March 2015, the Department of Architecture of Cornell University organized an exhibition dedicated to his life, work, and teaching career.

References

Bibliography

*Cornell University Faculty Memorial Statement
Martín Domínguez
*BALDELLOU, M.A., CAPITEL, A., Arquitectura española del siglo XX, Ed: espasa Calpe, vol. XL, Madrid, 2001. *DIEZ-PASTOR, C., Carlos Arniches y Martín Domínguez, arquitectos de la Generación del 25, Ed. Mairea, Madrid, 2005. *DIEZ-PASTOR IRIBAS, Mª Concepción (17 marzo, 2003). «Carlos Arniches y Martín Domínguez, y los demás». https://web.archive.org/web/20170215201704/https://serviciosgate.upm.es/tesis/tesis/3573. Consultado el 15 febrero, 2017. *GÓMEZ DÍAZ, F., Martín Domínguez Esteban. La labor de un arquitecto español exiliado en Cuba, formato digital. *RABASCO POZUELO, P., Miradas cruzadas, intercambios entre Latinoamérica y España en la Arquitectura Española del siglo XX, Actas preliminares, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, marzo de 2008. *URRUTIA, A., Arquitectura española del siglo XX, Ed: Cátedra, 1997, Madrid.

External links

Martín Domínguez Esteban
Cornell University AAP Architecture Art Planning

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominguez Esteban, Martin Spanish architects Cuban people of Spanish descent Cuban people of Basque descent 1897 births 1970 deaths Cornell University faculty Modernist architects Architects from Havana