Frank Martínez (b. 1924) was a Cuban-born architect and a leading figure in Cuban

modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

Early life and education

Franciso Martínez y Justíz was born in 1924 in

Havana, Cuba 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.University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

. He was among the architecture students who participated in the "Burning of the Viñolas" in 1944, where books taken from the School of Architecture's library were publicly set on fire. Nicolás Quintana and Martinez both graduated in the same class in 1951. After working together briefly on residential projects in Havana, Quintana committed himself to continuing his late father's firm Moenck & Quintana.

Career

Among his contemporaries, such as

Mario Romañach Mario Romañach (1917–1984) was a Cuban modernist architect, planner, and university professor. Biography Mario Romañach finished his higher studies at the University of Havana and, along with Max Borges Jr., Frank Martínez, Nicolás Qu ...

, Nicolás Quintana, and Ricardo Porro, Martinez started his career in the 1950s Cuban modernist generation. The Cuban architects' early works consist of residential architecture including private houses and buildings. In 1955, a home was designed by Martínez and built for

Sergio Carbó Sergio Carbó (born 1891 - April 18, 1971) was a prominent Conservative journalist and leader of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, Cuban Revolutionary party. Early history Sergio Carbó was born in the La Habana Province of Cuba. Journalism Sergio ...

Playa, Havana Playa is a Cuban municipality, located in the Havana province. It covers an area of 36.8 square kilometers, which makes up 8.95% of the provincial extension. Geography Playa is the most northwestern of the ''municipios''. It stretches from the Al ...

. He created a design for the National Aquarium in Miramar, a neighborhood west of Havana in 1959. Following the

Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, he remained in Cuba and eventually emigrated to the United States.Caribbean Modernist Architecture: UTech Jamaica, MoMA.. (2010). Dominican Republic: AAA. He settled in Boston in 1960, where he worked with

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

before relocating to Miami in the 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martínez, Frank 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century architects Modernist architects Cuban architects Architects from Havana Cuban exiles