Tomás Bilbao Hospitalet (1890–1954) was a Basque-origin Spanish architect and politician. He was among the founders of

Basque Nationalist Action Basque Nationalist Action (, , EAE–ANV) is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist program. On 16 September 2008, the party was outlawed by ...

. After serving as a minister of justice he exiled first to France and then, to Mexico.

Early life and education

Bilbao was born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

on 18 September 1890 and his father was a building contractor. He received a degree in architecture in 1918 from the School of Architecture of Madrid.

Career

After working as an architect Bilbao designed

Altos Hornos de Vizcaya Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, S.A. was a Spanish metallurgy manufacturing company. It was the largest company in Spain for much of the 20th century, employing 40,000 workers at its height. The business began in 1902 in Bilbao with the merger of thre ...

in 1929. Like other architects of his generation he was influenced from German

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and the architectural approach led by

Erich Mendelsohn Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

. Bilbao was involved in politics becoming a cofounder of the Basque Nationalist Action party in 1930 and the president of the Bilbao Municipal Housing Board in 1931. He was also

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

and deputy mayor of the

Bilbao City Council The Bilbao City Council () is the Ayuntamiento (Spain), ayuntamiento of Bilbao (Spain). Its headquarter, the Bilbao City Hall, is located in the Ernesto Erkoreka Plaza. The city council is made up of an executive body and a Normativity, normative ...

during the Second Republic. In the period 1937–1938 he was minister of justice.

Exile, personal life and death

After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Bilbao first exiled to France. Then he settled in Mexico in May 1942 when France was

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

by the

Nazi forces The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

. There he worked for the Compañía Mexicana de Comercio Exterior. Bilbao was married to Julia Durán with whom he had seven children. Their oldest son was arrested and executed following the exile of his father. Tomás Bilbao died in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on 16 March 1954. One of his grandchildren,

Tatiana Bilbao Tatiana Bilbao Spamer (born 1972) is a Mexican architect whose works often merged geometry with nature. Her practice focuses on sustainable design, museum design and social housing. She founded Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO in 2004 and has completed pr ...

, is a well-known architect in Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbao Hospitalet, Tomas 20th-century Spanish architects 1890 births 1954 deaths Justice ministers of Spain Basque Nationalist Action politicians Politicians from Bilbao Exiled Spanish politicians Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico Expressionist architects