Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

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.Max Borges del Junco, an architect. He later studied in the United States, earning his bachelor's degree at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and a master's degree at the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

. Borges Jr. returned to Cuba and joined his father's firm, together with his brother Enrique. Borges' style was influenced by his work with Spanish structural engineer

Félix Candela Félix Candela Outeriño (; January 27, 1910 – December 7, 1997) was a Spanish and Mexican architect who was born in Madrid and at the age of 26, emigrated to Mexico, acquiring double nationality. He is known for his significant ...

who practiced in Mexico and was a specialist in lightweight concrete parabolic structures. Borges invited Candela to work with him in Cuba, and they both developed extraordinary projects. His best known work is the

Tropicana Club El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belén, Havana, presently, the Instituto Técnico Milit ...

of 1951, for which he later designed expansions. Other unique buildings like the 1943 Apartment Building of Max Borges-del Junco at Jovellar St. and the

Club Náutico Club Náutico (‘Nautical Club’) is a building in Cuba. It is in the (city ward) of Náutico, Playa, Havana. History It was originally built in the 1920s and expanded in 1936 by its owner Carlos Fernández. Guests paid a modest fee (.10 c ...

place Borges among a few modern architects of the Americas with a recognizable, original style. After 1959 his family moved to the United States, where he remained active well into the 1980s, along with his brother Enrique, designing and building many residential and commercial buildings in the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

.

Awards

He twice won the Cuban National College of Architects Award. First, for his "Medical and Surgical Center" built in 1948 in El

Vedado Vedado (, ) is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Calzada de Infanta and Centro Habana, Cuba, Central Havana, and on the west by the Alemendares River and Miramar, Havana, Mir ...

and, the second time, for the

Tropicana Club El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belén, Havana, presently, the Instituto Técnico Milit ...

in 1953. In 2006, he was awarded the Cintas Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Family

He was son of architect Max Borges del Junco, a well-known Cuban architect. His brother was architect Enrique Borges Recio, with whom he authored many works as partner. He married Mignon Olmo-Garrido (March 18, 1923–May 6, 2007) on February 5, 1944 at San Juan de Letrán Catholic Church in Havana, Cuba and they had two sons, Philip M. and Max M. Borges Olmo (also an architect).

Notable projects

* House of Santiago Claret (1941) * House of Martin Fox (1941) * Apartment Building of Max Borges del Junco (1943) * House of Paula Maza (1946) * House of Max Borges Recio (1948) * Medical and Surgical Center (Centro Medico Quirurgico) (1948) *

Tropicana Club El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belén, Havana, presently, the Instituto Técnico Milit ...

(1951), Havana, Cuba *

Club Náutico Club Náutico (‘Nautical Club’) is a building in Cuba. It is in the (city ward) of Náutico, Playa, Havana. History It was originally built in the 1920s and expanded in 1936 by its owner Carlos Fernández. Guests paid a modest fee (.10 c ...

(1953), Havana, Cuba * Partagas Building (1954) * Anter Building (1954) * Nunez Bank (1957) * House of Alberto Borges (1957) * House of Humberto Tous (1957)

References

* ''The Havana Guide - Modern Architecture 1925-1965'', Eduardo Luis Rodriguez (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000) * ''La Habana'', Eduardo Luis Rodriguez, Pepe Navarro (photographer), Blume 1998. * ''Directorio Internacional de Familias Cubanas, Volumen XI 1996-1997'' * ''The Washington Post'', May 8, 2007

External links

Arcos de Cristal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borges Jr., Max 1916 births 2009 deaths Architects from Havana Cuban architects Cuban emigrants to the United States Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Modernist architects

Awards

Family

Notable projects

See also

References

External links