Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Nicolás Quintana Papers
Date(s)
- circa 1950s-2012 (Creation)
Extent
16 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Nicolás Quintana was born in 1925 in Havana, Cuba, son of prominent architect Nicolás Quintana, who was the head of the firm of Moenck & Quintana in Havana. The younger Quintana followed in his father's footsteps and enrolled in the School of Architecture at the University of Havana in 1944, where he was greatly influenced by modernist architects such as Walter Gropius and José Luis Sert.
By 1950, Quintana was the head of his father's architectural firm and began to participate in the Junta Nacional de Planificación (Board for National Planning), where he was involved with an urban planning initiative created by architect Nicolás Arroyo. One of his final projects while in Cuba was in 1958, planning for the new construction of the Banco Nacional de Cuba, but the project went unfinished due to the rising tensions during the Cuban Revolution. Following public disagreement with Cuban Revolutionary leaders, Quintana left Cuba with his family in 1960.
In exile, Quintana first lived in Venezuela and then Puerto Rico, where he continued working as an architect. In 1986 he moved permanently to Miami, Florida, where he was a professor in the School of Architecture at Florida International University (FIU) until his retirement in 2010. During his time at FIU, Quintana led the "Habana y sus paisajes" (Havana and its landscapes) project as an initiative to develop plans for saving the architectural heritage of Havana and suggesting steps towards developing urban and rural areas during future reconstruction in Cuba. Quintana died in Miami in 2011.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Nicolás Quintana papers document the professional activities of Cuban-born architect Nicolás Quintana (1925-2011) in Cuba and while he lived in exile in Miami, Florida. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, architectural drawings, syllabi and other materials from classes taught by Quintana in Puerto Rico, promotional materials from Quintana's exhibits in Miami, materials from architectural conferences in which Quintana participated, and clippings and articles related to Quintana and his work. The collection encompasses the beginning of Quintana's professional career in Cuba as well as his extensive architectural and teaching work in exile, especially in Puerto Rico and Miami.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open for research.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Requests to publish or display materials from this collection require written permission from the rights owner. Please contact chc@miami.edu for more information.
Preferred citation: Nicolás Quintana Papers, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida.
Languages of the material
- English
- Spanish
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Additional 4 boxes of materials and oversize plan of Vedado donated April, 2014 by Isabel Quintana.
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Isabel Quintana, April 2013 and April 2014.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
CHC5212 Luis J. Botifoll Oral History Project interview with Nicolas Quintana.
Information about related materials is available at https://digitalcollections.library.miami.edu/digital/collection/chc5212/id/775
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
This collection is currently in processing. Collection level record by Natalie Baur, August 2013. Updated June, 2014. Updated by Juan A. Villanueva, March 2016. Updated by Rebeca Gonzalez, May 2021.