Mariano Belmás Estrada

Mariano Belmás Estrada (17 January 1850 – 16 August 1916) was a Spanish architect. He was a prominent theoretician of urban planning in Madrid in the late 19th century, particularly in addressing the problem of housing workers as the city modernized and its population grew. He viewed architecture in terms of technical solutions to social problems rather than aesthetics. He was the lead architect in the first year of reconstruction after the 1884 Andalusian earthquake. He was a founder and one of the first architects of the Ciudad Lineal of Madrid, a planned neighborhood. Later he abandoned his youthful idealism and became a successful and respected architect who created eclectic designs of major new buildings and renovations for public and private clients.