Joaquín de Rucoba y el Salón Árabe de Ayuntamiento de Bilbao

Abstract

Joaquín de Rucaba (1844-1919, architect in 1869) was the man who attained great honour by creating two of the most outstanding buildings in Bilbao: The City Hall (1883) and the Arriaga Theatre (1885). During the course of his professional career, thís Cantabrian architect worked in various Spanísh provinces and employed diverse styles (Neomudejar, Second Empire, Clasicism, etc ... ) Without a doubt, the City Hall of Bilbao is one of his finest works. The exterior offers a clasicist style although it boasts certain exotic details (the conspicous tower). Rucaba deployed an elaborate decorative treatment in the rooms of the interior. Among these, particularly remarkable is the Neoarablc Hall which has always been cited along with that of the Oporto Stock Exchange as one of the most flawless examples of the style. The contrast between the severity of the facade and the sumptuous Arabic Hall clearly represents one of the enduring characteristics of the architecture of the latter period of the nineteenth century.