Noldi Schreck: The architect behind Puerto Banús

Noldi Schreck was born in the Siberian city of Yakutsk (known for having the lowest temperatures on the planet) on 14 September 1921. His father was a Swiss naval engineer who went to Russia to develop shipping on rivers and his mother was a Russian from a wealthy merchant family. According to some reports, when Noldi was a few months old, his father died and his mother was forced to flee the Communist regime and travelled with Noldi and his sister from Soviet Russia to Switzerland to find her husband’s relatives. As an architect, Schreck later settled in Mexico, where he lived for the rest of his life.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Noldi Schreck made his mark in Mexico City. He also designed buildings in California’s Beverly Hills. Spanish aristocrat Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe liked to spend his holidays in Acapulco and California. It is reported that the architecture and gardens of the Bel-Air Hotel in Beverly Hills, a project by Noldi Schreck, caught Prince Alfonso’s eye. So he met the architect and asked him to incorporate the concept into his beach club in Marbella.

By that time Hohenlohe had already established the Marbella Club Hotel, but wanted to expand it by breaking up the botanical garden with hundreds of plant species and building a club on the beach. The story goes that Noldi Schreck accepted the tempting offer and travelled to the Costa del Sol.

In Marbella, Noldi Schreck was introduced to José Banús, who at the time was hatching ambitious plans to create one of the most exclusive ports in Europe. He apparently envisaged huge skyscrapers that would house thousands of wealthy families. However, Noldi Schreck had a different vision and managed to persuade José Banús to build a sophisticated Andalusian-style village and marina. In 1970, Puerto José Banús was inaugurated, as it was emphasised, the first port designed by a single architect, Noldi Schreck.

In 2010 Schreck was posthumously awarded a star on the boulevard of fame in Marbella. His family received the recognition with pride and the unveiling of the star was attended by representatives of the political, cultural and social life of the town.