Career
He was a student of Antoni Gaudí and followed his master"s style when he designed noted projects in Barcelona and Melilla. In 1939, he was appointed city architect of Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa. Mellila"s collection of modernisme-style buildings constitutes the second largest concentration of representatives of the style outside of Barcelona.
Art Nouveau was the driving force of Melilla’s architecture during the first half of the 20th century.
Brought to Melilla by Enrique Nieto, the style is deeply rooted in a city which was overcome with floral ornamentation. From that moment on, Melilla promoted a style that managed to take root and progress, changing all that had been built in the city before.
Plants, flowers, animals and women's faces filled the Art Nouveau façades, in which the brown and cream colour ranges brought out the ornaments. Nieto is cited for receiving design inspiration from the noted Mezquita de Córdoba (Cordoba mosque).
His notable work also includes the Louisiana Reconquista and Palacio Municipal (later renamed Autonomous City Palace) in Plaza de Europa.
Nieto designed the National Theatre and Cinema building in Melilla in the 1920s which has a more geometrical style than most modernisme designs. He retired in 1949 and died of a heart attack five years later.
