Castillo de Bil Bil: A Neo-Arabic Cultural Centre in Benalmádena
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Spanish
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page7 sections
History
Castillo de Bil Bil is a neo-Arabic building in Benalmádena, Spain, designed by the Málaga architect Enrique Atencia and completed in 1936. Neo-Arabic architecture is a modern revival style that uses forms and decoration associated with Islamic and Arabic traditions. The building was commissioned in the 1930s as a private residence and later became a municipal cultural centre and small museum of Muslim art.
Construction and the Hermann family
The original commission was for land near the present kilometre 227 of the N-340. At the time, the road was unpaved, and the property was reached by a path linking it with Arroyo de la Miel. The building was apparently intended to bear the name Ben-Hassar or Ben Azahar, although only designs for entrance signs using those names were produced.
The Hermann couple never lived in the completed building. When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, they returned to France. The conflict lasted from 1936 to 1939 and divided Spain between opposing political and military forces.
The Schestrom period
The American Schestrom family became the building’s second owners. They improved the gardens and gave the property the name Bil Bil, apparently formed from parts of the owners’ names, Elsa and William. The family lived there for approximately 30 years.
During their ownership, rapid construction and the growth of tourism transformed the coast. Castillo de Bil Bil consequently stood as a small landscaped enclave among extensive concrete developments. The building was sold again in the late 1970s and later acquired by Gerard Saintmoux, a former mercenary in the Belgian Congo who had fled the Belgian government and subsequently operated construction-related businesses on the Costa del Sol.
Municipal ownership and restoration
Under Saintmoux’s ownership, the building and its garden fell into severe neglect. In the 1980s, during the mayoralty of Enrique Bolín, the land was declared a green zone. This prevented Saintmoux from pursuing development speculation, and he subsequently sold the property to Benalmádena Town Council.
The municipality converted Castillo de Bil Bil into a cultural centre. The building was restored twice, first in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. It remains owned by Benalmádena Town Council, and its neo-Arabic character has become an emblem of Benalmádena and a landmark of the Costa del Sol.
Remains
Layout and architectural design
Castillo de Bil Bil is a small building designed to resemble a defensive fortress. Simplified cubic forms are arranged around a central courtyard, with the architectural spaces distributed around it. The exterior is covered in red plaster, while the entrances are formed by triple horseshoe arches. A horseshoe arch curves inward beyond a semicircle. The building also includes a tower shaped like a minaret, a tower traditionally associated with a mosque, and interior stucco decoration in the Nasrid style.
Decorative programme
The decoration includes glazed tiles, bas-reliefs, ornamental writing, geometric latticework dadoes, grilles, screens, and plasterwork. Glazed tiles are fired tiles with a glass-like surface, while stucco is a smooth decorative plaster. The programme recalls the Nasrid palaces of Comares and the Palace of the Lions, major palace complexes within the Alhambra in Granada. Nasrid refers to the dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada and built the Alhambra’s principal palaces.
Antonio Santiesteban was commissioned to create the decorative elements. He was an Alhambra conservator, a professor at a school of arts and crafts, and a specialist in Granada’s Arabic craft traditions. The exterior gardens, fountains, and palm trees complement the building’s orientalizing design, although these elements resulted from later alterations.
