Andrés Pardo de Tavera Luna (September 9, 1887 – January 22, 1952) was a Filipino

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who built the first air-conditioned building in the Philippines, the Crystal Arcade one of the popular tenant of Manila Stock Exchange (previous site of Paseo de Escolta) Building (now present site of City College of Manila-Escolta Building, demolished in 2016) that was once located on No. 71

Escolta Street Escolta Street (lit: Escort) is a historic east–west street located in the old downtown district of Binondo in Manila, Philippines. It runs parallel to the Pasig River, from Plaza Santa Cruz to Plaza Moraga and Quintin Paredes Street. The str ...

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. He was assigned as the city architect of the City of

from 1920 to 1924. His designs were modernist. Some of them were lost during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Life and career

Andres Pardo de Tavera Luna was born on September 9, 1887, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. His parents are Juan N. Luna and Mari Paz Pardo de Tavera-Luna. He grew up in Paris until he was six years old, when his father committed a crime of passion, on September 22, 1892. His father murdered his mother, Paz and his grandmother, Juliana Morricho and shot them in their heads. He then left with his father after he was acquitted by a French court in February 1893. After spending six months in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

, they travelled by boat along with his uncle, Gen. Antonio N. Luna to

on May 24, 1894. Luna was taught art lessons by Miguel Zaragoza, and subsequently Ramon Santa Coloma and Lorenzo Guerrero. In Japan, he studied ceramics, followed by studying architecture at the International Correspondence School, where he earned his diploma in 1911. Later while he stayed in France, he studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. Upon return to the Philippines, he served as the architect of the City of Manila from 1920 to 1924. In 1938, he became a member of the ''Manila Beautiful'' Committee which was created for the beautification of the city. Throughout his career, Luna gained recognition for his works, including the St. Louis Exposition and the Philippine Institute of Architects. He died on January 22, 1952 at the age of 64. He was survived by his American wife, Grace, who later migrated back to the United States after his death.

Works

Regina Building Regina Building, previously known as Roxas Building, is a historic building located along Escolta Street in Binondo, Manila, Philippines. It was designed sequentially by Andrés Luna de San Pedro and Fernando H. Ocampo. The neoclassical beaux-a ...

* Natalio Enriquez Ancestral House in

Sariaya Sariaya, officially the Municipality of Sariaya ( tgl, Bayan ng Sariaya), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...

, 1931 * Legarda Elementary School, 1922 *

First United Building The First United Building, formerly known and still commonly referred to as Perez-Samanillo Building, is an Art Deco building on Escolta Street in Binondo, Manila, Philippines. It was designed by Andrés P. Luna, the son of renowned painter Jua ...

, 1928 * Crystal Arcade Building, 1932 * Alfonso Zobel Mansion *

Manila Hotel The Manila Hotel is a 550-room, historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines.

, (renovated in 1935) * St. Cecilia's Hall, St. Scholastica's College, 1932 * Lizares Mansion, Iloilo City * Chapel of the Crucified Christ,

St. Paul University Manila The St. Paul University Manila, also referred to by its acronym SPUM or SPU Manila, is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution established and run by the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres in ...

1927

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna De San Pedro, Andres 20th-century Filipino architects 1887 births 1952 deaths Architects from Paris Filipino expatriates in France