José María Zaragoza
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José María Vélez Zaragoza (December 6, 1912 – November 26, 1994) was a
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
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 ...
.


Education

Zaragoza took up BS Architecture at the
University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...
where he graduated in 1936. He placed 7th in the licensure exams in the 1938. He also had a diploma in liturgical art and architecture from the
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
-based International Institute of Liturgical Art. At the Hilversun Technical Research Center in the Netherlands, he obtained a diploma in comprehensive planning.


Career

During the earlier years of his career, Zaragoza had meetings with American architect
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
culminating with a visit to Wright' atelier in
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in the
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in 1956. However, unlike his contemporaries, Zaragoza looked into European architecture for inspiration instead of drawing from American architecture.


Religious buildings

Zaragoza was involved in designing several religious buildings such as The Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tala,
Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan ( fil, Lungsod ng Caloocan; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most ...
completed in 1950; the Santo Domingo Church in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
and the Villa San Miguel in
Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...
both which was finished in 1954; the Pius XII Center in
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 ...
completed in 1958, and the expansion of the
Quiapo Church The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene ( es, Basílica Menor del Nazareno Negro; fil, Basílika Menor ng Itím na Nazareno), known canonically as the Parish of Saint John the Baptist and also known as Quiapo Church ( es, Iglesia Parroquial d ...
completed in 1984, a project met with some controversy. He was invited by Brazilian architects
Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...
and
Lúcio Costa Lúcio Marçal Ferreira Ribeiro Lima Costa (27 February 1902 – 13 June 1998) was a Brazilian architect and urban planner, best known for his plan for Brasília. Career Costa was born in Toulon, France, the son of Brazilian parents. His fath ...
to be one of the guest architects in designing
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, which was planned to be the new capital city of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Zaragoza also designed the former Union Church of Manila, a shell-shaped church that resembled the Philippine Exposition Hall in New York of 1936. This church building, dedicated in 1975, was torn down in the late 1990s to make room for a new Union Church of Manila on a portion of the same site. Zaragoza also designed the Saint John Bosco and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Overall, he designed about 45 churches and religious centers.


Other buildings

Zaragoza also designed the Meralco Building and the Zaragoza building, and he contributed to the design of the
National Library of the Philippines The National Library of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Aklatan ng Pilipinas or ''Aklatang Pambansa ng Pilipinas'', abbreviated NLP, es, Biblioteca Nacional de Filipinas) is the official national library of the Philippines. The complex is l ...
and to the design of the Bataan Power Plant of the National Power Corporation. Altogether he designed 36 office buildings, 4 hotels, 2, hospitals, 5 low-cost and middle-income housing projects, as well as more than 270 residences.


Style

Zaragoza derived traditional forms from Spanish colonial architecture and combined it with simple, unornamented designs of the
International style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...
. This design was evident in the arcades of the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City. His style had an impact of designs of houses. The visual framework of the "Spanish style" architecture which was favored in residences from the 1950s to the 1960s was derived from his designs. The "Spanish style" is not widely used in Spain but the name was an adopted term in Philippine residential architecture. Among Zaragoza's works this style is most evident in his design of the 1951 building of the
Casino Español de Manila Casino Español de Manila is a club established in 1893 by Spaniards living in the Philippines as their exclusive venue for recreational and social activities. It later opened its doors to Filipino members to foster Spanish-Filipino ties in the co ...
. After his involvements in Brazil, his later works had influences from Brazilian architecture as evident in the Meralco Center in Ortigas and Philbank Building in the Port Area, Manila both finished in 1965. The Commercial and Bank Trust Company Building, completed in 1969, in
Escolta 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 s ...
, Manila, incorporates subtle flowing Latino line design.


Religious involvements

Zaragoza became an ambassador of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
to the Philippines. He was also conferred the Gentiluomo di Sua Santita (Lay Member of the Papal Household) by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
for his contributions to the Catholic Church, allowing him to serve as a lay attendant of the Pope in the
Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...
.


Death

He died on November 26, 1994, at the age of 81 in Manila, Philippines.


Awards

* 1973: ''Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan'' (Stalwart of Art and Culture) Award, awarded by the City of Manila. * 1977: ''Gold Medal of Merit'' awarded by the
Philippine Institute of Architects The Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA) is an architectural society in the Philippines and is the oldest architectural society in Asia. It is composed of noble men and women from the architectural profession of the Philippines. It was found ...
(PIA), bestowed to him by his mentor
Juan Nakpil Juan Felipe de Jesús Nakpil, KGCR (born Juan Felipe Nakpil y de Jesús; May 26, 1899 – May 7, 1986) known as Juan Nakpil, was a Filipino architect, teacher and a community leader. In 1973, he was named one of the National Artists for architec ...
. * 2014: ''National Artist for Architecture'', conferred by the
President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
through Proclamation No. 812.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaragoza, Jose Maria 1912 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Filipino architects Filipino diplomats University of Santo Tomas alumni People from Quiapo, Manila National Artists of the Philippines