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 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, teacher and a community leader. In 1973, he was named one of the National Artists for architecture. He was regarded as the Dean of Filipino Architects.

Early life

He was the eighth child of the Philippine Revolution veterans Julio Nakpil and

Gregoria de Jesús Gregoria de Jesús y Álvarez (9 May 1875 – 15 March 1943), also known by her nickname Oriang, was the founder and vice-president of the women's chapter of the Katipunan of the Philippines. She was also the custodian of the documents and s ...

(who married the former after the death of her first husband

Andrés Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino Freemason and revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered one of the national heroes of the Philippines ...

Education

He studied engineering at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

and later, at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, where he received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He then studied architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in France upon the recommendation of Jean Jacques Haffner, one of his professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Architecture.

Career

Nakpil worked at Andres Luna de San Pedro's architectural firm (1928) and at Don Gonzalo Puyat & Sons, opening his own architectural firm in 1930. Among Nakpil's works are

San Carlos Seminary The Royal and Conciliar San Carlos Seminary is the archdiocesan seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. It was established in the year 1702, by decree of King Philip V of Spain. At present, the institution houses seminarians belon ...

, Geronimo de los Reyes Building, Iglesia ni Cristo Riverside Locale (Now F. Manalo, San Juan) and Iglesia Ni Cristo - Locale of Caloocan, Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel,

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

Administration and University Library, and the Rizal Shrine in

Calamba, Laguna Calamba, officially the City of Calamba ( fil, Lungsod ng Calamba), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According ...

. He also designed the International Eucharistic Congress altar and improved 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 ...

in 1930 by erecting a dome and a second belfry. The church burned down in 1929 prior to Nakpil's redesign of the building. In the 1930s to the 1940s, Nakpil and his fellow architects Andres Luna de San Pedro, Fernando Ocampo and Pablo Antonio started the period of modern architecture in the Philippines. Nakpil and others also established the Philippine College of Design in 1941 but the institution did not survive the Second World War. In 1952, President Quirino appointed Nakpil to be a member of the National Rizal Day Committee. He was hailed as a

National Artist National Artist is an honorary title issued by some states as a highest recognition of artists for their significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the nation. An equivalent title, People's Artist, has been known in countries of the f ...

for Architecture in 1973. On November 23, 1936, Nakpil was on a list of Inactive

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

s as an

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. Nakpil and his family company Juan F. Nakpil & Sons, together with the contractors United Construction Company, Inc. were part of the most prominent landmark case for fortuitous events filed by the Philippine Bar Association (PBA). The PBA through its counsel, the Jose W. Diokno Law Office, which was represented by Sen. Diokno himself, won the case against Nakpil in the trial court, which was just affirmed in the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

and later elevated to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Nakpil lost that final case in 1986, and was liable for damages to the PBA, whose building was destroyed during an earthquake way back in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

Projects

Theaters

Gaiety Theater, Manila The Gaiety Theater was a stand-alone art deco cinema house located at M.H. del Pilar Street in the Ermita district of the city of Manila. It was designed by Juan Nakpil, National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, in 1935. The construct ...

(now inactive) *Rizal Theater (since demolished; the site is occupied by

Makati Shangri-La, Manila Makati Shangri-La, Manila was a hotel located in Makati and one of the three hotels managed by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in Metro Manila, Philippines. Opening on April 27, 1993, the hotel had 696 rooms and suites at the time of its temporar ...

) *Capitol Theater (now inactive) *University of the Philippines Theater and ''carillon'' tower UP Diliman Quezon Hall

Other buildings

*Arellano University Building *Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) National Headquarters *Philippine Trust Co. Building (at what is now

Plaza Lacson Plaza Lacson, also known by its old name, Plaza (de) Goiti, is a public square in Santa Cruz, Manila. It is bounded by Plaza Santa Cruz and Escolta Street to the west, Carlos Palanca Street (formerly Echague Street) to the south, and Carriedo S ...

) *Geronimo Delos Reyes Building *Capitan Pepe Building *Manila Jockey Club *

*Philippine Village Hotel (closed in 2000) *

Administration & Library * Rizal Shrine * Gala-Rodriguez Ancestral House *

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay i ...

Old Humanities Building * Philippine National Bank building - Visayas

Special Projects

*Main

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

for the Second National Eucharistic Congress of the Philippines

Personal life and family

Nakpil married Anita Agoncillo Noble, who came from

Lemery, Batangas Lemery, officially the Municipality of Lemery ( tgl, Bayan ng Lemery), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 93,186 people. Lemery is a growing urban center i ...

. Noble was the granddaughter of Doña Marcela Mariño Agoncillo and became the first Miss Philippines after the Manila Carnival Queen was reimagined as Miss Philippines in 1926. The two had three sons, namely Ariston, Francisco, Eulogio, and two daughters, namely Annie, and Edith. The three sons later became architects and joined Nakpil in the family firm, which was renamed Juan F. Nakpil & Sons, and later renamed Nakpil, Nakpil, Nakpil, and Nakpil in 1972. In the 1970s, Ariston Roman Nakpil, alongside fifteen other professional founded the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders' Associations (CREBA), a non-government, umbrella organization of firms and professionals involved in real estate and real property. Annie Tañada married Renato "Nats" Tañada, son of former Senator and "father of Philippine politics", Lorenzo Tañada. Both Annie and Renato were posthumously honored as "patriot-members" of the Ninoy Aquino Movement on the 29th death anniversary of

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

in 2012. Edith Nakpil-Rabat was crowned Miss Philippines in 1955 and later served as a member of the Batasang Pambanasa under the

Marcos regime Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugu ...

. She married Davao Oriental governor

Francisco Rabat Francisco "Paking" Garcia Rabat (June 19, 1934 – July 19, 2008) was a Filipino politician and basketball player. Basketball career Rabat was also a member of the Philippine national basketball team and was part of the squad that won the bron ...

and was known as the "First Lady of Davao". Nakpil died on May 7, 1986, aged 87. He was arranged a state funeral and was buried at the

Libingan ng mga Bayani Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB, , ) is a national cemetery within Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly Fort William McKinley) in Metro Manila, Philippines. First established in May 1947 as a fitting resting place for Philippine military personnel fro ...

Awards

: *

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philipp ...

(1973) *

Presidential Medal of Merit President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

(1955) *

Supreme Commander and

Knight Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of the

Order of the Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal is an Order of Chivalry from the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. The civic organisation of the "Order of the Knights of Rizal" was established in 1911 by Colonel A ...

References

External links

Juan Nakpil's page at the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakpil, Juan 01 National Artists of the Philippines 1899 births 1986 deaths People from Quiapo, Manila Burials at the Manila North Cemetery University of the Philippines alumni University of Kansas alumni Art Deco architects 20th-century Filipino people 20th-century Filipino architects Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)