José María Zaragoza

José María Vélez Zaragoza[4] (December

6, 1912 – November 26, 1994)[5] was a
Filipino architect.
 José María Zaragoza

Born José María Zaragoza

y Vélez[1]
December 6, 1912[2]
Quiapo, Manila,
Philippine Islands

Died November 26, 1994

(aged 81)[3]
Manila, Philippines

Nationality Filipino
Alma mater University of Santo
Tomas
Occupation Architect

Awards Order of National

Artists of the
Philippines

Buildings Santo Domingo

Church
Meralco Building
Casino Español de
Manila (1951
building)

Projects Quiapo Church (1968

expansion)
Education
Zaragoza took up BS Architecture at the
University of Santo Tomas where he
graduated in 1936. He placed 7th in the
licensure exams in the 1938.[6]

He also had a diploma in liturgical art and

architecture from the Rome-based
International Institute of Liturgical Art. At
the Hilversum Technical Research Center
in the Netherlands, he obtained a diploma
in comprehensive planning.[6]

Career
During the earlier years of his career,
Zaragoza had meetings with American
architect Frank Lloyd Wright culminating
with a visit to Wright' atelier in Arizona in
the United States in 1956. However, unlike
his contemporaries, Zaragoza looked into
European architecture for inspiration
instead of drawing from American
architecture.[4]

Religious buildings
 Santo Domingo Church

Zaragoza was involved in designing

several religious buildings such as The Our
Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tala, Caloocan
completed in 1950; the Santo Domingo
Church in Quezon City and the Villa San
Miguel in Mandaluyong both which was
finished in 1954; the Pius XII Center in
Manila completed in 1958, and the
expansion of the Quiapo Church
completed in 1984, a project met with
some controversy.[4]

He was invited by Brazilian architects

Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa to be one
of the guest architects in designing
Brasília, which was planned to be the new
capital city of Brazil.[4]

Zaragoza also designed the former[6]

Union Church of Manila, a shell-shaped
church that resembled the Philippine
Exposition Hall in New York of 1936.[7]
This church building, dedicated in 1975,[8]
was torn down in the late 1990s to make
room for a new Union Church of Manila on
a portion of the same site.[7][9]

Zaragoza also designed the Saint John

Bosco and the National Shrine of Our Lady
of the Miraculous Medal.[7]

Overall, he designed about 45 churches

and religious centers.[1]

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 and to the design
of the Bataan Power Plant of the National
Power Corporation.[7]

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.[1]

Style
 The Meralco building in
Ortigas

Zaragoza derived traditional forms from

Spanish colonial architecture and
combined it with simple, unornamented
designs of the International style. This
design was evident in the arcades of the
Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.[4]

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.[4]

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, Manila, incorporates subtle
flowing Latino line design.[4]

Religious involvements
Zaragoza became an ambassador of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the
Philippines. He was also conferred the
Gentiluomo di Sua Santita (Lay Member of
the Papal Household) by Pope John Paul II
for his contributions to the Catholic
Church, allowing him to serve as a lay
attendant of the Pope in the Vatican City.[6]

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.[7]
1977: Gold Medal of Merit awarded by
the Philippine Institute of Architects
 (PIA), bestowed to him by his mentor
Juan Nakpil.[7]
2014: National Artist for Architecture,
conferred by the President of the
Philippines through Proclamation No.
812.[10]

References
1. "National Artists – José María V. Zaragoza"
(http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/
culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philipp
ines/jose-maria-v-zaragoza/) . National
Commission for Culture and the Arts. 31
May 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
2. Ramirez, Joanne Rae (11 December 2012).
"Jose Maria V. Zaragoza: The architect who
built edifices of faith" (http://www.philstar.c
om/newsmakers/2012-12-11/884527/jose-
maria-v.-zaragoza-architect-who-built-edific
es-faith) . PEOPLE. The Philippine Star.
Retrieved 9 January 2016.
3. National Commission for Culture and the
Arts (November 26, 2017). "In Memoriam:
Jose Maria Zaragoza" (https://www.facebo
ok.com/NCCAOfficial/photos/today-is-the-2
3rd-death-anniversary-of-jos%C3%A9-mar%
C3%ADa-v-zaragoza-national-artist-for/101
55716751195283/) . NCCA Verified
Facebook Page. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
4. Villalon, Augusto (24 January 2005). "José
María Zaragoza, unappreciated architect" (h
ttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ql
g1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=kCUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=17
94%2C10580298) . Pride of Place.
Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved
9 January 2016.
5. "Sagisag Kultura - Jose Maria V. Zaragoza"
(https://philippineculturaleducation.com.p
h/zaragoza-jose-maria-v/) . CulturEd
Philippines. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
. Zulueta, Lito (30 June 2014). "José Maria
Zaragoza: Master builder" (http://lifestyle.in
quirer.net/164674/jose-maria-zaragoza-ma
 ster-builder) . Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Retrieved 9 January 2016.
7. Ruben Defeo (12 July 2004). "José María
Zaragoza: A forgotten architect" (https://w
ww.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/
2004/07/12/257280/joseacute-mariacutea-
zaragoza-forgotten-architect) . The
Philippine Star. Retrieved 8 November
2018.
. "The history of UCM" (http://www.unionchur
ch.ph/history) . Retrieved 8 November
2018.
9. "Behind the two Zaragoza-designed
churches in Makati" (http://themanilaprojec
t.com/jose-zaragoza-don-bosco-ucm/) .
 The Manila Project. Retrieved 8 November
2018.
10. "Proclamation No. 812, s. 2014" (http://ww
w.officialgazette.gov.ph/2014/06/20/procla
mation-no-812-s-2014/) . Official Gazette
(Philippines). June 20, 2014. Retrieved
April 1, 2019.

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