Jos Mara Zaragoza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jos Mara Zaragoza

Born Jos Mara V. Zaragoza
December 6, 1912
Died 1994 (aged 81)
Nationali Filipino
ty
Alma ma University of Santo Tomas
ter
Occupati Architect
on

Buildings Santo Domingo Church

Meralco Building

Casino Espaol de
Manila (1951 building)
Projects Quiapo Church (1968 expansion)
Jos Mara V. Zaragoza[1] (December 6, 1912[2]-1994[3]) was a Filipino architect.

Contents
[hide]
1Education
2Career

2.1Religious buildings
2.2Style

3Religious involvements
4Death
5References
6See also

Education[edit]
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.[3]
He also had a diploma in liturgical art and architecture from the Rome-based
International Institute of Liturgical Art. At the Hilversun Technical Research Center in the
Netherlands, he obtained a diploma in comprehensive planning.[3]

Career[edit]
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.
[1]
Religious buildings[edit]

Santo Domingo
Church

Zaragoza was involved in

deasdassigning several
religious buildings such
as The Our Lady of the
Holy Rosary in
Tala, Caloocan complete
d in 195asdasd0; the
asdasdasdSanto Domingo
Church in Quezon
City and the Villa San
Miguel in Mandaluyoasdasdasdng both which wasdasdasdasdas finished in 1954; the
Pius XasdIasdasd Center in Manila completed in 1958, and the expansion of
tsadsdahe Quiapo Churchcompleted in 1984, a project met with some controversy.[4]
He was invited by Brazilian architects Oscar Niemeyer and Lcio Costa to be one of the
guest architects in designing Braslia, which was planned to be the new capital city
of Brazil.[1]
Style[edit]
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.[1]
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 Espaol de Manila.[1]
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.[1]

Religious involvements[edit]
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.[3]

Death[edit]
He died in 1994 at the age of 81 in Manila, Philippines.
References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f

PHILIPPINE DAILY
INQUIRER
Jun 30, 2014
SHARE

LITO B. ZULUETA

Jos Maria Zaragoza: Master builder

Jos Maria Zaragoza (1912-1994) played a key role in the reconstruction of postwar
Philippines, helping reshape the landscape of Manila ravaged by the Second World War
through his striking structures that melded modernism and Philippine motifs and styles.

He designed some of the most famous religious structures in the Philippines such as the
Santo Domingo Church and Convent and the Pink Sisters Convent, both in Quezon City;
the Union Church of Manila (a Protestant church) and St. John Bosco Parish Church on
Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road) in Makati; and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous
Medal in Posadas Village, Muntinlupa City.

He also designed the Pius XII Catholic Center in Ermita, Manila; and the Tala
Leprosarium in Caloocan City.

Perhaps his most controversial liturgical work was his redesign of Quiapo Church.

Vatican recognition

Zaragoza had a diploma in liturgical art and architecture from the International Institute
of Liturgical Art in Rome. He also obtained a diploma in comprehensive planning from
the Hilversun Technical Research Center in The Netherlands.

He also became ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Philippines,
a Catholic order with charities around the world. The order has a permanent non-state-
observer status in the United Nations.
Recognizing his contributions to the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II conferred on
Zaragoza the title Gentiluomo di Sua Santita (Lay Member of the Papal Household) in
1992. Men who receive such title serve as lay attendants of the Pope in Vatican City.

Futuristic lines

In 1975, Zaragoza designed the sci-fi-inspired Vira Mall in Greenhills, San Juan, which
depicted intergalactic travel through the ingenious use of glass tubes. The Union Church
in Makati was also designed along futuristic lines.

Sadly, both structures have been demolished or altered beyond recognition, meeting the
fate of visionary buildings designed by other National Artists for Architecture, such as the
Jai-Alai and Avenue Theater in Manila, and Rizal Theater in Makati (Juan Nakpil);
Magnolia in Quezon City; Hyatt Regency Hotel in Pasay City; and Benguet Center in
Ortigas (Leandro Locsin).

(Another Locsin structure, Manila Mandarin, may meet the same fate soon.)

Among Zaragozas designs that have reshaped the Manila landscape are the Meralco
Building; the National Library; Commercial Bank and Trust Company in Escolta, Manila,
with its ingenious half-dome greeting motorists and commuters from Jones Bridge.

Old and new

His most famous office building is the Meralco Building, still the most beautiful building
in Ortigas Center.

The late architect and architecture historian, Benedictine Father Rodrigo Perez III, said
the 15-story Meralco is slightly curved to give it more stability and to avoid the boxlike
appearance of rectangular buildings and the train effect of straight corridors. Tapering
vertical sunbreakers enhance the gentle curve of the concave faade.

But without a doubt, Zaragozas most famous building is Santo Domingo Church and
Convent, which he designed for the Dominicans, his mentors at University of Santo
Tomas. The design married old and new and follows the plan of the church-tower-
convento complex of the colonial period, said Father Perez. While the building
embodies the simplicity of modern design, such features as arches give it a traditional
touch.

Zaragoza took up BS Architecture at UST and graduated in 1936. Two years later, he
placed seventh in the licensure examination and became the countrys 82nd licensed
architect.
ARCHITECTURE FOR GOD, FOR MAN
1
Jose Maria Velez Zaragoza
(1912-1994)had a mission to build churches. His workscomprise a significant body of
ecclesiasticalarchitecture of about 45 churches all over thecountry.Zaragoza treads similar paths
in thePhilippine architectural landscape of churches andsecular building from the 1950s to the 1980s.He
rose to prominence in 1954 after he didthe design and supervised the construction of theSanto
Domingo Church on Quezon Avenue inQuezon City. Building a church gave him thehigher
ground to consecrate his gift of architecturalcreation to Divine Providence. He was a
builder,first for God, then for man.
PHILOSOPHY
Zaragoza, a deeply religious man, earned a diploma in liturgical art and architecture from
theInternational Institute of Liturgical Catholic churches in Rome. The religious
structurescompleted during his career are Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tala (1950), Santo
DomingoChurch in Quezon City (1954), Villa San Miguel in Mandaluyong (1954), Pius XII Center
inManila (1958), and finally, the controversial expansion of Quiapo Church
(1984). After a study of his accomplishments, Zaragoza emerges as an unnoticed
figure worthy of deeper study in the protracted search for that elusive "Filipino
Architecture."Grounded in Philippine architectural vocabulary, he distilled traditional
forms derived fromthe Spanish colonial era into the simplified, unornamented shapes of
the International Styleof the 1950s.In 1960 the internationally eminent Brazilian
architects Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costainvited Zaragoza to be among the guest
architects participating in the massive project of designing Brasilia, the new capital for
Brazil.The Latino imprint on Zaragoza was indelible.
1
Ruben Defeo, Jose Maria Zaragoza: Architecture for God, for Man (ArtPostAsia
Books,2004),1.

St.
John
Bosco
Parish
Church
 by migzmiguel08, Jun 15, 2014, 10:28:03 AM
Journals / Personal

Now this is one of the best churches in Makati city....

With it's unique architecture, the St. John Bosco Parish Church is probably one of the
famous churches in the city. This church was designed by Jose Maria Zaragoza, one of
the well-known architects of the 70's because of his remarkable use of concrete which
show unstagnant flow of forms. In 1978, the church was completed and is operated by the
Salesian Congregation.

The structure is known for its juge shell dome structrue with a suspended cross atop. It's
interior showcases series of huge rays narrowing down the tabernacle, this awe-inspiring
interior looks better at night because of the lighting At the portion where the pews are
located, the ceiling is exposed with diagonal concrete beams which also give an
impression of outward rays.

source:
 Pablo Sebero Antonio
architect
Pablo Antonio was an architect, a pioneer of modern style in the Philippines, National
Artists of the Philippines title winner.

Education

Pablo became an orphan when he was just 12, so it was hard for him simply to finish
higher school education. After that he tried to study at Mapua Institute of Technology, but
unsuccessfull, so he left. Ramon Arevalo, an engineer, noticed Pablo and sent a dropout
to study at University of London, from which he graduated in 1927, completing 5-year
course in just 3 years.

Career
For the first time Pablo stepped into the realm of architecture in 1933 when he
constructed the Ideal Theater along Avenida Rizal in Manila. After that his carreer started
to develop fast. During his lifetime he managed to design several buildinds that nowadays
are considered to be archtectural wonders of Art Deco and modern style.

Works

Polo Clubs
Manila Polo Club

1950

It is located in Makati City.

buildings
Capitan Luis Gonzaga Building
 1953

built in 1953 at the corner of Carriedo Street and Rizal Avenue in Manila, Philippines
transfigured the modernist box into a building that was suited to the tropics by utilizing
double sunshades.

Orphanage buildings
White Cross Orphanage

1938

The building is located along Santolan Road in San Juan City.

Theater buildings
Scala Theater
Another theater designed by Pablo Antonio was the Scala Theatre, also on Avenida Rizal
in Santa Cruz.