Jose Maria Zaragoza (1912-1994)

He 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.

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.

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.

Zaragoza derived traditional forms from Spanish colonial architecture and

combined it with simple, unornamented designs of the International style.

Filipino architect whose notable works are:

Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City

National Library of the Philippines, Manila

Lopez Building - MERALCO, Pasig City

Commercial Bank and Trust Company Building, Escolta, Manila