In the history of building, Carlos A. Santos-Viola is one of the names that keeps returning.
The record lists Carlos A. Santos-Viola as Filipino architect (1912-1994).
Carlos A. Santos-Viola was born at San Miguel in 1912. His recorded nationality is Philippines. He trained at University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo de Manila University.
Modernism rejected ornament and historical style, arguing that a building should express its structure and its function - a claim contested ever since.
He is recorded as architect.
His best-known building is Ermita Church. An architect is judged by how a building is used a century after the drawings.
That the work was built in Philippines shaped it: climate, materials, planning law and who holds the budget all decide what can actually be built.
Carlos A. Santos-Viola died in 1994, aged 82. The buildings remain, still in use by people who never knew the name - which is the particular afterlife architecture offers.
Achievements
- Notable work: Ermita Church
- Trained at University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo de Manila University
