THEME OF THE GROUP:

UST MAIN BUILDING

The Main Building of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, Philippines functions as the
university's administrative center, and home of the Faculty of Civil Law, Faculty of Pharmacy,
and the College of Science. The Main Building is also the home of the Museum of Arts and
Sciences.

The building, designed by Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., is the first earthquake-resistant building in the
Philippines. Ruaño was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.

DESIGN AND STRUCTURE

In 1920, Roque Ruaño was assigned to draw up plans for the UST Main Building to be
constructed at the Sulucan property of the Dominican Order. During the years 1922 and 1923,
the plans were finally completed. However, some fine tunings may have been made on the
design criteria as a result of the new lessons learned from the Great Kantō earthquake of
September 1, 1923 which flattened Tokyo and Yokohama. Eventually, construction began in
1924.

The structure is a rectangular building having a dimension of 86 meters long and 74 meters
wide with two interior courtyards or patios. The most significant feature is the fact that it is
actually made up of 40 separate structures independent from one another with the only
opportunity provided by pre-cast stab flooring. But some locations of the separations are now
difficult to determine exactly because of the numerous cosmetic changes the interior of the
building which has undergone over the years. According to an article written by the former
dean of Faculty of Engineering, Manuel Mañosa, this is how it is divided:

 four corner units

 two midsection units (rear and front entrance)
 one tower (including two elevator cores)
 one entrance canopy

A total of 26 units:

 seven units for P. Noval side

 seven units for Gov. Forbes (now Arsenio H. Lacson) side
 six units for Dapitan side
 six units for España side
 four middle section (or paraninfo)
 two stair section adjacent to tower and elevator core

STATUES:

Standing on the pedestals of the fourth floor of the building are statues symbolizing the
spiritual and intellectual aspiration of the University. Designed by the Italian Francesco Monti,
faculty member of the College of Architecture, they were installed between 1949 and 1953.

Surrounding the clock, the so-called "Tria Haec" are three statues representing, from left to
right:

 Hope
 Faith (on top of the clock)
 Charity

To the right of the Tria Haec are theologians and historians:

 Saint Augustine
 Raymond of Peñafort, O.P.
 Vincent of Beauvais, O.P

To the right of the theologians and historians, facing Padre Noval Street are the tragedians:

 Pedro Calderón de la Barca

 Sophocles
  William Shakespeare

To the left of the Tria Haec are the philosophers:

 Aristotle
 Saint Albert the Great
 Plato

To the left of the philosophers and facing Arsenio Lacson Avenue are the playwrights:

 Lope de Vega
 Aristophanes
 Molière