He was the eighth child of the Philippine Revolution veterans Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesús (who married the former after the death of her first husband Andrés).

[4] Among Nakpil's works are San Carlos Seminary, Geronimo de los Reyes Building, Iglesia ni Cristo Riverside Locale (Now F. Manalo, San Juan) and Iglesia Ni Cristo - Locale of Caloocan, Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the Philippines Administration[5] and University Library, and the Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna.

He also designed the International Eucharistic Congress altar and improved the Quiapo Church in 1930 by erecting a dome and a second belfry.

[6] In the 1930s to the 1940s, Nakpil and his fellow architects Andres Luna de San Pedro, Fernando Ocampo and Pablo Antonio started the period of modern architecture in the Philippines.

Nakpil lost that final case in 1986, and was liable for damages to the PBA, whose building was destroyed during an earthquake way back in 1968.

[18] Edith Nakpil-Rabat was crowned Miss Philippines in 1955 and later served as a member of the Batasang Pambanasa under the Marcos regime.