PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE

The history and culture of the Philippines are reflected in its architectural heritage, in dwellings
of its various peoples, in mosques and churches, and in buildings that have risen in response to
the demands of progress and the aspirations of a people.

The 7,100 islands of the Philippines appear to be a mountain range that is half submerged. More
than half of the land is mountainous and hilly. With their headwaters in the mountains, rivers
flow down to the plains and out to the sea.

The Philippines is subject to the worst of tropical heat, humidity, and rain. A long dry season can
bring drought, rains can cause floods, and high winds can ruin houses. Several times a year the
land is rocked by earthquakes. As the climate dictates the need for shelter, the land provides the
materials for it: wood from the forests, bamboo from groves, leaves from the fields, stone from
rivers and quarries, and clay from the earth itself.

Setting, climate, and available materials are among the factors that give shelter its form and
character.

PREHISTORIC ERA

The Ethnic Tradition

The earliest shelters of human beings were probably not built by them. They simply found these
shelters or found themselves in them. It was nature which fashioned hollows on cliffs and
mountainsides that offered protection from heat, rain, and wind.

The Tabon Cave in Palawan yielded the earliest-known remains of human beings in the
Philippines.

Mangyan of Mindoro

The Mangyan of Mindoro, who are kaingin farmers, have two types of housesthe single-
family dwelling and the communal house.

When a Mangyan house is built on a slope, the entrance faces the rise. The steep roof is of
cogon grass, the sidings, of tree bark, and the floor, of logs and saplings. The house appears to
have no windows. However, it has a narrow strip of opening between roof and wall.

Ifugao House: Fale

The one-room Ifugao house, known as fale, is a little marvel of construction. Outside, the Ifugao
house seems to be nothing more than a pyramid resting on four posts. The interior space
enclosed by slanting walls, sloping roof, and ceiling formed by the loftappears nearly
spherical. The dark, windowless chamber suggests a womb.

Tboli House

The Tboli of southern Cotabato in Mindanao build large one-room houses on stilts. The roof is of
dried grass, the walls, of woven bamboo, and the posts, of whole bamboo and, occasionally,
tree stumps. The central portion of the floor is slightly lower than the areas around it. The side
 sections are for working or resting. At one end is the entrance and the fireplace, and at the
other is the place of honor for the head of the house. The interior of the Tboli house is one
example of a characteristic feature of Philippine houses-space surrounded by space.

Tausug House

The Tausug of Sulu, one of the Muslim peoples of the Philippines, are known as seafarers, but
they build their houses on land, away from the shore.

The traditional Tausug house rests on nine posts, each signifying a part of the bodythe neck,
navel, groin, left and right sides of the shoulders, ribs, and hips. Basically a one-room house, the
Tausug dwelling includes a porch and a separate kitchen. A distinguishing feature of the house is
an elaborately carved wooden finial, called tajuk pasung, placed at one or both ends of the roof
ridge.

The Sama and the Badjao Houses

The Sama and the Badjao are people of the sea. The sea is their source of livelihood,the link to
other people, and the place for celebration. It is also home.

The Sama build their houses on stilts over the water, along the shore or farther out, grouped
together in villages, and connected by bridges and catwalks.

Unlike the Sama house, the Badjao house stands alone on an expanse of water and is reached
only by boat. It is not joined by bridges or catwalks to the shore or to other houses. It is an
islandmade by humans.

Torogan

The Muslim chief resides in the torogan, a huge, stately, towering house, with a single large
room. Although torogan simply means a place for sleeping, the house is more than a
residence. It is also used for official meetings, social gatherings, and religious rituals. Only the
chiefthe sultan or datuis entitled to own and live in a torogan. The soaring, flaring roof, like
a ceremonial umbrella, is a proclamation of exalted status. The massive posts serve as solid
supports and signify established power. To protect the house from earthquakes, the oversized
posts rest on stones. With this device, the house sways with the tremor, playfully surviving it.
Posts may be plain and bulky or may be carved to look like clay pots or outsized chess pieces.
The most arresting feature of the torogan is the set of protruding beam-ends, called panolong.
Flaring out from the facade, intricately carved, and stunningly colored, the panolong resemble
the boat prows and make the splendid torogan appear to float like a royal barge.

PRE-HISPANIC ERA

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the main form of dwelling for a family in the Philippines was
the nipa hut, a single room house composed of wood, bamboo or other native materials.
Though the styles of the nipa hut varied throughout the country, most all of them shared similar
characteristics including having it raised slightly above ground on stilts and a steep roof. Aside
from nipa huts, mother small houses were built on top of trees to prevent animal as well as
enemy attacks.
HISPANIC ERA

Colonial Spanish

Spanish colonization introduced European architecture into the country. The influence of
European architecture and its style actually came via the Antilles through the Manila Galleon.
The most lasting legacy of Spain in terms of architecture was its colonial churches which were
designed by anonymous friar.

Bahay na Bato

The Bahay na Bato or the Colonian Filipino House, is a mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and
Chinese influences.

In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, excellently preserved examples of the houses of the noble Filipinos can be
admired.

In Taal, Batangas, the main street is still lined with examples of the traditional Filipino homes.

Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago (Fuerza de Santiago) is a defense fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel
Lpez de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the walled city of Intramuros, in Manila,
Philippines.

The location of Fort Santiago was also once the site of the palace and kingdom of Rajah Suliman,
chieftain of Manila of pre-Spanish era. It was destroyed by the conquistadors upon arriving in
1570, encountering several bloody battles with the Muslims and native Tagalogs. The Spaniards
destroyed the native settlements and erected Fuerza de Santiago in 1571.

Intramuros

Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spaniards in the
16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila. Its name, taken from the Latin, intra
muros, literally "Within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also
describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish
colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself.

Paco Park

Paco Park was planned as a municipal cemetery for the welloff and established aristocratic
Spanish families who resided in the old Manila, or the city within the walls of Intramuros during
the Spanish colonial era.

The cemetery is circular in shape, with an inner circular fort that was the original cemetery and
with the niches that were placed or located within the hollow walls. As the population
continued to grow, a second outer wall was built with the thick adobe walls were hollowed as
niches and the top of the walls were made into pathways for promenades.
Augustinian Churches

The order of the Augustinians, build many churches all over the Philippines. These magnificent
structures can still be found all over the Phlippine Islands.

The Augustinian historians Fathers Policarpo F. Hernndez and Pedro G. Galende, coffetable
book "Angels in Stone" documents all the churches built by the Augustinians throughout the
Philippines over the centuries.

The San Augustine church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, is the most famous of these churches. This
unique specimen of Filipino architecture from the Spanish area has been included in the World
Heritage Sites List of the UNESCO. The church was built by the Augustinian friars from 1694 until
1710. It shows the earthquake proof baroque style architecture.

The San Agustn Church lies inside the walled city of Intramuros located in the capital city
Manila, Philippines. It is the first European stone church to be built in the Philippines designed in
Spanish architectural structure. The church also houses the legacies of the Spanish
conquistadors, Miguel Lpez de Legazpi, Juan de Salcedo and Martn de Goiti who are buried
and laid to rest in a tomb, underneath the church.

Lighthouses

During the Spanish and American era many lighthouses were constructed around the Phlippine
Islands. The most Northeastern Lighthouse can be found in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

Philippine Architecture during American colonization

After the Spanish American war in 1898 the Americans took over rule of the Philippines until
after the second world war. During this period the Americans constructed many Art Nouveaux
buildings in Manila. In 1902 Judge William Howard Taft was appointed to head the Philippine
Commission to evaluate the needs of the new territory. Taft, who later became the Philippines'
first civilian Governor-General, decided that Manila, the capital, should be a planned town. He
hired as his architect and city planner Daniel Hudson

Manila Metropolitan Theatre

The Manila Metropolitan Theatre is an art deco building designed by the Filipino architect Juan
M. de Guzman Arellano, and built in 1935. During the liberation of Manila by the Americans in
1945, the theatre we totally destroyed. After reconstruction by the Americans it gradually fell
into disuse in the 1960s. In the following decade it was meticulously restored but again fell into
decay. Recently a bus station has been constructed at the back of the theatre. The City of Manila
is planning a renovation of this once magnificent building.

The National Monument to Dr. Jose Rizal

The bronze and granite Rizal monument located in Rizal Park, Manila, has long been considered
among the most famous sculptural landmarks in the Philippines. The monument is located near
the very spot where Dr. Jose Rizal was executed December 30, 1896.
 On 28 September 1901, the Philippine Assembly approved Act No. 243, granting the right to
use public land upon the Luneta in the city of Manila where a monument shall be erected to
Jose Rizal. As conceived by the Act, the monument would not merely consist of a statue, but
also a mausoleum to house Rizals remains.

The Rizal Monument in Luneta was the work of a Swiss sculptor named Richard Kissling. Kissling
was only the second placer in the international art competition held between 1905 1907 for
the monument design. The firstprize winner was Professor Carlos Nicoli of Carrara, Italy. His
scaled plaster model titled Al Martir de Bagumbayan (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan) bested
40 other accepted entries. Among his plans were the use of marble from Italy (in contrast to the
unpolished granite now at Luneta) and the incorporation of more elaborate figurative elements.