American Colonial Architecture in the Philippines Part 1

Introdution

Treaty of Paris

- A treaty signed between Spain and America that ends the Spanish-American War in December 10,
1898. Under the treaty, the Spain relinquished all claim sovereignty over and of title of Cuba, cede
Puerto Rico, Guam and Philippines.

Upon the departure of the Spanish Colonies, the Americans took over. The change of power signaled
the beginning of Pseudo-Hispanic Mission Style and Neoclassic style in the Philippine architectural
scenography.

Colonial Mission Revival and Monumental American Neoclassicism

- Were declared as the official style of imperial enterprise of the United State.

White City of Columbian World's Fair of 1893

- set the tone of building iconography in the Beaux Arts lineage

Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco of 1 91

- consolidated the revival of Mission Style or Neo-Castilian architecture

The Roots of American Imperialism

Before the turn of the 19th century, the United States handle their world affairs isolated. However the
ideology of Manifest Destiny (the desire to demonstrate its strength and power and the desire to
increase its wealth) prompted the United States government to commence its own imperialist regime at
the turn of the century.

The imperialist regime strategy includes territorial expansion where in Alfred T. Mahan emphasized the
necessity of annexing the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii and The Philippines in order to create naval bases to
protect American Commerce in his widely read The Influence of Sea Power upon History. When the
United States got the Philippines they initially didn’t know what to do with it. President McKinley
explained his dilemma with the Philippines beseeching divine guidance with their plans to the
Philippines.

The motivating ideas behind imperialism in the Philippines are:

1. National Honor
2. Commerce
3. Racial Superiorty
4. Altruism

What began as a heroic project to liberate the Philippines from the tyranny of Spanish imperialism soon
changed into a struggle to quell the Filipino independence movement. Between February 1899 – April
1902 guerilla warfare ensues with the united states winning the warfare. However the United States
wasn’t able to quell the discontent of the native Filipino.

In the Aftermath of the Philippine-American War

The American occupation regime began the massive rebuilding of the Philippines along the American
model and planned an entire battery of infrastructure to facilitate ventures in military control, public
health, education, and commerce.

August 15, 1898

- All public works were placed under the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

- Took charge of all public works under General Arthur McArthur

Howard Taft

- Heads the Philippine Commission, which was in control of the development and improvement of
the islands and eventually took over the civil administration.

- He was appointed as the first civil governor-general of the Philippines.

- Under his governing, the commission generously deployed its resources to rehabilitate the colonial
city, restore and improve existing infrastructure and introduce urban strategies that assured a
comfortable, healthy and secure settlements for the anticipated influx of the American population.

Construction of Forts and Camps

Camps established in the Philippines

 Fort Stotsenburg near Angles Pampanga covered central luzon

 Fort William Mckinley in province of Rizal East of Manila became the home of the main American
ground unit in the Philippines.
 Camp Wallace in Poro Point La Union covered the lingayen gulf area
 Camp John Hay in Baguio protects the nearby goldmine
 Warwick Barracks in Cebu
 Fort San Pedro (the old Spanish Fort used as headquarters and additional barracks and warehouses
are constructed outside)

In addition to camps/ headquarters, officer’s housing and enlisted men’s barracks the camp also had
armories, warehouses, messes, officers and enlistee’s men clubs, hospitals, commissaries, post
exchanges, recreational facilities and a chapel. The landscaping, layout and construction generally
followed standard US design.

The Construction of permanent structure in Fort William McKinley in 1905 was hailed as the second
largest military cantonment in the world (next to British cantonment in Aldershot).
Harry Allyn –the supervising architect who designed the wooden barracks at Fort McKinley in a style that
resembled the swish cottages or chalets adapted to tropics.

Architectural Inventory of the new colonial possessions

Montgomery Schuyler
- The first American architectural historian to survey the Philippine architecture
- He took notice of the distinguished qualities left by the Spanish colonies in architecture in the
Philippines saying “ The Architecture of the Philippines and of the Spanish West Indies is a great
deal better being Spanish than it would…. Had been of the United States.”
- He enumerate the distinct qualities of tropical architecture which are “ thin walls impermeable to
heat, the long dark open arcades along which one may make his way into the shades”

Urban Cleansing and the New Tropical Hygeine

The walled city of Intramuros was devalued as an obsolete fortification of the middle ages, the walls of
grey stone with parapets and bastion imposing enough picturesque, but utterly valueless against
modern artillery. The surrounding moat was singled out as grounds for malaria carrying mosquitoes.
Thus in 1902, the municipal board petitioned to open the suitable gates into the walled city as the
narrowness were drawn approaches caused great traffic congestion. The part of the wall along the river
front extending from fort Santo Domingo gate toward fort Santiago was torn down as it obstructed the
use of the river for wharf purposes and additional wharf facilities … regarded as imperative by the
commissioners.

The move to wreck the walls causes much controversy to the point of necessitating presidential
arbitration. To resolve the matter, President Theodore Roosevelt requested Architect B.R. Slaughter to
visit manila and investigate. Upon Ar. Slaughter visit he recommended to retain the wall and
transformed into circumferential park – a plan which antedated Burnham’s recommendation prescribed
in the 1906 Manila Plan. Thus, Slaughters recommendation prevailed.

Besides the walled city of intramuros, the americans found that the water and sanitary condition in the
Philippines are poor resulting to multiple plague outbreak. This leads to 14 ordinances for a more
stringent sanitary surveillance. Some of these ordinances had architectural implications that penetrated
the domestic sphere:
1. An ordinance relating to building and premises infected with bubonic plague
2. An ordinances authorizing the board of health to install the so called “ pail conservancy system”
at the expense of the property owner.
3. Ordinances relating to nipa huts
4. Ordinance regulating tenement and lodging houses
5. An ordinance prohibiting the practice of cleaning ears, scraping eyelids or barbering in the
streets, lanes, alleys and public squares.
Immediately enacted orders were to demolish dangerous and unsanitary building that were in violation
with the ordinances. The concept of toilet was introduced among dwellers of bahay kubo in Manila by
way of the pail system or cubeta. In the absence of metropolitan sewers, the system provided each
household with wooden buckets which were collected daily by the municipal excrement wagons. Public
toilet sheds were installed in congested nipa district. A Latrine System for remote areas were
developed in remote areas.
Sanitary Barrios
- A neighborhood concept introduce in 1908 which permitted nipa houses to be built on highly
regulated blocks of subdivided lots. Each sanitary block had a built in surface drainage, public
latrines, public bath houses and laundry and public water hydrants, which could be availed by the
residents free of charge. Imprints of these barrios could still be seen in Sampaloc, San Lazaro and
Vito Cruz. With the success of the sanitary barrios, the American authorities focused their efforts
to modernizing the Filipino house.

Tsalet: The Healthy Housing Alternative

Tsalet
- was a single-storey structure constructed of either entirely of wood or a combination of
ferroconcrete and wood. The living areas were maintained at an elevation between one to 1.5
meters above ground, slightly lower than the bahay kubo to discourage the placement of domestic
animals in the under floor area. The most obvious innovation of this house was its extended porch
or veranda in the principal façade, which could be accessed by either an L-shaped or T-shaped
stairway.
- Expressions in interior design continued to some stylistic variants derived from either Greek
Revivalist Neoclassicism or the long, curving, dynamic, floral rhythmic lines ofthe Art Nouveau,
domestic architecture was a product of a close collaboration between the architect/maestro de
obras and the sculptor.
- In 1912, the Bureau of Health drew up the plans for sanitary habitations using the tsalet prototype.
These plans, drafted by George H. Guerdrum, chief ofthe Division of Sanitary Engineering, were
disseminated to the public via Health Bulletin No. 1 0, Philippine Habitations ( Viviendas Filipinas),
written in English and Spanish, instructing architects, builders, house owners, and occupants of
houses in the few simple principles of sanitary house construction.
- Schemes were drawn for the general types of an urban house: single detached, semi-detached
(duplex), rowhouse apartments (accessorias), and the one-storey concrete chalet.

The Hygienic City and Its Modern Urban Facilities and Services

Changes of Public spaces and Utilities

 The Old Botanical Garden enclosure was removed and the site was converted into what is now
known as the Mehan Garden
 the Lunetå Esplanade was rehabilitated and extended out to sea
 the marshy field of Bagumbayan was drained
 the roads and pavements in the Escolta, Rosario, and other principal thoroughfares in the heart of
Binondo's business quarters were repaired and rehabilitated
 The provision of Manila's utilities and other urban services was undertaken by the Philippine
Commission as early as 1902 with the authorization of a franchise granted on a competitive
bidding to construct and maintain in the streets of Manila and its suburbs an electric street railway
and the service of electric light, heat, and power.

With the installation of electric utilities, street lights were installed and the native ponies were replaced
by electric street railway system.

Other American Improvements are:

  Efficient fire department
 A sewer system whereby the sewage, by means of pumps, is discharged into the bay more than
a kilometer and a half from the shore
 a system ofgravity waterworks whereby the city water supply was sourced from the Marikina
river about twenty-three kilometers from the city and directed into a storage reservoir
 n improvement over the outmoded Carriedo waterworks and the Deposito (the subterranean
reservoir of San Juan del Monte)

Major James F. Case

- draw the plan for the new American designed reservoir.
- The reservoir was rectangular, 225 meters long, 155 meters broad, and six meters deep. Its
capacity was fifty-four million gallons that necessitated the excavation of some 211 , 538 cubic
meters of material, placing of about 6,925 cubic meters of concrete, and the use of about 55,000
kilograms of steel. This feat of American engineering made available twenty-two million gallons of
water daily to inhabitants of Manila, or nearly a hundred gallons a day, quadrupling the water
volume from the old Carriedo water system.

Further improvement of Manila's water supply was again undertaken in 1919 with the reorganization of
the waterworks under the Metropolitan Water District, which constructed the Balara filtration Plant

Ports, Canals, and Bridges of Manila

The improvement was a necessity to provide safe anchorage and wharf facilities for freight and
passenger ships. The project of improvement of the Port of Manila was divided into four Divisions
namely:
 the improvement of the outer harbor or bay of Manila;
 the improvement of Pasig River below the Bridge of Spain (now Jones Bridge), the bar at the
entrance, the inner basin, and the canal connecting the latter with the river;
 the improvement of upper Pasig River to Laguna de Bay;
 and the building of a drawbridge across the Pasig River near its mouth, giving passage to steam
and street cars, and other vehicles and foot passengers.

With the said project the Pasig River was also widened to 76m up to the Bridge of Spain and the river's
intermediate arterial canals were deepened to 5-5 meters.

Street Naming and Toponymic Signification

For the purpose of colonial rule, municipal authorities were empowered to establish networks of streets
and place-names to make possible the identification, demarcation, and delineation of the urban space.
A well-ordered and legible system of street and place naming was necessary for the colonial authorities
as it was crucial to the surveillance function of the state, which ranged from taking census, policing,
sanitary inspection, instituting arrest, posting notices, serving summons on occupiers, and tracing the
source and spread of contagion.

Edgar Ketchum Bourne, the Insular Architect

Architect Edgar Ketchum Bourne

- an architect reared in the style of eclectic revivalism.
 - was tasked: "To make all necessary plans, specifications for construction and repairof public
buildings, and to send these plans and specifications, with estimate ofcost, through the Secretaty
of Public Instruction, to the Civil Governor for his approval, and when approved by the Governor,
shall be presented to the Commission with a requisition for an appropriation or appropriations for
execution.
- Bourne's initial works in Manila consisted mostly of extensive alterations, repairs, and additions of
existing structures owned by the Insular government. His renovation work had a strong affinity to
Hispanic designs, boldly expressed in government buildings, such as the Malacañang,
Ayuntamiento, Intendencia, Audiencia Building, Postigo Building, Oriente Building, Bilibid Prisons,
Exposition structures at the Exposition grounds in Ermita (the site now occupied by Robinson's
Place Ermita), San Lazaro Hospital, Santa Mesa Detention Hospital, and a Semaphore Station, as
well as in several wooden resort cottages in Baguio.
- He introduced the application of concrete and lime masonry and the use of cast concrete
ornaments which mimicked the familiar local building motif.
- many of his structures were constructed using these types of wood, which were prone to termite
attacks and easily deteriorated in tropical weather, none of them had survived to this day. Even his
iconic cement buildings, such as the Bureau of Science Building and the Customs House were
reduced to rubble during the last world war.
- he implored for the authorities to design standardized school architecture. He recommended the
uniform design of schoolhouses with preference for the one or two-storey structures built entirely
of wood or wood frames with masonry walls and iron roofs. According to Bourne: It is believed that
uniformity in schoolhouse construction would result in vastly simplifying the work, not only of this
bureau, but also that of the Bureau of Education as well as that of the division superintendents and
provincial boards

Bourne’s notable work

The Insular Ice Plant and Cold Storage

- Perhaps the largest of Bourne's designs
- was criticized as an "unnecessarily huge refrigerating and ice making plant for the army
commissary" in order "to provide supplies and comfort for American officers and troops not
regularly appropriated for by [the US] Congress
- was considered the first building of a permanent nature to be erected by the Americans. Its
massive brick masonry was fashioned in the Mission Revivalist style, with low-relief false arches
and pediment portals bearing the insignia of the Insular government.
- was demolished to make way for the superstructure of the Light Transit (LRT 1) in the early 1980s.
Bureau of Government Laboratories Building
- was founded under the Philippine Commission Act No. 156 dated July 1, 1901
- The Mission Revivalist edifice was devoted to modern scientific research and colonial techno-
science.
- The structure consisted of biological and chemical laboratory pavilions occupying the 24-acre site
of the old Exposition Grounds. The building served as an architectural set piece in a large tract that
was destined to become a Science Complex and University Town, which would extend from Calle
Faura to Calle Herran (now Pedro Gil) in Manila.
- served as the benchmark for succeeding government buildings and a testing ground for
industrialized building techniques and new material applications combined with the extensive use
of native hand crafting.
San Lazaro Morgue
 - This one-storey structure with concrete floors had fitted tables for laying the corpses and autopsy
tables with marble tops
- notable extensive feature was the pierced, decorative wooden screen, obviously borrowed from
the callado concept of the bahay na bato, to facilitate cross ventilation.

The Mission Style

- readily exportable architectural style, which could easily be replicated since its essential character
was expressed straightforwardly. Its bold, arched openings and expansive, plain, unadorned,
whitewashed stucco surfaces, which to a certain extent evade finely detailed craftsmanship,
rendered the style to uncomplicated reproduction.
- The stylistic essentials of the Mission Revival include: curvilinear, parapeted, or scalloped rooflines
and gabled roofs that recalled Spanish Baroque designs; round arched entrances; white or slightly
tinted, smooth, plastered walls; pyramidal terra-cotta tiled roofs; exposed roof rafters; arched
arcades and corridors; and, a dominant mirador tower.

Unable to utilize the Ayuntamiento, the seat ofcentral government, the American municipal authorities
initiated the construction of a separate municipal building in 1901. The city government purchased and
completed a half-finßhed hospital structure on filled ground at Calzada de Vidal left abandoned as a
consequence of Philippine Commission Act. No. 247, which called for the creation of a large civil
hospital. From the existing framework, Bourne designed a three-storey, Oregon pine structure fitted
with an electric elevator, electric lighting, sanitary conveniences, and a septic tank. The city hall's
iconography was modeled on the basic bahay na bato, except that the ground level was constructed of
wood fashioned in the American clapboarding technique instead of heavy stone masonry. It was
officially occupied on March 7, 1904, and for forty years, the said building, which was intended for
temporary use, served as the Manila City Hall until it deteriorated and was replaced by the more familiar
neoclassical structure of reinforced concrete with an iconic monumental clock tower in 1 941.

Notable Mission Styles

 Divisoria Market (1901),
 the Municipal Slaughterhouse (1901 ), and
 the Tondo Police Station (1904)
 Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John (1905) located on Calle Isaac Peral (now United
Nations Avenue). Designed by architects Sturgis and Barion of Boston in the Mission Style

In 1905, with the reorganization ofgovernment agencies engaged in infrastructural delivery and
architectural design, Bourne fell out of favor, resulting in the abolition of the Bureau of Architecture and
Construction of Public Buildings. This was, perhaps, catalyzed by the submission of Burnham's report
early that year, which shifted the attention of the colonial government to a much more auteur-centric
and grander urban vision. The position of Insular Architect was abolished and replaced by Consulting
Architect, a high-profile government position created to accommodate Burnham's favored architect,
William E. Parsons, who would interpret Burnham's imperial aspiration for Manila and Baguio with
fidelity and sanctity.

The Bureau of Public Works: The Nerve Center of Colonial Architectural Production

Bureau of Public Works (BPW)

- was formally organized on November 1 , 1905, pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 1407, also
known as the "Reorganization Act" passed bythe Philippine Commission on October 26, 1905.
- The Bureau's function was confined to the construction of roads and public buildings.
- the consequence of a merger between two bureaus created in, namely, the Bureau of Engineering
and Construction of Public Works under the Department of Commerce and Police, and the Bureau
of Architecture and Construction of Public Buildings under the Department of Instruction.
- Functions of the Bureau are:
o the maintenance and repair ofinsular buildings;
o advising the Governor-General, the Legislature, and the Secretary of Commerce and Police
on all matters pertaining to engineering and architecture;
o the design of all municipal and provincial improvements; and
o the supervision over architectural features of buildings, parks, streets, and improvements
throughout the islands and all infrastructure for drainage, sewers, waterworks irrigation,
and ports works