FILIPINO ARCHITECTURE

INFLUENCES
Geographical Geological
- An archipelago - Rich in natural resources that are yet undeveloped
- More or less consists of about 7,641 islands - Indigenous materials which was used in the pre-Spanish
architecture were bamboo, coconut trees, palm, cogon
- With three principal regions – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grass, rattan and nipa are still abundant
- Luzon and Visayas hung on Christian heritage of the - Wood were used in building construction –Benguet and
Spaniards creating the noticeable Eurasian Segment while Mountain Provinces: pine trees; - Lowlands: reddish narra
Mindanao is the home of Muslim-the original Indo-Malays wood used for paneling and for furniture
- Broken up by the sea, which gives it one of the longest - Ilocos and Pangasinan – clay – used to manufacture sun
coastlines of any nation in the world dried and oven baked red bricks – introduced by the
Spaniards in the 16th century
- Pacific ocean at the east, Celebes Sea at the south, South
China sea / Philippine sea at the west, Luzon straight/Taiwan - Limestones, adobe stone, marble, gypsum, granite and
at the north volcanic rocks and prevalent everywhere
- Part of a western Pacific arc system that is characterized by • Limestones – Baguio, Bulacan, Laguna, La Union and Bicol
active volcanoes
• Marble – Antipolo, Bulacan and Romblon
- Strategic position makes the country the center of trade of the
Orient, citadel of Christianity and democracy in East Asia and • Coral stones – mostly in Visayas
the melting pot of the world’s races and cultures.
 INFLUENCES
Geological
Geographical
- Rich in natural resources that are yet undeveloped
- An archipelago
- Indigenous materials which was used in the pre-Spanish architecture
- More or less consists of about 7,641 islands were bamboo, coconut trees, palm, cogon grass, rattan and nipa are
still abundant
- With three principal regions – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
- Wood were used in building construction –Benguet and Mountain
- Luzon and Visayas hung on Christian heritage of the Provinces: pine trees; - Lowlands: reddish narra wood used for
Spaniards creating the noticeable Eurasian Segment while paneling and for furniture
Mindanao is the home of Muslim-the original Indo-Malays
- Ilocos and Pangasinan – clay – used to manufacture sun dried and
- Broken up by the sea, which gives it one of the longest oven baked red bricks – introduced by the Spaniards in the 16th
coastlines of any nation in the world century
- Pacific ocean at the east, Celebes Sea at the south, South - Limestones, adobe stone, marble, gypsum, granite and volcanic rocks
China sea / Philippine sea at the west, Luzon straight/Taiwan and prevalent everywhere
at the north
• Limestones – Baguio, Bulacan, Laguna, La Union and Bicol
- Part of a western Pacific arc system that is characterized by
active volcanoes • Marble – Antipolo, Bulacan and Romblon
- Strategic position makes the country the center of trade of the • Coral stones – mostly in Visayas
Orient, citadel of Christianity and democracy in East Asia and
the melting pot of the world’s races and cultures. - Riverbeds – white and gray riversand as well as riverstones
- Rich source of metals such as gold, silver, tin, iron nickel and copper,
and also coal, asbestos, chromite, manganese and lead
 INFLUENCES

Climatic - Western parts of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya,

the eastern portion of the Mountain Province,
First type: western part of the islands of Luzon, Southern Quezon, Masbate, Romblon, Northern
Mindoro, Negros and Palawan Panay, Eastern Negros, Central and Southern Cebu,
part of Northern Mindanao, and most of eastern
Dry – November to April Palawan
Wet – rest of the year Fourth Type: Rainfall more or less evenly distributed
throughout the year
Second type: No dry season; very pronounced
maximum rain period from November to - Batanes province, Northeastern Luzon, the
January. – Catanduanes, Sorsogon, the southwestern part of Camarines Norte, the western
eastern part of Albay, the eastern Mindanao part of Camarines Norte, the western part of
Camarines Sur and Albay, eastern Mindoro,
Third Type: Seasons are not pronounced – Marinduque, Western Leyte, Northern Cebu, Bohol
relatively dry from November to April and wet and most of Central, eastern and southern
during the rest of the year. Mindanao.
- Maximum rain period are not very Over 50% of the rainfall in the Philippines is
pronounced, with the short dry season lasting associated with typhoons and tropical storms.
only from one to three months. Typhoons and strongest in the oceans and they
weaken as they hit land.
 INFLUENCES
Historical
Social / Cultural
Pre-Colonial:
- The Pilipino people are not purely Malay, they
are mixture of races. The mixture of native or - Immigrants of Malay origin, food gatherers and hunters
Malay and foreigner are called meztiso
- 3000 BC, joined by advanced agricultural race from
Common traits: Indonesia
Hospitality - barangays as tribal system
Strong family ties - converted to Islam in 1300 AD
Respect for the elders - trade center of the Orient
Sentimental https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvzFRSKgVk
Values: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXzU2o-eSE
Pakikisama
Utang na loob
Kahiyaan
PRE-SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF LUZON

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER EXAMPLE

Description Petroglyphs – evidence of ancient Filipino to embellish their
habitation
- Tropical architecture
- Resided in nature
- Open and transparent
Cave – refuge place of dwellings, ready to use, needed to
- Light reclaim, minimal modification needed
Pleistocene people – offspring of ice age
Tabon cave – 30,000 years – 200 caverns
Idjang – rock- hewn fortress in the mountain summit in
Savidug, Sabtang Island, Batanes that exemplify the
technology in defense architecture of the Neolithic Ivatan
settlers.
Lean-to shelter – temporary shelter made of wooden
skeleton and vegetative or animal skin
- Early dwelling of Aeta
EXAMPLE
Treehouse – arboreal shelter – build in areas with violent
intertribal conflict and nocturnal raids are frequent
- 20 – 60 meters from the ground
Rice terraces – masterpiece of pre-modern engineering
and megalithic architecture
- Done by Ifugao
- consist of tree basic element:
• Terrace base
• Embankment
• Soil body
Austronesian culture – waterborne lifestyle
Austronesian house:
Rectangular structure elevated on ground with thatch
pitch roof
EXAMPLES

Bahay kubo – a common type of

dwelling in lowland and coastal areas
during the pre-Hispanic Philippines.
- One room house, raised above the
ground to protect the dwellers from
dampness and Humidity of the earth.
cube house –the height is equal to its
width
– square – approximately 3 to 4 meters
length.
- Made with post and lintel construction
 EXAMPLES: CORDILLERA REGION

Isneg Binuron - homes of the Isneg boatpeople

pyramidal or hipped roof annex on one or both
ends removable sidings for special occasions
- Squarish
- Elongates into a rectangle with roof that is
bowed on two sides like a boat turned upside
down.
- Elevated at approximately 1.50m above the
ground with an area of 16’-4” x 24’-0
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Kalinga Binayon - the traditional house
in an octagonal layout or plan.
- Finaryon
- painted round human figures
- roof ridge perpendicular to river
- loft or granary hides roof
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Kalinga Foruy – traditional house of
Kalinga
- Comprise of an elevated, rectangular,
one-room house of timber materials
and thick roofing mage from 8-10
layers of cut bamboo laid one above
the other
- Removable wall panel for ventilation
and the elevated floor along the
perimeter of the wall that can be used
both for seating and sleeping purposes
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Ifugao house – Fale/Bale
- Looks like a windowless pyramid of thatch
resting on four post
- With wooden cylindrical disk, halipan,
fitted on each of its four post to deter the
entry of rodents
- Framework is done using hand-hewn
timber, mortised without nails or
hardware. It can be disassembled, moved
and raised agin on a new site within a day
- Bable – settlement of an Ifugao
community, usually comprised of house
and granary built in an area that cannot be
irrigated and not following a regular
pattern or straight line.
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Bontoc – afung
- Traditional type of house in Bontoc
Mountain province comprised of
perimeter wooden walls enclosed in an
open living space, and central granaries
- Covered by a steep, thick roof that is
almost covering the perimeter wall.
Babarey village – settlement area in Bontoc
community
- Consists of : ator – men's meeting place;
afong – houses; pabafunan – boy’s
dormitory; pangis – girls dormitory; chap-
ay- open space with flat stone in circular
layout; akhamang – rice granary
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Kankanay and Ibaloi House
Baey/Babayan - elevated, square, one-
room house of the Kankanay and Ibaloi
- With four thick posts supporting a
timber upper floor and steep hip type
roofing of cogon grass.
- Lower end of the roof flared out
similar to the roof of the Bontoc and
Kalingas House
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Sagada House
Tinokbob house – one of the earliest
houses in Sagada, windowless with a
thick and steep roof intended to
withstand the cold weather condition
- One of the houses of Cordillera that is
built directly on the ground. Similar
types of houses are the Bontoc and
Nabaloi houses
- The ground space is used for eating,
sleeping, cooking, and working and
the elevated central structure is used
as granary only
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Ivatan Thatch House
Kamalid – an Ivatan type of house with its
enclosing’s lower portion built of wood,
while the upper portion is built of cogon
grass. It has a thick hip type cogon roof.
Rahaung – an Ivatan structure used as a
working area and a place of storage for
fishing implements. The structure does
not have any wall enclosure, exposing
posts that support the roof, and the thick
gable cogon roof, either with or without
gable wall, made from cogon and reeds.
Jinjin thatch house – a type of house with
a timber-framed structure which uses
reeds and cogon materials for its walls
and roof
EXAMPLES:
CORDILLERA REGION
Apayao house -
EXAMPLES MINDANAO
AND SULU REGION
Badjao house – traditional house of
the Badjao communities at Southern
Philippines comprised of windowless
one-room house of light materials
and thatch roof built above coastal
waters
EXAMPLES MINDANAO
AND SULU REGION
Samal Houses – elevated rectangular
one room structures near the coastal
waters of southern Mindanao,
Palawan, Zamboanga, and Sulu
archipelago.
Built directly on shallow water and
connected to the shore by a pantan
(bridge) or directly on solid ground
EXAMPLES MINDANAO
AND SULU REGION
Tausug House – Bay Sinug
- Traditional house of Tausug in the
Southern Philippines. It is comprised
of two or more houses on stilts that
are connected by an elevated open
space serving as house extension
EXAMPLES MINDANAO
AND SULU REGION
Yakan house – Lumah house
- traditional house of Yakans in the
mountainous interior of Basilan Island. It
is an elevated, rectangular, one-room
structure with few small windows and
protected by a high-pitch thatch roof
Interior:
1. Kokan – sleeping area 0r
Tindakan – multi-use living space
2. Pantan or simpey – porch
3. Kosina – kitchen
4. Angkap – mezzanine for girls above
sleeping area