HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 4

A RESEARCH ON PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE

WITH REGERDS TO 6 INFLUENCES OF ACRHITECTURE
BAHAY KUBO

A. Geographical
On referring to the map (Fig. 1) , it can be noted
that the Philippines is located in the south east portion
of Asia not so far from the equator. Countries lying on
this area experience hot and humid climate.
Situated in the crossroads of eastern and
western business, the Philippine archipelago serves as
the center of regional and global trade and exchange.
Because of its easy access to the South China Sea,
Celebes Sea and Pacific Ocean, its strategic position
attracted a handful of invaders ranging from the
Spaniards, Americans and the Japanese.
Figure 1. Location of the
Philippines in Southeast Asia

B. Geological
As a tropical country, Philippines has a rich biodiversity. It is mainly covered
with rainforest which consists of wide variety of vegetation. Wood is the main
material of the houses and Bahay Kubo (Fig. 2) or Nipa Hut is the most common
form of dwelling in the Philippines. Nipa Huts use woods such as narra, acacia, etc.
as the foundation and columns of the huts while bamboo and other light materials
are used for the walls. Anahaw or pawid (Palm) are used for the roofs.

Figure 2. Bahay Kubo

anahaw

bamboo

C. Climatic
The climate in the Philippines, in particular is either tropical
rainforest, tropical savanna, tropical monsoon, or humid subtropical (in higheraltitude areas) characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity
and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country, the wet season and the
dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. Based on temperature, the warmest
months of the year are March through October; the winter monsoon brings cooler
air from November to February. May is the warmest month, and January, the
coolest.
Because of the climate in the Philippines, nipa huts are elevated from the
ground. It is to avoid floods for coming inside. Light materials are also used in the ir
dwellings because of the temperature especially in summers where settlers
experience hot and dry season. It is also easy to repair and rebuild once damaged
by typhooon , floods, and earthquakes.

D. Religion
There is little evidence remaining of the nature of religion in Middle Ages of
the Philippines. The possibilities include animism, Philippine mythologies such
as Anito, and influences from Hinduism or Buddhism. The earliest pieces of
evidence that exist are archaeological finds including Hinduist or Buddhist gold
statues. The earliest written evidence comes from the Laguna Copperplate
Inscription, dated to around 900 CE, which uses the Buddhist-Hindu lunar calendar.
With the arrival of Islam in the 14th century, the older religions gradually
disappeared,
and
after
the
arrival
of
Ferdinand
Magellan
in
1521 Christianity became the dominant religion. However, some of the indigenous
Philippine tribes continue to practice animism today, and many of the traditions in
Anito have been Christianized and turned into Folk Catholicism.

E. Social and Political

Before the archipelago was colonized by the Spaniards, the Philippines had
a political system lead by either Datu, Rajah, Lakan or Sultan. The countrys social
classification was consisted of the Maginoo (royal bloods and noble people),
Timawa or Maharlika (freeman) and Alipin (peasant).
When the Spaniards came,
the settlers of the Philippines were
classified as Peninsulares (full
blood Spaniards born in Spain),
Insulares (full blood Spaniards born
in the Philippines), Mestizo de
Espaol (persons of mixed Spanish
and Austronesian descent), Indio
(full blooded Austronesian) and
Negrito (full-blooded Aeta, Batak or
Mamayanwa).

F. HISTORICAL
The prehistory of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival
of the first humans using rafts or primitive boats at least 67,000 years ago as the
2007 discovery of Callao Man suggested. Negrito tribes first inhabited the isles.
Groups of Austronesians later migrated to the islands.
Eventually various groups developed, separated into hunter-gatherer tribes,
warrior societies, petty plutocracies and maritime-oriented harbor principalities
which eventually grew into kingdoms, rajahnates, kedatuans, huangdoms and
sultanates. These small nations were either greatly influenced by
the Indian Hindu religion, language, culture, literature and philosophy from India
through many campaigns from India including South-East Asia campaign of
Rajendra Chola I, Islam from Arabia or were Sinified tributary states allied to China.
The nations included the Indianized Rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu, the dynasty
of Tondo, the august kingdoms of Maysapan and Maynila, the Kedatuan of Madjaas, the sinified Huangdom of Ma-i, the Huangdom of Pangasinan as well as the
Muslim Sultanates of Sulu, Lanao and Maguindanao. These small maritime states
flourished from the 1st millennium.[3][4] These kingdoms traded with what are now
called China, India, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The remainder of the
settlements were independent barangays allied with one of the larger states.
The first recorded visit by Europeans is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan. He
sighted Samar Island on March 16, 1521 and landed the next day
on HomonhonIsland, now part of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Spanish
colonization began with the arrival of Miguel Lpez de Legazpi's expedition on
February 13, 1565 from Mexico. He established the first permanent settlement
in Cebu. Much of the archipelago came under Spanish rule, creating the first unified
political structure known as the Philippines. Spanish colonial rule saw the
introduction of Christianity, the code of law and the oldest modern university in Asia.
The Philippines was ruled under the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain until
Mexican independence. After which, the colony was directly governed by Spain.
Spanish rule ended in 1898 with Spain's defeat in the SpanishAmerican
War. The Philippines then became a colony of the United States.
American rule was not uncontested. The Philippine Revolution had begun in
August 1896 against Spain, and after the defeat of Spain in the Battle of Manila Bay
began again in earnest, culminating in the Philippine Declaration of
Independence and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. The Philippine
American War ensued, with extensive damage and death, and ultimately resulting
in the defeat of the Philippine Republic.
The United States established the Insular Government to rule the
Philippines. In 1907, the elected Philippine Assembly was convened as the lower
house of abicameral legislature and in 1916 the U.S. Federal Government formally
promised independence in the Jones Act. The Philippine Commonwealth was
established in 1935, as a 10-year interim step prior to full independence. Before
independence, World War II began and Japan occupied the Philippines. After the
end of the war, the Treaty of Manila established an independent Philippine
Republic.

In 1972, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law.

Following the assassination of the Ninoy Aquino, Marcos held snap elections in
1986 and subsequently fled the country during the People Power Revolution which
installed Cory Aquino as president and reestablished democracy.
In the 21st century, the Philippines is the 12th most populous country of the
world, part of ASEAN, a key ally of the United States, with an economy dominated
by fishing and agriculture with a growing business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry and nearly 10% of the population abroad as overseas Filipino workers.

BAHAY KUBO
A. DEFINITION
The Bahay Kubo, Kamalig, or Nipa Hut, is a type of stilt house indigenous to
most of the lowland cultures of the Philippines. It often serves as an icon of broader
Filipino culture, or, more specifically, Filipino rural culture. Although there is no strict
definition of the Bahay Kubo and styles of construction vary throughout the
Philippine archipelago, similar conditions in Philippine lowland areas have led to
numerous characteristics "typical" of examples of Bahay Kubo.
With few exceptions arising only in modern times, most Bahay Kubo are
raised on stilts such that the living area has to be accessed through ladders. This
naturally divides the bahay kubo into three areas: the actual living area in the
middle, the area beneath it (referred to in Tagalog as the "Silong"), and the roof
space ("Bubungan" in Tagalog), which may or may not be separated from the living
area by a ceiling ("Kisame" in Tagalog).
B. STRUCTURAL
The traditional roof shape of the Bahay Kubo is tall and steeply pitched,
ending in long eaves.] A tall roof created space above the living area through which
warm air could rise, giving the Bahay Kubo a natural cooling effect even during the
hot summer season. The steep pitch allowed water to flow down quickly at the
height of the monsoon season while the long eaves gave people a limited space to
move about around the house's exterior whenever it rained The steep pitch of the
roofs are often used to explain why many Bahay Kubo survived the ash fall from the
Mt. Pinatubo eruption, when more modern houses notoriously collapsed from the
weight of the ash.
Silong
Raised up on hardwood stilts which serve as the main posts of the house,
Bahay Kubo have a Silong (the Tagalog word also means "shadow") area under the
living space for a number of reasons, the most important of which are to create a
buffer area for rising waters during floods, and to prevent pests such as rats from
getting up to the living area This section of the house is often used for storage, and
sometimes for raising farm animals,] and thus may or may not be fenced off.

Living Space
The main living area of the Bahay Kubo is designed to let in as much fresh
air and natural light as possible. Smaller Bahay Kubo will often have bamboo slat
floors which allow cool air to flow into the living space from the silong below (in
which case the Silong is not usually used for items which produce strong smells),
and the particular Bahay Kubo may be built without a kisame (ceiling) so that hot air
can rise straight into the large area just beneath the roof, and out through
strategically placed vents there.
Walls
The walls are always of light material such as wood, bamboo rods, or
bamboo mats called "sawali." As such, they tend to also let some coolness flow
naturally through them during hot times, and keep warmth in during the cold wet
season.
The cube shape distinctive of the Bahay Kubo arises from the fact that it is
easiest to pre-build the walls and then attach them to the wooden stilt-posts that
serve as the corners of the house. The construction of a Bahay Kubo is therefore
usually modular, with the wooden stilts established first, a floor frame built next,
then wall frames, and finally, the roof.
Windows
In addition, Bahay kubo are typically built with large windows, to let in more
air and natural light. The most traditional are large awning windows, held open by a
wooden rod).[2] Sliding windows are also common, made either with plain wood or
with wooden Capiz shell frames which allow some light to enter the living area even
with the windows closed. In more recent decades inexpensive jalousie windows
also became commonly used.
In larger examples, the large upper windows may be augmented with smaller
windows called Ventanillas (Spanish for "little window) underneath", which can be
opened to let in additional air on especially hot days.
Batalan
Some (but not all) Bahay Kubo, especially one built for long-term resicence,
feature a Batalan "wet area" distinct from other sections of the house - usually
jutting out somewhat from one of the walls. Sometimes at the same level as the
living area and sometimes at ground level, the Batalan can contain any combination
of cooking and dishwashing area, bathing area, and in some cases, a lavatory.
C. CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
The walls of the living area are made of light materials - with posts, walls,
and floors typically made of wood or bamboo and other light materials. Topped by a
thatched roof, often made out of nipa, anahaw or some other locally plentiful plant.

D. ETYMOLOGY
The Filipino term "Bahay Kubo" literally means "cube house", describing the
shape of the dwelling. The term "Nipa Hut", introduced during the Philippines'
American colonial era, refers to the nipa or anahaw thatching material often used
for the roofs.
E. HISTORY
Classical Period (precolonial Era)
Nipa huts were the native houses of the indigenous people of the Philippines
before the Spaniards arrived. They are still used today, especially in rural areas.
Different architectural designs are present among the different ethnolinguistic
groups in the country, although all of them conform to being stilt houses, similar to
those found in neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and other
countries of Southeast Asia.
F. COLONIAL ERA
The advent of the Spanish Colonial era introduced the idea of building more
permanent communities with the Church and Government Center as a focal point.
This new community setup made construction using heavier, more permanent
materials desirable. Finding European construction styles impractical given local
conditions, both Spanish and Filipino builders quickly adapted the characteristics of
the Bahay Kubo and applied it to Antillean houses locally known as Bahay na Bato
(Literally "stone house" in Tagalog).