NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

APLANN03
TTH – 9:20 – 11:20AM
ARC 155

QUEZON CITY’S PROJECT

HOUSING
(RESEARCH)

SUBMITTED BY:
PAMOTONGAN, JAY B.

SUBMITTED TO:
ARCH. VOLTAIRE VITUG

DATE:
NOVEMBER 22, 2018
Project Housing (1958)

The problem of congestion in Manila was already being felt as early as the 1950s. As
a solution to this problem, compounded by the devastation wrought by the war, the
government initiated a housing program with the objective of diverting part of
Manila’s population (which swelled to two million in 1958), to new satellite
communities. Most of these communities were located in the environs of Quezon
City, as proximity to Manila was a major consideration. The result was the birth of a
construction boom known as “project housing,” led by the Philippine Homesite and
Housing Corporation during the term of Mayor Nicanor Roxas. On 40 hectares of
land, more than a thousand project houses were built, which gave the communities
their names like Project 3, 4, 5, 6, et cetera.

Homes were made in the manner of a Filipino-Malay-Spanish style of architecture.

Arellano’s aesthetic married a traditional motif with modern and functional lines.
Homes on the various project sites made use of the architect’s style and took the
form of bungalows and asbestos roofing. Capiz windows were added to later
projects, but for the most part, these modest designs were typical of homes found in
projects 1, 2 and 3. The mold was modified in Project 4, a middleclass residential
site that consisted of larger homes, duplex bungalows and row houses. Residents
were expected to have extra cash, and had the wherewithal for pleasure. They could
spend their time in any one of the four theatres that mushroomed in the area. For
Tagalog movies, they flocked to the People’s Theatre. Other residents swooned over
American celluloid at the Rose Theatre.

Other projects soon emerged—6, 7 (now known as Veterans Village), and 8 were
low cost-housing numbers constructed on talahib grass and rice paddies. All were
made for informal settlers and low-salaried government employees. Quezon’s social
justice programs were finally being realized.

The Project Areas

The housing Project areas are among the first residential subdivisions in the city
developed by Presidents Quezon, Quirino, and Magsaysay:

Project 1 (Barangay Roxas or Roxas District)

Projects 2 and 3 (composed of all the Barangays named Quirino)
Project 4 ("Cubao" District)
Project 5 (Barangay E. Rodriguez)
Project 6 (Barangay Project 6)
Project 7 (Barangays Bungad and Veterans Village)
Project 8 (Barangays Bahay Toro, Baesa and Sangandaan)