The báhay na bató (Filipino for "stone house"), also known in Visayan languages as baláy na bató or balay nga bato, is a type of building originating during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It is an updated version of the traditional bahay kubo of the Christianized lowlanders, known for its use of masonry in its construction, using stone and brick materials and later synthetic concrete, rather than just full organic materials of the former style. Its design has evolved throughout the ages, but still maintains the bahay kubo's architectural principle, which is adapted to the tropical climate, stormy season, and earthquake-prone environment of the whole archipelago of the Philippines, and fuses it with the influence of Spanish colonizers. It is one of the many architecture throughout the Spanish Empire known as Arquitectura mestiza. The style is a hybrid of Austronesian and Spanish architecture; and later, with early 20th-century American architecture, supporting the fact that the Philippines is a result of these cultures mixing. Its most common appearance features an elevated, overhanging wooden upper story (with balustrades, ventanillas, and capiz-shell sliding windows) standing on wooden posts in a rectangular arrangement as a foundation. The posts are placed behind Spanish-style solid stone blocks or bricks, giving the impression of a first floor. Still, the ground level contains storage rooms, cellars, shops, or other business-related functions. The second floor is the elevated residential apartment, as it is with the bahay kubo. The roof materials are either Spanish-style curving clay tiles (teja de curva)[1] or thatched with leaves (like nipa, sago palm, or cogon), with later 19th-century designs featuring galvanization. Roof styles are traditionally high pitched and include the gable roof, hip roof, and a traditional combination of both (similar to the East Asian hip-and-gable roof). Horses for carriages are housed in stables called caballerizas.
It was popular among the elite or middle-class. The 19th century was the high point of these houses’ construction, when wealthy Filipinos built them all over the archipelago.
An example of bahay na bato Philippine architecture
The same architectural style was used for Spanish-era convents, monasteries, schools, hotels, factories, and hospitals, with some of the American-era Gabaldon school buildings, all with few adjustments. This architecture was still used during the American colonization of the Philippines. After the Second World War, construction of these houses declined and eventually stopped in favor of post-World War II modern architecture.
Today, these houses are more commonly called ancestral houses, due to most ancestral homes in the Philippines being of bahay na bato architecture.
Etymology
Though the Filipino term bahay na bato means "house of stone", these houses are not entirely made up of stone; some are dominated more by wooden materials, while some more modern ones use concrete materials, in contrast to the organic materials that make up the bahay kubo. The name was applied to the architecture over generations.[2]
Precolonial Philippine architecture is based on the traditional stilt houses of the Austronesian people of Southeast Asia. The first buildings during the early years of Spanish occupation were Bahay kubo which are made of wood and bamboo materials, a type of construction with which the pre-Hispanic indigenous Filipinos had been working expertly since early times known as Austronesian architecture. Bahay kubo roofs were made of nipa palm or cogon grass. In its most basic form, the house consisted of four walls enclosing one or more rooms, with the whole structure raised above ground on stilts.[citation needed]
The Spaniards then quickly introduced Spanish architecture to the idea of building more permanent communities with the church and government as focal points inherited from the Romans. By the mid-1580s, through the efforts of Domingo Salazar, the first bishop of Manila, and of the Jesuit Antonio Sedeño, edifices began to be constructed of stone. Fr. Sedeño built the first stone building, which was the residence of Bishop Salazar.[citation needed]
By 1587, Governor General Santiago de Vera required all buildings in Manila to be built of stone. For this purpose, the indigenous Filipinos were taught how to quarry and dress stone, prepare and use mortar, and mould bricks. Thus began what has been called the first golden age of building in stone. This new community setup made construction using heavier, more permanent materials desirable. Some of these materials included bricks, mortar, tiles, and stone. Glowing accounts of towering palaces and splendid mansions reached the peninsula. However, the ambitious plans of the Spaniards were dashed in 1645 when a terrible earthquake struck Manila.[2]
The twin dangers of fire and earthquake gave rise to another type of architecture. Finding European construction styles impractical in local conditions, Spanish and Filipino builders quickly adapted the characteristics of the bahay kubo of the natives and applied it to Spanish Colonial architecture. This type of construction was soon called bahay na bato or as Jesuit Ignacio Alzina calls it, "arquitectura mestiza" or “mixed architecture”.[2] Under more than three centuries of Spanish initiative, buildings of wood, stone, and brick were constructed all over the archipelago, from the Batanes Islands in the north to Tawi-Tawi in the south, from Palawan in the west to Samar in the east.[2]
Pre-World War II Calle Sebastian (now Hidalgo Street; with the San Sebastian Church in the background), once dubbed as the most beautiful street in Manila. Manila during the early 1900s was filled with bahay na bato architecture on its streets.
Different styles depend on each house's individual appearance. For example, some bahay na bato do not have ventanillas, some do not have Capiz windows, and some lack both. Some have galvanized roofs, some have tiled roofs, and some have nipa or cogon roofs. Ground-level walls may be made of bricks, adobe, coral, or wood; modern structures typically use concrete. Although retaining the basic form, the 19th-century bahay na bato reflected changing tastes by incorporating motifs from the prevalent styles.[2]
Houses such as the Vega Ancestral House that have emerging stone works at the bottom part of the house but have almost wooden materials appearance even to the first level walls are still considered bahay na bato; the name bahay na bato was applied to this architecture over generations, as most of these houses use stone materials, contrary to the precolonial era that used little to no stones at all. The same principle applies to the nipa hut: not all nipa huts use nipa materials; some use cogon.
Though many houses are built in standard design, many houses are also mixed, arranged, patterned and/or coated with varieties of designs from different architectural styles from cultures connected to the Philippines, by any means, including Chinese, Romanesque and Classical etc. These houses could have an unprecedented mixing and matching of architectural styles, such that it can have Neogothic and Neo-Mudéjar or Moorish Revival details in the same corners – that is, on top of the Baroque.[3] Although retaining the basic form, the 19th-century bahay na bato reflected changing tastes through the incorporation of motifs from prevalent styles such as Victorian, Renaissance Revival and Neoclassical decorations which included columns, pilasters, caryatids, atlases and friezes adopted from Greco-Roman architecture, the civilizations from which Spanish culture descend. Classical traditions in these houses also appeared in Beaux-Arts later in history. The dawn of Art Nouveau also greatly influenced the mixing of styles and aesthetics of these houses. Many later bahay na bato adapted design styles such as Art Deco during the latter era of American rule, and even through the postwar period of loose restoration.[2] These mixes give the bahay na bato a distinct architectural style reflective of the Philippines' unified cultures and society.[citation needed]
Regional variants
Bahay na bato houses
The style of bahay na bato may also vary by area. Each region evolved its own building style, which was in many cases dependent on the materials available. As construction techniques were developed, quarries opened, and kilns constructed, various parts of the country began to show a preference for specific building materials.[2] As a result, bahay na bato have several variations along ethnic lines. The bahay na bato in Cebu, for example, differs from the one in Ilocos and so on.
Metro Manila
Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has some of the most diverse styles and materials of bahay na bato, ranging from the early period of Spanish colonization to the American era. Many were destroyed by World War II.[citation needed] However, the Metro Manila area still has one of the largest concentrations of bahay na bato houses.[2] Most buildings in Manila and Central Luzon were of adobe, a volcanic tuff quarried from the hills, which is entirely different from the material of the same name found in Latin America (adobe in those Hispanic countries refers to mud and straw formed into rectangular blocks which are then dried in the sun).[2]
In Manila, the largest, fanciest, and most prestigious companies eventually established themselves along the Escolta; by the second half of the 19th century it was the most important commercial district in the country. The opening of Manila as a free port encouraged British people, Germans, French people, and other foreigners to set up businesses on the Escolta and adjacent streets, and majestic bahay na bato buildings were built.[2]
A perfume factory built in the bahay na bato style along the Escolta
A Manila canal lined with bahay na bato
Northern Luzon
Northern Luzon has some of the best preserved bahay na bato in the Philippines. The unique style of the north, commonly in the Ilocos Region, usually bases its design on brick materials. This material is commonly used in bahay na bato, churches and other constructed buildings, walls, monuments and fortification of the region.[2]
Brick was the essential building material in northern Luzon; houses and churches of brick were also built in scattered areas of the archipelago, all the way down to Jolo, Sulu.[2] Unique designs of the north may include having the façade walls of the second level made up of stone material in many buildings, rather than the more common wooden second level façade in the rest of the country. However, buildings built in this style in the region remain faithful to the nipa hut principle. These non-wooden (stone) second level façade walls styles are also present in some of the bahay na bato of other regions besides the north, like the 1730 Jesuit house of Cebu in Visayas.[2] The wooden second level façade bahay na bato are still present in the north.[2]
In Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, many homeowners built both stories in brick, which was available in large quantities. With the massive walls, the volada (an overhanging balcony) disappeared in many residences, and the kitchen became an extension in stone, with vents piercing the walls to let out smoke.
The Northern Luzon variant's most common feature is brick up to the second floor facade, in contrast with the common wooden second floor facade in other provinces. This particular building is the convent of Sarrat Church in Ilocos Norte
A colonial-era house in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Calle Crisologo, Vigan
Edralin House, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte
Luna House, Badoc, Ilocos Norte
Old house, Vigan
Quema ancestral house
Ruined house in Ilocos
Laoag City Hall
Calabarzon
Calabarzon has some of the most thoroughly preserved heritage houses, built mostly using adobe stones.[citation needed] Towns along the coasts of Luzon, especially in Batangas, used roughly hewn blocks of coral and adobe stone.[2]
The bahay na bato in Bulacan and many in Central Luzon are famous for their carvings. The most notable ones are in the Malolos, in its heritage core, where ancestral houses are located.[2] Since adobe lends itself to sculpture, houses in Bulacan had façades decorated with carved flowers, leaves, and religious symbols.[2]
Many constructions in the Bicol peninsula took advantage of the abundant volcanic stone from nearby volcanoes. One characteristic of houses in Bicol is that ground-floor overhangs are common, considering the region's rainy climate. Decorations tend to be minimal for these houses. Larger towns in Bicol boast many bahay na bato homes.[2]
Painting of 1800s Nueva Caceres (modern-day Naga), with its buildings and houses
A dental clinic in Guinobatan, Albay
Manalang house, Tabaco City, Albay
Vinzon House, Daet, Camarines Norte
Juban, Sorsogon
Visayan
Most bahay na bato in Visayas uses coral stone material though many are still adobe and bricks. Cebu, Bohol, Negros, and Iloilo are famous for their bahay na bato houses.[2] Throughout the Visayas, the craft of cutting coral stones was virtually elevated into a fine art, with blocks fitting so precisely into each other that not even a razor blade could be inserted between blocks. The material was so durable that it did not have to be protected with a layer of paletada.[citation needed] Aside from bahay na bato Visayan noble settlements are also dominated by mansion-type payag (bahay kubo), which forms like a bahay na bato but uses wooden wall instead of stone walls covering the bottom floor. These arts were brought by the Visayan settlers to the coastal towns of Mindanao.[2]
Bahay na bato in Cebu with its Coral stones typical to Visayas
Victor Fernandez Gaston ancestral house, Silay, Negros
Clarin ancestral house in Bohol
Oppus ancestral house in Maasin, Leyte
Bongabong house, Alburquerque, Bohol
Casa Rocha, Bohol
Casa Faigao, Bohol
Ancestral house in Iloilo
Ancestral house in Cebu
Batanes
The Ivatan people of Batanes have a very different style of bahay na bato. As the islands of Batanes were absorbed to the colonial Philippines much later through Spanish conquest, their bahay na bato developed much later as well. Structures combined the pre-colonial Ivatan-style (presumably the jin-jin) and colonial Filipino-style bahay na bato, particularly the northern style from Ilocos and Cagayan, but with the use of thick limestone blocks instead of the bricks traditionally used in the northern mainland. In addition, structures incorporated practical methods suitable to their unique environment prone to destructive typhoons. Their variant styles include the common sinadumparan, which is similar to the mainland bahay na bato, having storage areas below and living quarters above. However, the storage floor is partially underground, acting as a basement, and the first floor serves as living quarters, appearing as a one-story house. The rakuh style, however, upholds the mainland tradition of having the first floor as storage and the second floor as living quarters, appearing as a two-storey house. The mainland bahay na bato influence is very much clear in the rakuh building.[citation needed]
Many convents, monasteries, schools, hospitals, offices, stations, etc. also adapted the bahay kubo architecture to the Spanish colonial style. As a result, many of these buildings end up being a bahay na bato as well.
The Register became part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, as amended, when it was gazetted by the Official Gazette of the Philippines on June 17, 2022.[4] The Intramuros Administration is the agency of the Philippine Government responsible for the implementation of the Register of Styles.
Intramuros in Manila is the only locality in the Philippines where, for cultural reasons, the use, height, scale, and aesthetics of all new constructions and development are pre-determined and strictly regulated under the force of a national law. The Register of Styles, as an integral part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, is the main legal document prescribing and guiding the implementation of pre-war architectural colonial styles in Intramuros.[5][6]
The Register of Styles is the first document to detail the historical styles of Intramuros. It was authored by Rancho Arcilla, who was then the Archivist of the Intramural Administration, and under the initiative of Guiller Asido, the former Administrator of Intramuros.[5] Being an integral part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, the Register of Styles is the only architectural stylebook in the Philippines with the force and potency of a national law.
By form, the urban landscape of Intramuros mostly lacked setbacks, with buildings that were mostly terraced (rowhouses). Courtyards or backyards were exceptionally well adapted to the climate. By style Intramuros was described as both vernacular and cosmopolitan. While its Church and State buildings were European in orientation, albeit adapted and localized, most of the buildings enclaved within its walls embraced tropical vernacular constructions as exemplified by the Bahay na bato. Churches, fortifications, and palaces fashioned in European styles, though few, became icons and objects of popular imagination. In contrast, the vernacular Bahay na Bato, which was adopted in majority of buildings, prevailed in terms of number of constructions. Except in certain instances, the Register of Styles prescribes tha Bahay na bato as the default style for new constructions in Intramuros.[6]
As with any vernacular architecture, different features of bahay na bato vary from building to building, and houses may have or lack certain elements from the following list:[citation needed]
Accessoria – Apartment-type dwelling characterized by common party walls shared by adjoining units with a separate door in front of each
Aparador de tres lunas – Armoire with three sections
Arko – Arch
Azotea – Open-air balcony beside the kitchen that housed a cistern (aljibe) and the bathroom, and was usually a work area
Atlas, atlantes – A column, pilaster and other decorative features in the shape of a man
Balconaje, Balcon – Balcony
Banggera – A wooden dish rack that extends outside the kitchen window. After the dishes are washed, they are placed here to be air-dried. The inverted cups are placed on the ends of the wooden sticks and the plates are placed in between or above the slats. On the far left is a tapayan/banga, an earthenware jar that keeps water cool
Bañera – Bathtub
Baño – Bathroom
Barandillas – railing or balustrade (usually wooden)
Barrigones – "Buntis" (or bombere, pregnant) grillwork on windows, to accommodate planters
Batalan – The rear part of the house used for washing and water storage, with a flooring often made of slatted bamboo; more a part of a bahay kubo (but may be present as well at the rear of a bahay na bato)
Baul mond – Traveling trunk
'Bentwood beech chairs and other furniture – Imported dark wood furniture
Brackets – Series of often diagonal braces placed in support of the volada on the second floor
Butaka – A version of silla perezosa with no leg rests
Caida – Landing on the upper entrance hall; foyer of the second floor; also called "antesala"
Calado – Lace-style fretwork or latticework used to adorn room dividers and to allow air to circulate
Capilla – Long bench, a staple item in the caida
Capital – Topmost member of a column (or pilaster) mediating between the column and the load"
Capiz windows – Typically sliding windows made with capiz shells cut into squares
Bahay na Bato interiorkama or Bed
Caryatid – A sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a Pilaster, column or a pillar etc. supporting an entablature on her head
Clerestory – Any high windows above eye level to bring outside light, fresh air, or both into the inner space
Cocina – Kitchen, which was typically built separately from the house
Colonette – A small, thin decorative column supporting a beam (horizontal timber) or lintel (beam spanning a door or window)
Comedor – Dining room
Comun – Toilet; also called "latrina"
Corbel – A projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it; also "braces"
Cornice – A ledge or generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element
Court, courtyard – A space enclosed by walls and is open to the sky; has a balcony
Cuartos – Rooms
Cuatro aguas – Hip roof, which has more corners and angles, making it stronger than the dos aguas (gable) or high-pitched roof due to stronger aerodynamics (i.e., more wind resistance); also has the advantage of providing an overhang, which is effective for protecting the house from rainwater and from direct sunlight
Dapugan – A platform in the kitchen where the kalan or clay stove is placed
Despacho – Office; also "oficina"
Dispensa – Pantry
Dos aguas – Gable or high-pitched roof
Dougong – A simplified and localized version of the ones in China
Eave – Bottom edge of a roof
Engaged column – Column in support of the roof above
Casa Oleta Pililla, Rizal Ancestral house interior.
Entresuelo – Mezzanine; literally meaning "between floors", this is the area where clients, tenants or estate managers (if the owner was a rich landowner) wait before being admitted to the oficina (office)
Escalera – Stairway
Escritorio – A large chest of drawers, commonly adorned with inlay work
Estante – Dining room cabinet where chinaware and silverware are displayed
Finial – A usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity
Fresquera – Storage room for salted food, etc.; placed on the wall of the house facing outside
Gable – The part of a wall that encloses the end of a pitched roofStairSala
Gallinera – Literally, "chicken seat"; "usually found outside the oficina of a landowner; coming from the Spanish word 'gallo' (chicken), this church bench-inspired settee is used for farmers to place chickens on the cage underneath in exchange for paying cash" (Old Manila Nostalgia blog)
Gargoyle – A carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between
Gingerbread trim, running trim – 19th-century Victorian style of fancifully cut and pierced frieze boards, scrolled brackets, sawn balusters, and braced arches, to transform simple frame cottages into one-of-a-kind homes; usually attached to the eaves to make it more decorative and to curving iron rods that help support the media agua
Kama – Four-poster bed
Kama ni Ah Tay – A once popular signature four-poster bed design that was carved by a famous Chinese furniture maker named Eduardo Ah Tay. To have this bed was considered a symbol of status during the Spanish era.[7]
Kantoneras (brackets) – Either plain calado cut-outs or fully carved embellishments usually placed where beams and columns intersect especially under the soffit or overhanging ceiling outside the house; also seen to decorate door or window openings, hallways or simply dividing spaces
Lansenas – Kitchen sideboards
Latrina – Comun
Load-bearing wall – Wall used in place of posts to bear weight
Machuca tiles (formerly known as "baldozas mosaicas") – colorful Mediterranean-style cement tiles used for the zaguan flooring, often in harlequin pattern; manufactured by the Machuca company; another brand is Majolica
Mascaron – An architectural ornament representing a face or head, human or animal, that is often grotesque or frightening
Details of intricate woodwork at the Lopez House in Balayan, Batangas
Media aguas – Canopy or roof shed, consisting of a piece of metal roof that protects the window from rain or heat; not to be confused with awning
Mirador – Lighthouse; lookout towerZaguan
Moulding, molding – A strip of material (such as wood or metal) with some design or pattern that is used as a decoration on a wall, on the edge of a table, etc.
Oratorio – Prayer room with an altar of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints
Painted metal sheet ceiling – Pressed tin or copper ceiling from maybe late Victorian to early American colonial period, to prevent decay by moisture or worms (or even mouse)
Paminggalan – A cabinet where leftover food and preserves are stored. The doors of the cabinet have slats so that they can absorb air and room temperature inside. To avoid ants from coming up and getting to the food, the legs of the cabinet are placed on containers filled with kerosene or any liquid
Pasamano – Window ledge
Persiana – Louver window
Piedra china – Chinese stone used to pave the floor of the zaguan
Pilaster – False pillar used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function
Ground floor chamber
Platera – Aparador or cabinet for kitchenware (chiefly china)
Porte cochere – Horse carriage porch or portico at the main entrance
Portico – "(From Italian) a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls"
Puerta – "Door of the entrada principal (main entrance)"
Puertita – "small cut door that is part of the puerta"
Pugon – Clay oven
Punkah – Ceiling cloth fan
Sala mayor – Main living room, a place for late-afternoon parties called tertulias and dances called "bailes"
Sala menor – Secondary living room
Sillas americanas – "American chairs, considered the Monobloc chairs of their time (due to ubiquity)"
Silla perezosa – Lazy chair
Solihiya – Typical wicker weave pattern in furniture
Stained glass – "Glass colored or stained (as by fusing metallic oxides into it) for decorative applications (as in windows)"
Transom – "Transverse horizontal structural beam or bar" often in floral tracery design
Trompe-l'œil – "A style of painting in which things are painted in a way that makes them look like real objects"
Tumba-tumba – Philippine rocking chair
Tympanum – triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window
Valance – "A length of decorative drapery hung above a window to screen the curtain fittings"
Ventana – "Wooden window panel that uses a grid pattern with flattened Capiz-shell panes"; often in sliding style, as opposed to flinging outSome Bahay na Bato are falling into abandonment.
Ventanilla – Literally 'small window'; "sliding panels between the floor and windows" to allow more air and light; "usually protected by balustrades which can either be wooden or wrought iron grills"
Volada – "An enclosed overhanging balcony"; "a gallery (along the elaborate system of windows) which protects the rooms from the heat of the sun"
Yerong pukpok – Gingerbread trim
Zaguan – Ground floor (literally "passageway" in Arabic) to accommodate horse carriages and carrozas (processional carriages)[3]
Intramuros is the 0.67-square-kilometer (0.26 sq mi) historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Spanish colonial architecture represents Spanish colonial influence on the cities and towns of its former colonies, and is still seen in the architecture as well as in the city planning aspects of conserved present-day cities. These two visible aspects of the city are connected and complementary. The 16th-century Laws of the Indies included provisions for the layout of new colonial settlements in the Americas and elsewhere.
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1993. The churches are also considered as national cultural treasures of the country.
The báhay kúbo, kubo, or payág, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. Often serving as an icon of Philippine culture, its design heavily influenced the Spanish colonial-era bahay na bato architecture.
The architecture of the Philippines reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian and American architectures.
The Quema House is the ancestral home of the Quema family in the Philippines. Built in the 1820s, it is a historic landmark in the town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur in the Philippines. The town itself was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Ancestral houses of the Philippines or Heritage Houses are homes owned and preserved by the same family for several generations as part of the Filipino family culture. It corresponds to long tradition by Filipino people of giving reverence for ancestors and elders. Houses could be a simple house to a mansion. The most common ones are the "Bahay na Bato". Some houses of prominent families had become points of interest or museums in their community because of its cultural, architectural or historical significance. These houses that are deemed of significant importance to the Filipino culture are declared Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), previously known as the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines. Preservation is of utmost importance as some ancestral houses have come into danger due to business people who buy old houses in the provinces, dismantle them then sell the parts as ancestral building materials for homeowners wishing to have the ancestral ambiance on their houses. These ancestral houses provide the current generation a look back of the country's colonial past through these old houses.
Don Catalino Rodriguez Ancestral House, also known as Villa Sariaya, is one of the three houses declared by the National Historical Institute of the Philippines as Heritage house in Sariaya, Quezon. It was owned by Don Catalino Rodriguez, Sariaya’s town Presidente from 1908 to 1909. The house occupies an entire block near the church park. Its main entrance faces south along Calle Daliz and is bounded by Calle Rizal on the west and Quezon Avenue on the east. This house has already been transformed into a Museum and visitors can choose to wear period costumes for reasonable fees and pose for souvenir photos. Don Catalino Rodriguez Ancestral House is listed as one of the Ancestral Houses in the Philippines, under Region IV-A.
The Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House is a historic house in Manila, Philippines. It is one of the three houses owned by the President of the Second Philippine Republic, José P. Laurel. It is located in 1515 Peñafrancia Street in Paco District. President Laurel purchased the house in 1926 and served as his residence, together with his wife Pacencia Hidalgo and their children, for 29 years before he transferred to his retirement home in Mandaluyong.
The Rizal Shrine in Calamba is a reproduction of the original two-story, Spanish-colonial style house in Calamba, Laguna where José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861. Rizal is regarded as one of the greatest national heroes of the Philippines.
Santa Ana is the only district in Manila which was spared from destruction during World War II. Civilians fleeing other parts of Manila sought refuge in this district during the war. Thus, many ancestral houses are still standing up to the present time. Dubbed as the "Forbes Park of Manila", some houses were owned by prominent personalities and wealthy families. The following is a list of historic houses in Santa Ana.
The Clarin Ancestral House is the residence of the Clarin family, a prominent family of politicians from Loay, Bohol, Philippines. It is arguably the most visited of all ancestral houses in Bohol, along with the President Carlos P. Garcia Heritage House in Tagbilaran.
The Nakpil-Bautista House is a bahay na bato ancestral home found in the district of Quiapo, Manila, the Philippines. It was built in 1914 by Arcadio Arellano. The house originally sat on two lots, having a total area of 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft).
The Intramuros Administration (IA) is an agency of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines that is mandated to orderly restore, administer, and develop the historic walled area of Intramuros that is situated within the modern City of Manila as well as to insure that the 16th- to 19th-century Philippine-Spanish architecture remains the general architectural style of the walled area.
The Gabaldon School Buildings, or simply the Gabaldons, were built during the American colonial era in the Philippines. They were inspired by the bahay kubo and bahay na bato, traditional houses of the Philippines. As of about 2024, there were 2,045 Gabaldon Schoolhouses in the country.
Amakan, also known as sawali in the northern Philippines, is a type of traditional woven split-bamboo mats used as walls, paneling, or wall cladding in the Philippines. They are woven into various intricate traditional patterns, often resulting in repeating diagonal, zigzag, or diamond-like shapes. The term "sawali" is more properly defined as twilled weaving patterns. The term can also be applied to baskets and banig, which also use the same weaving patterns. Amakan panels are commonly confused with pawid, which are made from thatched leaves.
Camiña Balay Nga Bato, formerly known as Avanceña House, is a 159-year-old bahay na bato in the Arevalo district, Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avanceña, for Don Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja. It was then passed on from one family to another until it came under the Camiñas family.[1] It is now owned by the fourth generation of the original owners, Gerard Camiña, former director of the Land Transportation Office in Western Visayas, and his wife, Luth Camiña. The ancestral house was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) in 2015.
In Philippine architecture, the ventanilla is a small window or opening below a larger window's casement, created—often reaching the level of the floor—to allow either additional air into a room during hot days or some air during hot nights when the main window's panes are drawn. It also allows for more light to strike the floor.
The Father Burgos House, built in 1788, is a historic house in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It was the residence of the Filipino Catholic priest Jose Burgos (1837–1872), a leader of the secularization movement, referring to the full incorporation of Filipino priests into the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines, which was dominated by Spanish friars in the past. Alongside two other Filipino priests, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, Burgos was arrested on false charges of sedition and incitement of the Cavite mutiny and executed in 1872.
The Intramuros Register of Styles is the main architectural code of Intramuros, the historic core of the City of Manila, Philippines. It became part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, as amended, when it was gazetted by the Official Gazette of the Philippines on June 17, 2022. The Intramuros Administration is the agency of the Philippine Government responsible for the implementation of the Register of Styles.
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