Bahay na bato

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The Rizal Shrine in Calamba is an example of bahay na bato. Rizal Shrine, Laguna.jpg
The Rizal Shrine in Calamba is an example of bahay na bato.

Bahay na bato (Filipino for "stone house"), also known in Cebuano as balay na bato or balay nga bato and in Spanish as casa Filipino,[ dubious ] 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 and Chinese traders. It is one of the many architecture throughout the Spanish Empire known as Arquitectura mestiza. The style is a hybrid of Austronesian, Spanish, and Chinese; 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 tiled or thatched with 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, East Asian hip roof, and the simpler East Asian hip-and-gable roof. Horses for carriages are housed in stables called caballerizas.

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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 Bahay na bato houses of philippines.jpg
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. [1]

History

House in Luneta with thatch roof 9382Rizal Park landmarks attractions historical memorials 09.jpg
House in Luneta with thatch roof

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 Chinese and 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. [1]

Vega Ancestral House Spanish colonial-era nipa mansion, a "1st transition bahay na bato style" house in Poblacion, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao, known for its sculpted wooden Atlases. JC Balingasag 52.JPG
Vega Ancestral House Spanish colonial-era nipa mansion, a "1st transition bahay na bato style" house in Poblacion, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao, known for its sculpted wooden Atlases.

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”. [1] 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. [1]

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. Calle Sebastian Calle Hidalgo Manila.jpg
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.

During World War II, the American and Japanese forces destroyed many of these houses.[ citation needed ]

Styles

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. [1]

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. [2] 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. [1] 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 Bahay na Bato houses.jpg
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. [1] 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. [1] 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). [1]

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. [1]

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. [1]

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. [1] 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. [1] The wooden second level façade bahay na bato are still present in the north. [1]

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.

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. [1]

Central Luzon

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. [1] Since adobe lends itself to sculpture, houses in Bulacan had façades decorated with carved flowers, leaves, and religious symbols. [1]

Bicol

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. [1]

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. [1] Throughout the Visayas, the craft of cutting stone or coral 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. [1]

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 ]

Other buildings

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.

Examples of such buildings include the University of Santo Tomas (Intramuros), Colegio de Santa Rosa Manila campus, San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Tutuban station, AMOSUP hospital, Hotel de Oriente in Binondo, Malacañang Palace, and many other church convents which are still standing today. [1]

Examples:

Parts of a bahay na bato

Facade with volada, ventanilla and capiz window Street view of Kapitan Moy Bdlg..jpg
CasaManilajf1568 04.JPG Facade with volada, ventanilla and capiz window

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 ]

Bahay na Bato interior AguinaldoShrinejf1175.JPG
Bahay na Bato interior
kama or Bed LasCasasFilipinasdeAcuzarjf7107 11.JPG
kama or Bed
Casa Oleta Pililla, Rizal Ancestral house interior. 9046Pililla, Rizal Barangays Roads 37.jpg
Casa Oleta Pililla, Rizal Ancestral house interior.
Details of intricate woodwork at the Lopez House in Balayan, Batangas Detail of Lopez House.JPG
Details of intricate woodwork at the Lopez House in Balayan, Batangas
Ground floor chamber 160Perez Ancestral House Bustos 03.jpg
Ground floor chamber

See also

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Bahay na bato via Scribd.
  2. 1 2 "List: Parts of Bahay na Bato". Filipiniana 101. March 15, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  3. Old Manila Nostalgia blog

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References

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