Cruz, Kristelle Charlotte B.

ARC 152 July 24, 2019

In today’s generation, shelter is gradually decreasing because of the increasing population of the people
especially the impoverish ones. For that reason, building new homes are widely needed to suffice our necessity
of protection. On the other hand, the design of the structures today is mostly inspired from other countries which
lessens the identity of being Filipino. The purpose of this project is to showcase the capability of the students to
come up with the concept of adapting the Filipino styles before and apply it to the modern generation in order to
achieve the new trends with maintaining the identity of Philippines. It could help us to have convivial space to
live in.

1960’s Apartment

In Post war period, the doctrine was “Form follows function” professed by the third generation Architects,
namely, Cesar Concio, Angel Nakpil, Alfredo Luz, Otillo Arellano, Felipe Mendoza, Gabriel Formoso, and Carlo
Aguelles. The said doctrine is a principle associated with Modernist Architecture and Industrial design in the 20th
century. It is stated that the shape of the building should be primarily based upon its intended function. During
the 1960s, Architecture has seen as an avenue for Filipino-ness which highlighted literal reinterpretations of forms
from indigenous architecture.

The Architecture in 1960 stapled elements such as brise-soleil (sunbreaker), glass walls, pierced screens
and thin concrete shells. It was incorporated with some modernist formal principles by employing local materials
and referencing vernacular traditions. An Apartment in this era is called “Accessoria” where it is characterized
by common party walls shared by adjoining units with separate door each in front and is considered to be one of
the mid-century modern housing typologies.
It is characterized to have two stories where the ground floor has storefronts and separate doors for each
unit approaching the public spaces such as living and dining area the upper floor is the sleeping quarters. There
are 95,801 occupied Accessoria in this era according to the 1960 & 1970 Census of Population and Housing and
Special Releases, (1983), NCSO. The following are the terms for this type of house in 1960s:
a.) Caida – The first room you’ll see from the stairway. A spacious hall with Calado (a form of ventilation
for the caida)
b.) Sala – living room; It contains “Plateras” or cabinets. It is divided into smaller areas with non-
permanent screens called “Biombo”
c.) Comedor - Dining room, has plateras or cabinets for display of silverwares.
d.) Cocina – Kitchen with food cabinet called “Paminggalan” where rice and other food are stored.
e.) Cuarto, Alcoba or Dormitorio - Sleeping area with wooden bed and vanity table.
f.) Comun or Letrina - toilet where water closet is located. Bano, Lanu or Paliguan - bathroom with water
jar called Tapayan.
g.) Persiana – window slats to accommodate the light capiz- panneled windows
h.) Ventanilla - Lower second window
i.) Verandilla – traceries on the wall.
j.) 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.
 k.) Puerta - "Door of the entrada principal (main entrance)

1960s Apartments possessed key elements such as:

 Being in a large neighborhood with a modest-sized
 Half-acre or less backyard
 Having small living space with four to six rooms and approximately less than 9 square meters of living
space
 A picture window at the front of the home provides a view of the front street.
In this era, uses a sliding window reminiscent of Asian houses. But instead of glass, the window is covered
with locally produced Capiz shell. Moreover, houses like this also have small details around the gutters of the
roof and the windows have Baroque designs that are copied from Islamic houses.

Image by Ed Medina
The image above shows mid-1960s houses in Cavite where it is characterized by open plan spaces, metal,
brick, cinderblock walls (painted hollow blocks), fiberglass, glass jalousies, and molded plywood furniture.
Additionally, with the Philippines’ heavy American cultural influences, this style trickled down to our own
Filipino middle class and upper-middle class homes in Metro Manila and other suburban areas. Known colors in
this era were walnut stain on wood or veneer, bright red, maroon, white ducco finish, bright orange, and rust.

CHOSEN SAMPLE OF HOUSING TYPOLOGY:

 Location: Philippines, Manila, Barangay 449, Carola St
 3 door apartment 130sqm (13 x 10.15 m) (stairs at grounds)
 Prominent building materials:
- Wood
- Glass
- Metals
- Concrete
 Structural/Building method:
- Conventional building method was used to construct the house which
 Cultural/behavioral/lifestyle contexts
- Based on the images, the present context of the area
signifies sense of openness and slightly cluttered
community because Conventional
- the society belongs to a range of low-income to
middle-income families where interaction from house-
to-house is distinguished. In Cultural context, there is a
form of vernacular Architecture present which reflects
Filipinos having strong family ties and it shows an
active flow of movement due to having different
activities in the community.
 Site factors and human settlement setting
- The site can be accessed through Lacson Avenue
approaching Fajardo street going to Carola Street.
- The apartment is located at a lower-class residential area in
Sampaloc, Manila.
- The Carola street is a linear development where the
settlements are formed in a long straight line.
- The area is situated approximately 34 meters away from
Estero de Sampaloc which should filter the flood during
rainfall days. However, as seen on Figure, the estuary is
untreated due to possible causes like wastewater discharges, fecal matter, and other solid waste.
- Beside the Apartment are combination of middle-class and low-class houses as seen on the Figure.
- The exterior is not appropriately maintained as seen that the wood on the Second floor is already
peeling off while the Concrete wall at the Ground floor has marks of damages.
- There is insufficient vegetations surrounding the site.
 Summary of valuable architectural highlights and its importance (matrix)
- HIGHLIGHTS AND IMPORTANCE
 Provision of Brise-soleil
 During 1960s era this serves as a concrete sun breaker as it has seen on the figure that it is constructed
vertically.
 It offers massive comfort to users because it prevents heat and overheating directly strike into the
structure.
 Metal window grill
 It is a decorative barrier that protects the windows from hazardous objects
 Combination of wood and concrete construction
 It is significant to have concrete walls at the grounds because during daytime the heat circulates at the
upper floor and the cold air at the grounds. During nighttime, the heat circulates at the ground while the
cold air rises so wood walls preserve warmth which gives balance indoor air quality in a house.
 Dominant colors
 White stucco finish
 Rustic color applied on the gates and window grills
 Neighborhood where the site is situated
 It is located at a massive-sized neighborhood with various activities present such as: Vendor along the
street, by standers in front of each other’s house to have conversation, kids playing along the streets, and
etc. which contributes to what makes a community be identified.

Brise-soleil Metal Window grilles White paint finished wall

 General Conclusion
GENERAL CONCLUSION:

References:
 https://www.coursehero.com/file/p5lisdt/Parts-of-bahay-na-bato-Ground-floor-Zaguan-where-
carriage-and-carosas-float-for/
 https://dirp3.pids.gov.ph/ris/ms/pidsms85-7.pdf
 https://www.slideshare.net/pupoy/philippine-architecture-post-war-period
 https://www.realliving.com.ph/lifestyle/arts-culture/how-pinoy-homes-looked-like-10-50-80-100-
years-ago-a1550-20170817
 https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-Filipino-elements-on-the-Bahay-Na-Bato