HOA 4

History of Architecture 4
Philippine Architecture
ARC 1422 ARCH. JOSEPH P. ALCORAN
 History of Architecture 1

TOPICS

Introduction on the history of architecture

 Importance of the study of the history of architecture
 Overview of the major influences that affect architecture

Influences in the study of architectural history

 Geographical
 Geological
 Climatic
 Religious
 Social
 Political

ARC 1422 ARCH. JOSEPH P. ALCORAN

 History of Architecture 1
History of Philippine Architecture
INTRODUCTION

Understanding the roots of

Philippine architecture is an
INTERESTING ADVENTURE
as you revisit your heritage
and discover how the lives
of Filipinos from different
periods of our history were
reflected through structures of
houses, churches, mosques,
temples, government
buildings, cultural centers
and many others.
 History of Architecture 1
History of Philippine Architecture
INTRODUCTION

Architecture in the Philippines today is the

result of a natural growth enriched with the
absorption of varied influences.

It developed from the pre-colonial

influences of our neighboring Malay
brothers, continuing on to the Spanish
colonial period, the American
Commonwealth period, and the modern
contemporary times.
MALAY
As a result, the Philippines has become an
PHILIPPINE architectural MELTING POT – uniquely
ARCHITECTURE
Filipino with a tinge of the occidental.
 History of Architecture 1
History of Philippine Architecture
INTRODUCTION
Philippine Architecture is an elusive thing,
because while it makes full use of modern
technology, it is a residue of the different
overlays of foreign influences left in the
Philippines over the centuries: the early Malay
culture and vestiges of earlier Hindu
influences, the more than 300 years of
Spanish domination, the almost 50 years of
American rule, the Arab and Chinese
influences through commerce and trade over
the centuries.
What resulted may have been a hybrid, a
totally new configuration which may include a
ARCHITECT LEANDRO LOCSIN remembrance of the past, but transformed
or framed in terms of its significance today.
 History of Architecture 1
History of Philippine Architecture
INTRODUCTION SUMMARY
Philippine Architecture is an ELUSIVE THING,
because while it makes full use of modern technology,
it is a residue of the different overlays of foreign influences
left in the Philippines over the centuries: by Leandro Locsin

MALAY culture JAPANESE rule

SPANISH
HINDU influences AMERICAN rule
domination

ARAB commerce & trade CHINESE commerce & trade

 History of Architecture 1
History of Philippine Architecture
INTRODUCTION

TODAY’s RESULT
REMBEMBRANCE
OF THE PAST

HYBRID
TRANSFORMED
OR FRAMED IN
TERMS OF ITS
SIGNIFICANCE
TODAY
by Leandro Locsin
 History of Architecture 1
ARCHITECTURE
OF THE PHILIPPINES

HISTORY HERITAGE

SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD

The most prominent historic constructions in the archipelago

Influences of Philippine architecture:

INTRODUCTION
 M I L E S T O N E S
in PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE History of Architecture 1

2000-3000 B.C. BARANGAY AGRICULTURAL and

• first inhabitants of the • people lived in groups FISHING people
Philippines arrived of 30-100 families • others were nomadic

• Malay-Polynesian • headed by Datu or • Trade with mainland

descent called Raha/Hari or Lakan Asia, especially China
Austronesians
 M I L E S T O N E S
in PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE History of Architecture 1

ISLAM INTRODUCTION 1521 1898

• 14th century in Sulu • Magellan’s discovery • Philippine sovereignty
• 300 years of Spanish • United States ruled
• 15th century in rule
Mindanao 1946
• acceptance of Roman- • Philippine
Catholicism independence
 History of Architecture 1

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
made of natural materials such as wood,
vegetations & sometimes molds
The favorite material is bamboo, which is used for doors,
flooring siding, roofing & many others.

informal and designed by the owner itself

and executed with manpower provided by
his family and the community
Often influenced first by tradition, second by chance.

conform to a general pattern: steep thatched

roofs to facilitate drainage; elevated on
posts or stilts and slanted flooring
The result is generally a comfortable and functional, yet
durable and structurally stable.
 History of Architecture 1

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Decorations are aesthetics and socio-politico-

religious factors
Pig skulls and carabao horns for instance in Ifugao to
indicate social position.

used essentially as a shelter from the elements

and as a place to cook, eat and sleep
at other times, the house doubles as a social
and cultural center
It becomes the setting for weddings, wakes, death
anniversaries, religious rites and other life-cycle
celebrations.
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

HISTORY
Pre-Colonial:
• Immigration via land-bridges as early as 250,000 years ago,
and later, sea-vessels
• Immigrants of Malay origin, food gatherers and hunters
• 3000 BC, joined by advanced agricultural race from
Indonesia, with barangays as tribal system
• laws on marriage, inheritance, ownership, crime, and behavior

• elaborate animistic religion

• Indians in 4th and 5th century BC
• Chinese in 3rd and 4th century AD
• Arabs - converted some parts to Islam in 1300 AD
• Trade center of the Orient – Sulu was frequented by ships
from China, Cambodia, Sumatra, Java, India, Arabia
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY

• Archipelago of 7100 islands – mountainous

and fragmented
• 3 main island groups: Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao

• Southeast Asia, Pacific Ocean - strategic

position - in the path of Far East trade

• major earthquake and volcanic belt

• in the path of typhoons from the Pacific
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES
CLIMATE
The provinces in the low lands normally near the sea shores are hotter
compare of the places in the high lands where they established their
group in the mountains.
During the months of March to June is the dry season and
wet season is from July to October;

the rest of the month is the mixture

of both. So as the houses we're
built in accordance to what the
temperature and weather condition.

• Dry and wet season

• Typhoons and tropical
storms
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

RELIGION

• Islam

• Roman Catholicism

• Protestantism

• Aglipayan

• Iglesia ni Kristo
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

POLITICAL

The barangay was the Filipino's earliest form of

government.

It was an independent settlement consisting of thirty to one

hundred families usually situated along a river bank or at the mouth
of a river spilling out to the sea.

The term barangay was derived from the Malay word

barangay or balangay, which means sailboat.

The barangays were used to transport the early Filipinos and their
cargoes to the various sections of the Philippine archipelago.
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES
Spanish Rule:
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

Spanish Rule:

• 1521 Ferdinand Magellan landed

• 1564 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi brought Christianity
• Systematically and efficiently Christianized most part of the
country
• Introduced European institution and thought
• Economically linked Manila with Mexico and the rest of the
world - via the Spanish Galleon Trade

• Brief occupation by the British forces (1762-1764);

attempted seizure by Dutch and Chinese
• Spanish colony until 1900’s
• Nationalist movement by Jose Rizal, unsuccessful revolt by
Aguinaldo
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

American Rule:

• Islands were sold or ceded to America, as a result of

Spanish war with USA
• Continued fighting
• Democracy was introduced - allowed a self-
government called the Commonwealth Era
 History of Architecture 1
INFLUENCES

Japanese Invasion:

• December 1941
• Established a puppet government
• Liberation when Gen. McArthur returned in July 1945
• Independence in 1946

• 3rd largest English-speaking country in the world

• Citadel of Christianity and democracy in East Asia
• Mixture of races: Malay, Chinese, Spanish, American