Posted on: September 19, 2020 Posted by: Yas D. Ocampo Comments: 0

Changing Perspectives: Why architects should learn from the barrios

Filipina Architect of the Month: Mary Catherine Diaz For Filipina architects like Cat Diaz, the cities must learn from the barrios, and not the other way around.  It’s a controversial statement, coming from someone who teaches several courses of architecture in schools like the University of Mindanao. How indeed do you question centuries and centuries of architectural history, when it works and has proven to be so effective?  But when…

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Posted on: September 17, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

Balay Ukit

Balay Ukit is a kind of transom tracery unique to the Philippines and found in pre-WWII ancestral homes. The term was coined in the book “Balay Ukit: Tropical Architecture in Pre-WWII Filipino Houses” by Maria Virginia Yap Morales.  This architectural element was an ingenious way of applying Green architecture during pre-World War II. It helped diffuse sunlight coming into the living spaces of the house while providing ventilation and aesthetic…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

Public schools and Gabaldons

If you spent your early education in public schools, chances are you’re school looked a certain way. There’s a name for this kind of schoolbuilding: the Gabaldon. Among the byproducts of American colonial rule during their time in the Philippines is their cultural and architectural influence, including how schools everywhere in the country looked. It was an objective of the American settlers to build schools and educate the Filipinos with…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

What is an Ah Tay Bed and How is it Related to the Cebuano Word “Gi-Atay”?

So, I came across this very interesting post on facebook by the Max Limpag, a journalist and blogger in Cebu City. It talked about how the word Gi-atay was from the Ah tay bed. So,in this video I will be talking about Architectural furniture specifically about the wonderful bed design called the  Ah Tay bed. We usually see this bed in old houses and maybe your grandparents still have this…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

Silongs and Sigbins: The Philippine ground floor Hallow space and its mythological connections

If you’re a Filipino, chances are you may have lived in a house that had a portion called the “silong.” Homes in the Philippines have a hollow portion at the lower level used to store farming implements, and livestock such as pigs, chickens, and dogs, root crops. Sometimes, the silong is used for the storage of firewood.  But there is another function of the Silong in terms of tropical design.…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

Four FASCINATING ARCHITECTURE FEATURES OF THE Lepa, The Sama Bajao Laut or the Philippine Seadweller’s Houseboat

If you are a Filipino, it is very likely that you have already come across the Bajau in the streets begging for food or selling used clothes. But did you know that originally they are living in the sea? Did you know that the Sama Bajau Laut’s are indigenous tribes in Southeast Asia who are seafarers and sea dwellers and have known to have practiced boat building for generations? Did…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

THE MONUMENT OF OHTA KYOZABURU: A Japanese Obelisk

Not much is known about the Japanese influence of architecture in the Philippines. However, in the Southern part of Davao City, there is one barangay that is known as Little Tokyo. This barangay is called Mintal. Mintal was historically occupied by the Japanese and the Bagobos, an indigenous tribe in Davao during the pre-war period. They lived harmoniously. It is believed that Japanese built structures in Mintal that resembled the…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

Teja de Curva

Some homes look cool (figuratively and literally) because of its choice of roofing. For example, the curved roof tiles made of clay or cement. These are actually an evolution of the Teja de Curva roof tiles that were made from clay and were carefully laid on the roof of the Bahay na Bato during the Spanish Colonial times.  Now, commonly called the pressed curved roof tile, the Teja de curva…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

The Gunu bong, the T’boli Big House

One of the most interesting indigenous homes is the T’boli Gunu Bong, the “big house,” found in Lake Sebu. The Gunu Bong is wide, owing to the practices and composition of the family units living inside the structure, and the casual observer may notice an absence of physical partitions to divide sections of the house.  The house looks like an entire roof on stilts of 2m. The roof slopes low…

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Posted on: August 3, 2020 Posted by: Arch. Gloryrose Dy-Metilla Comments: 0

The Vega House and its “Oti-ot” Atlases

Located in Poblacion, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental in Mindanao, the Vega Ancestral House is one of the 1st Transition Bahay na Bato inspired houses that have been standing throughout history, witnessing the different colonial periods of the Philippines. It has withstood an estimated 200 years of existence.  The house has sculpted wooden Atlases known as “Oti-ot” in Cebuano, which provides support to the second-floor protrusion of the house.  References:  “Heritage Structures…

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