Have you ever seen homes such as these? The Higaonon of the Northern Mindanao have a residential complex intricately designed on trees: The Higaonon Tree House. The structure essentially combines several smaller spaces together through catwalks. Located in some hinterlands of Agusan and Misamis Oriental, the house is characterized by a lashed sapling, nipa or cogon grass, split bamboo, rattan, and tree bark. The Higaonon Tree House is designed in…
Unless you’ve learned this in school, it’s likely that you know what this thing is used for but don’t know what it’s called. These things are called cabin hook latches: protecting Filipino homes since the 19th Century, as one online meme pronounces with pride. These latches trace their history on ships, where adjacent doors would be prevented from swinging around as the vessels bounce around waves in the open sea.…
While mostly known for their colorful sails, the vinta is in itself a feat where shipbuilding is concerned. It blends form and function, and makes use of various design influences from some of the islands in Mindanao and its neighbors. It also demonstrates ingenuity, and shows the kind of skill our early craftsmen had to build these beautiful boats. Usually, the vinta hull was made from lawaan, while other parts…
One of the most common roofing materials in the Philippines, the galvanized iron or GI sheet was introduced to the Philippines sometime in the 1950s. It was brought about to answer the need for materials for the boosting post WWII construction industry and it was also a “dollar-saving” because it boosted the international dollar reserves of the country. Historically, the GI sheet was first developed in 1829. Henry Palmer, the…
