There is a legend among seafarers that there is an Ilonggo aboard every ship in the world. Perhaps this legend traces its roots in the early pre-Hispanic days when the earliest sailors from Panay in the Visayas sailed the seas on board vessels such as the paraw. The paraw is part-outrigger canoe and part sailboat. It merges ancient shipbuilding craftsmanship and ingenuity where materials are concerned. Back then, the paraw…
The Veranda and Balcony are two very different spaces of a building that are sometimes easily interchanged. But not everyone knows that these two terms are distinct, even if some people use one term to mean the other. As a rule of thumb, the verandah is an open-air gallery with a roof attached to the outside of the building. It is usually on the Ground Floor. Meanwhile, the Balcony is…
Designed by National Artist for Architecture Francisco Mañosa, the Coconut Palace is a government building known for its concept of the coconut as the ultimate “Tree of Life.” Located inside the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, it is made of several types of Philippine hardwood as well as coconut shells. But the most interesting part of its design is the specially engineered coconut lumber which is known…
Every Filipino who knows about history knows about this balcony. Located at the famous Aguinaldo House which is now the Aguinaldo shrine, the Independence balcony is famous for its location. On this Independence balcony which was then a window, the Philippine national flag, made by Marcela Agoncillo in Hong Kong, was officially unfurled by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista as President Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence from Spain eight decades ago on June…
We’re seeing a comeback of this tile design in recent years: from supermarket floorings to restaurant motifs. Popularly known as Mediterranean-patterned tiles, Machuca tiles were introduced into Philippine design as early as 100 years ago. The idea for the hand-made cement tiles were brought from Spain to the Philippines by Machuca founder Jose Machuca y Sanchez. The motif of the tile is Mediterranean, a mixture of efflorescent patterns and geometric…
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…
