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 MaƱosa, the Coconut Palace is a government building known for its concept of the coconut as the ultimate āTree of Life.ā 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 has ever opened a history book or stood in front of a classroom map of the Philippines likely knows of this balcony. Modest in size but monumental in meaning, the Independence Balcony of the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite is etched in our collective memory as the very site where the dream of a free nation was declared. Located at the ancestral home of General Emilio Aguinaldoānow…
Weāre 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 youāve learned this in school, itās likely that you know what this thing is used for but donāt know what itās 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 ādollar-savingā because it boosted the international dollar reserves of the country. Historically, the GI sheet was first developed in 1829. Henry Palmer, the…
