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From "Bahay-Kubo" to "Bahay na Bato"…
The History of "Bahay na Bato"
On the latter part of the Age of Exploration, the Spaniards reached the East by traveling westward in search of spices. They docked in the Philippines, but left promptly after Ferdinand Magellan was killed in a battle among the Filipinos and the Spanish explorers. However, despite this loss, the company was still successful in that it was able to circumnavigate the world. Shortly after, many other voyages were sent to the Philippines, and thus many accounts were made of the people, its present civilization, and other details.Order custom research paper on From "Bahay-Kubo" to "Bahay na Bato"…The History of "Bahay na Bato"
On a land between the Pasig River and Manila Bay (presently Manila) Martin de Goiti found a "large and wealthy settlement of about ,000, fenced in by a log palisade, and guarded by cannons and bombardiers." The houses were made of wood, bamboo and a nipa thatch; the materials were brittle, they easily rotted, thus the houses were prone to fire. These houses are presently known as the nipa hut, or the bahay-kubo.
The first settlers built their homes similar to the Filipinos homes, believing that since the natives knew more about their land, their resources and their climate, they therefore knew the most appropriate shelter to be had. However, in 158, there was a great fire that easily devoured the city in such a short period of time that it was decided that "the city had to be of stone or none at all." Also, at that time, that cutting and hauling of timber down the Pasig River was becoming expensive because the forests were receding into the foothills of the mountains to the east.
Manila then became a city of stone. They were luxurious homes, large and spacious and costly. The houses were made of cut stone and mortar, instead of wood. The roofs were made curved red roof tiles, instead of nipa. There were large balconies that overhung and shaded the streets, iron grilles veiling many rows of windows, and roof decks called azoteas. They were aptly compared to palaces because of their majesty. Some of their features also suited the tropical weather. As mentioned, the overhanging balconies gave relief to the pedestrians below. There was a central patio that provided light to the rooms and helped in the circulation of air around the house. However, in 1645, a great earthquake ravaged the town and left it in shambles. Stone strongly resisted the tremors of the ground, which was why it fractured and eventually collapsed.
Due to the earthquakes that would shake the country regularly, they sought to find those "elements of the new architecture" that would be more appropriate to the environment and its oppressive conditions. Therefore, the houses' height was restricted to only two stories, and it was to follow the spread of the land. Only the lower part of the building was to be made out of stone while the second story, the flight and the walls, had to be made of wood. The overhanging balconies receded to form the ventanillas, or the little windows beneath the main windows. There was the use of the haligi or the wooden pillars, as they were believed to be a strong defense against the earthquakes. It as observed that even if the stone split open because of the earthquakes, the house did not completely collapse, as there was still the pillars to support it. They formed a giant frame, thus decreasing the load of the stone wall and they shuddered freely with the tremors of the earthquake. This house was known as the bahay na bato.
There is no evidence that the changes in structure were influences by the Spanish Antilles. Rather it was influenced by both the building styles in the Peninsula and the islands. Houses with wooden frames holding up walls of brick in mortar was seen in medieval Spain, and of course, the native bahay-kubo, also had those characteristics. The fusion of these styles, medieval Spain and Philippine bahay-kubo produced the new style known as bahay na bato.
The bahay na bato had many modifications to make it withstand earthquakes. The wood frames that supported the house is one modification. As mentioned earlier, the wood frames lightened the load on the stone wall, and was an added precaution should the stone still splinter during an earthquake. However, the thickness of the stone wall was decreased. The lower half of the wooden posts were placed inside the stone wall to make the foundation strong. However such was the strength that stone wall along with the posts that they kept firm during an earthquake, while the exposed upper half took most of the brunt of the earthquake. The result was either the collapse of the upper half of the house, similar to a tent collapsing, or if the entire length of the post shook, they broke their stone casing.
Along with the support modifications was the prohibition of the use of curved roof tiles. These curved roof tiles had low tolerance for earthquakes and fell or cracked under pressure. As an American who lived in the country explained, "Tiles on roofs, they say are now forbidden, since the passerby below are not willing to wear brass helmets or carry steel umbrellas to ward off a shower of those missiles started by a heavy shake." The race between the use of nipa and tiles for roofing would have been decided by one question what is it that the household feared more, fire or earthquakes? Another party won the contest, though. Galvanized iron, zinc and tin sheets were eventually used for roofing, as it was cost-effective, did not catch fire and held through an earthquake. However, the use of galvanized iron presented other problems.
Keeping the house cool was one of the immediate concerns. Temperatures reached 5 oC in the afternoon. The air was not hot but humid. Since cold air settles on the ground while hot air rises, one solution proposed was to build single story houses, however Filipinos did not like living close to the ground, as they believed the singaw and hamog caused sickness. The galvanized iron roof added to the problem as it easily conducted heat. In order to cool the house, they hipped roofs, as it radiated heat at an angle, rather directly to the inhabitants of the house. This also invited the hot air to rise into the tent-like roof. Also, the elevated ceilings helped. The ceilings were usually high as to increase the distance of the people from the hot air contained in the tent-like shelter of the roof. Some also sought to minimize the radiation of the galvanized iron roof by piling wood between the metal roof and ceiling.
To allow air to circulate in the house, the windows were built high and large. Below them, small ventanillas were built to aid also in airing the house, especially if it were raining or during the night. Zialcito and Tinio, Philippine Ancestal Houses(180)
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