History of Architecture 03 Discussion 01 November 27, 2012

Early Philippine Architecture Nipa Huts

Nipa hut or called bahay kubo is an example of vernacular architecture mostly found in tropical places like the Philippines. It is once called balai or balay. In Ifugao area it is called baleh. The term bahay kubo literally translates as cube house. Kubo or cubo is an Spanish term for a cube. Nipa huts are known for its freshness and its native aesthetics. Materials used are vernacular such as bamboo, coconut leaves (pawid) and round wood. In tropical places like the Philippines which is hot in most part of the year, it is a need to have a shelter that gives comfort in terms of passive cooling. Passive cooling is achieved in nipa huts by having large windows which literally allows volume of air to circulate the entire house, especially by having bamboo slats flooring and light non-heat absorbing roofing material. Later influenced by the Spaniards, the native nipa huts later evolved into a multi-functional dwelling. It later added materials such as adobe, terra-cotta bricks and mortar paste from lime stones. Today, especially in rural areas, nipa huts remained humble and some of them still manifests the original functional attributes of the old traditional hut. Below are the plans and parts of a typical nipa hut:

Structural parts of the bigger nipa hut. Most of parts names are from native tongue and some are from the Spanish colonizers.

Elevations of a smaller nipa-hut. Showing the batalan which doubles as kitchen and the extension of the roof.

 House on stilts in some of the tribes in Mindanao such as the Badjaos. They incorporate their living with their shelter for all of them are great fisher folks and pearl divers.

Yakan house. Showing the steep roofing and the high elevation of stilts. The Yakan also made few and small windows because they believe in this way they can repel bad spirits. Ifugao version of nipa hut. They called it baleh.

 Structural parts of the Ifugao house (baleh.

The Torogan is the

ancestral house of the upperclass Maranao in the Lanao Region of Mindanao. It is the house of the Datu and his families. It is the biggest house within the sultanate.

The Panolong. Panolongs are the most striking part of the exterior of the Torogan. Most of them are not the ends of the real beams of the house, but are attached to the exterior, in some what the same way brackets are. Panolongs may show naga (dragon) or okkir (floral) designs or the combination of both. The sarimanok is also used as a design motif.