The Nipa hut, or more accurately Kamalig or Bahay Kubo, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the

cultures of the Philippines.[1][2] It often serves as an icon of Philippine culture or, more specifically,
Filipino rural culture.[3] Its architectural principles gave way to many of Filipino traditional houses and
buildings that rose after the pre-colonial era. These includes the Colonial era "Bahay na Bato" which is
a noble version of Bahay Kubo with Spanish and some Chinese main architectural influence. And the
contemporary buildings such as the Coconut Palace, Sto. Niño Shrine, Cultural Center of the
Philippines and National Arts Center which are modern edfice radically adapted to its designs and
architecture.

The Filipino term Bahay Kubo literally means "cube house", describing the shape of the dwelling. The
term "Nipa Hut", introduced during the Philippines' American colonial era, refers to
the nipa or anahaw thatching material often used for the roofs. Though not all Bahay Kubo uses Nipa
materials.

History

Classical period (Pre-colonial Era)[edit]

See also: Ancestral houses of the Philippines

Nipa huts were the native houses of the indigenous people of the Philippines before
the Spaniards arrived. They were designed to endure the climate and environment of the
Philippines.[4] These structures were temporary, made from plant materials like bamboo.[5] The
accessibility of the materials made it easier to rebuild nipa huts when damaged from a storm or
earthquake.[5] They are still used today, especially in rural areas. Different architectural designs are
present among the ethnolinguistic groups in the country, although all of them are stilt houses, similar
to those found in neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries of Southeast
Asia.

Spanish colonial era Nipa Mansion, a "Proto-Bahay na bato style" house in the Philippines.

Colonial Era[edit]

The advent of the Spanish Colonial era introduced the idea of building more permanent communities
with the church and government center as a focal points. This new community setup made
construction using heavier, more permanent materials desirable. Some of these materials included
bricks, mortar, tiles and stone.[5] Finding European construction styles impractical in local conditions,
Spanish and Filipino builders quickly adapted the characteristics of the Bahay Kubo and applied it to
Antillean houses locally known as Bahay na Bato/Bahay Luma.

Bahay Na Bato[edit]
The Rizal Shrine in Calamba is an example of Bahay na bato.

Bahay na Bato or Bahay Na Luma is a noble version of Bahay Kubo with Spanish and
some Chinese influence. Its designs evolved throughout the ages, but maintains its nipa hut
architectural basis. Its most common appearance is like that of stilt nipa hut that stands on Spanish
style stone blocks or bricks as foundation instead of wood or bamboo stilts.

The Bahay na bato, the colonial Filipino house, followed the nipa hut's arrangements such as open
ventilation and elevated apartments. It was popular among the elite or middle class and integrated
the characteristics of the nipa hut with the style, culture and technology of Spanish
architecture.[4][6] The most obvious difference between the two houses would be the materials that
was used to build them. The bahay na bato was constructed out of brick and stone rather than the
traditional bamboo materials. It is a mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences. During
the 19th century, wealthy Filipinos built some fine houses, usually with solid stone foundations or
brick lower walls, and overhanging, wooden upper story/stories with balustrades Ventanillas
and capiz shell sliding windows, and a Chinese tiled roof or sometimes Nipa roof which are today
being replaced by galvanized roof. Bahay Na Bato had a rectangular plan that reflected Spanish style
integrated with Philippine traditional style.[6] During the American period of the Philippines, they still
incorporated Bahay Na Bato style, though the American Antillean houses is more liberated in design
but still keeps the Spanish Colonial designs. Today these houses are more commonly called Ancestral
houses, due to most ancestral houses in the Philippines are Bahay na bato.

Characteristics[edit]

Stilt house in Kalibo

Although there is no strict definition of the Bahay Kubo and styles of construction vary throughout the
Philippine archipelago,[8] similar conditions in Philippine lowland areas have led to characteristics
"typical" of examples of Bahay Kubo.

Three-layered structure[edit]

A nipa hut in Southern Philippines

With few exceptions arising only in modern times, most Bahay Kubo are on stilts: the living area is
accessed by ladder. This naturally divides the house into three areas: the living area in the middle, the
area beneath it (referred to in Tagalog as the silong), and the roof space (bubungan), which may or
may not be separated from the living area by a ceiling (kisame).

Roof[edit]

The traditional roof shape of the Bahay Kubo is tall and steeply pitched, ending in long leaves.[2] A tall
roof creates space above the living area through which warm air could rise, giving the Bahay Kubo a
natural cooling effect even during the hot summer season. The steep pitch allows water to flow down
quickly at the height of the monsoon season while the long eaves give people a limited space to move
about around the house's exterior when it rains.[2] The steep pitch of the roofs are often used to
explain why many Bahay Kubo survived the ash fall from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, when
more ’modern’ houses collapsed from the weight of the ash.[2]

Silong[edit]

Raised up on hardwood stilts which serve as the main posts of the house, Bahay Kubo have
a silong (the Tagalog word also means "shadow") area under the living space for a number of reasons,
the most important of which are to create a buffer area for rising waters during floods and to prevent
pests such as rats from getting up to the living area.[2] This section of the house is often used for
storage, and sometimes for raising farm animals,[8] and thus may or may not be fenced off.

Living space[edit]

The main living area is designed to let in as much fresh air and natural light as possible. Smaller Bahay
Kubo will often have bamboo slat floors which allow cool air to flow into the living space from
the silong below (in which case the silong is not usually used for items which produce strong smells)
A Bahay Kubo may be built without a kisame (ceiling) so that hot air can rise straight into the large
area just beneath the roof and out through strategically placed vents.
Modern Bajau stilt houses over the sea in Basilan

Walls[edit]

The walls are always of light material such as wood, bamboo rods, or bamboo mats called "sawali." As
such, they tend to let some coolness flow naturally through them during hot times and keep warmth
in during the cold wet season.

The cube shape distinctive of the Bahay Kubo arises from the fact that it is easiest to pre-build the
walls and then attach them to the wooden stilt-posts that serve as the corners of the house. The
construction of a Bahay Kubo is therefore usually modular, with the wooden stilts established first, a
floor frame built next, then wall frames, and finally, the roof.

Windows[edit]

Bahay kubo are typically built with large windows, to let in more air and natural light. The most
traditional are large awning windows, held open by a wooden rod.[2] Sliding windows are also
common, made either with plain wood or with wooden Capiz shell frames which allow some light to
enter the living area even with the windows closed. In more recent decades inexpensive jalousie
windows became common.

In larger examples, the large upper windows may be augmented with smaller windows
called ventanillas (Spanish for "little window") underneath, which can be opened for ventilation to let
in additional air on especially hot days.[2]

Close-up of a modern Nipa Hut

Batalan[edit]

Some Bahay Kubo, especially those built for long-term residences, feature a batalan ("wet area")
distinct from other sections of the house — usually jutting out somewhat from one of the walls.
Sometimes at the same level as the living area and sometimes at ground level, the batalan can
contain any combination of cooking and dishwashing area, bathing area and, in some cases, a
lavatory.
Construction materials[edit]

The walls of the living area are made of light materials. Posts, walls, and floors are typically made of
wood or bamboo and other light materials. The thatched roof is often made of nipa, anahaw or some
other locally plentiful plant. Thus, making it easier for the nipa huts to be moved if needed.

William Le Baron Jenney[edit]

William Le Baron Jenney

American Architect and Engineer William Le Baron Jenney visited the Philippines for 3 months in 1850.
He noticed that during the storm, the Nipa Hut structures are very "light and flexible". It only dances
and sways through the storm. This inspired him to copy the flexibility of the frame of the Nipa hut. In
1879, he built the first lighter building. And in 1884, he built the Home Insurance Building in Chicago,
the first metal-framed skyscraper in United States. Because of this, he became known as "The Father
of Modern American Skyscrapers", which became the model of all the modern skyscrapers in the
world. [3]
WILLIAM LEBARON JENNEY, SKYSCRAPER PIONEER

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

William LeBaron Jenney,聽 the son of an affluent whaling ship

owner, was born in Fairhaven, Mass. on Sept. 25, 1832. As a child of the industrial revolution, his
formative years occurred during a time of innovation, prosperity and the implementation of
engineering marvels such as textile mills, the steam engine, and bridge trusses.

Jenney had an exceptional childhood. He attended the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.,
and while only in his teens, sailed around South America to California, Hawaii and the Philippines, an
impressive feat. During his travels he was impressed and fascinated by indigenous methods of
construction, especially light-weight bamboo frames used for structures in the Philippines that could
withstand the impact of tropical storms. Later, he employed similar techniques with other materials,
such as iron and steel.
uring the late 1870s and early 1880s, Jenney designed the First Leiter Building in Chicago, a
department store for Levi Z. The building had many of the essential elements of the modern
skyscraper: great height (First Leiter was originally five stories tall, and soon expanded to an
unheard-of seven stories); an iron skeletal frame, inspired by Jenney’s early exposure to Philippine
indigenous construction; terracotta, fireproofing materials on all of its structural members; and
elevators. The Chicago building department required him to build an exterior party wall as a
traditional masonry loadbearing structure, but the floors were constructed of heavy timber. Jenney’s
approach was to use cast-iron columns encased in masonry to support steel beams bearing floor
weights. The outside walls, which were no longer weight-bearing, could then be filled with windows.

Just two years later, Jenney began work on another of the many tall buildings he would design. The
Home Insurance Building, located at Adams and LaSalle streets in Chicago, was a 10-story iron and
steel-framed high rise, with similar characteristics to the First Leiter building. The building was widely
recognized as the world’s first true skyscraper, the first fully metal-framed building, and the first to
incorporate steel as a structural material. It established Jenney as a leader in the field, which earned
him the nickname, “Father of the Skyscraper.” The Ludington Building, also in Chicago, built in
1890-1891, was the first to have a structural frame entirely made of steel and was also clad entirely in
terracotta.

Why Bahay Kubo Is Considered a Cultural Icon

Bahay kubo is considered as a cultural heritage, a symbol of togetherness. If you look inside, a
typical nipa hut has no partitions for rooms in order to accommodate the entire family. The whole
space is the dining, sleeping, and living area in one. Filipino families are known to be closed-knit
families. While in other countries, 18-year-olds are free, sometimes forced to move out of the family
house and live independently, in the Philippines, it’s the opposite. Typical Filipino parents have
difficulty letting go of their children. Even if their kids are already married and have children of their
own, they still prefer their kids to live with them.
The advantage of using lightweight materials in building bahay kubo is that it can easily be moved to
another place. If a family decides to transfer to another area within the village, usually their neighbors
will help them move the house. It is called Bayanihan, an old Filipino tradition of helping each other
without the need to ask for it in the name of friendship and camaraderie.
Bahay kubo nowadays can only be found in the province, and most of them are modernized already.
Bamboo and nipa are still the main materials, but the floor or walls are reinforced with concrete. If
you find one in the cities, it is only used as an extension of the main house where the family can
gather and bond. It also serves as a living room where the owner can entertain friends and neighbors
and talk about almost anything—even local gossip.

While the process of building bahay kubo is very simple, this small abode is a sufficient shelter for its
inhabitants, enough to protect themselves from wild animals and against various weather conditions.
If damaged, it can just easily be repaired since its materials can be found practically everywhere.