KAMILLE PATRIZIA C.

SEPIDOZA Architectural Documentation of Capis (Placuna Placenta)

in Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House

ARCHITECTURAL DOCUMENTATION OF CAPIS (PLACUNA PLACENTA)

IN JOSE P. LAUREL ANCESTRAL HOUSE

Name of Property:
Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House

Location:
1515 Peñafrancia Street corner Santo Sepulcro St., Paco, Manila (NCR)

Geographical coordinates:
Latitude 14 deg 34’ 47” N, Longitude 120 deg 59’ 49” E (After GoogleEarth Pro, 2019)

Date of declaration/designation/marker:
1998 | Historical Marker

Prepared by:
Ar. Kamille Patrizia C. Sepidoza
Museum Researcher II, Architectural Arts and Built Heritage Division, National Museum

Reviewed by:
Ar. Arnulfo F. Dado
Museum Curator II and Chief, Architectural Arts and Built Heritage Division, National Museum

Date prepared:
19 December 2019

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KAMILLE PATRIZIA C. SEPIDOZA Architectural Documentation of Capis (Placuna Placenta)
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I. Introduction

This research study focuses on the indigenous material, Capis or Placuna Placenta1, used in the architecture
of historic and heritage buildings particularly, the ancestral houses. The capis shells have been widely used
for windows during the Spanish colonial period and became one of the most distinct and beautiful
architectural detail of local structures. These window pane shells last for generations, they are durable
enough to withstand typhoon rains and winds. The translucency of the shells allow light to pass through but
still giving privacy. Back then, the Capis windows are easily repaired, it was constructed in such a way that
when a shell is damaged it can be easily replaced with a new one. Seale, 1911

The National Museum - Architectural Arts and Built Heritage Division conducted research, on-site
architectural study and documentations in various historical structures. One of the identified structures was
the Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House2, a Bahay na Bato, located in Paco, Manila. Historical information has
been gathered from various sources such as from the records of the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP) and from the Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation. The NM-AABHD team3 visited the
area on October 17, 2019 and performed on-site investigation which was limited to visual inspections,
measurements of windows and interview with a key person4.

II. Historical Background

The Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House was originally built in 1864 by a Spanish Count and is located at 1515
Peñafrancia Street corner Santo Sepulcro Street in Paco, Manila, (figure 1) thus obtaining the name, Villa
Peñafrancia. It survived the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War as well as the three (3)
strong earthquakes in July 1880, that seriously damaged many structures in Manila.

According to the Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation Record’s, the Villa Peñafrancia was bought by Jose P.
Laurel in 1926 after winning a big insurance case. This served as his family residence for 29 years from 1926
to 1955 before he moved to his retirement home in Mandaluyong. The 600 sqm. house seats on a property
consists of 1,297.10 sqm. of land. The house was inherited by his third son, Sotero H. Laurel, which he
donated to the Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation. It was left to caretakers and deteriorated but due to the
Proclamation No. 5875 by the then President, Corazon Aquino, restoration efforts led by Sotero Laurel and
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (previously known as National Historical Institute) were
made to bring back the former grandeur of the house and to honor Jose P. Laurel’s dedicated service in the
Philippines. The restoration analysis commenced in 1994 while the actual implementation started in February
1997 and was completed in March 1998.

1
Placuna Placenta, or the window pane shell is a bivalve (an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a
hinged shell) with a very translucent shell that was used traditionally in windows of Asian dwellings, commonly called Capis Shell
2
The Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House is a Level II Historic Building designated by the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines on March 8, 1998
3
The NM-AABHD team, composed of Ar. Kamille Patrizia C. Sepidoza (Museum Researcher II), Ar. Armando Arciaga III and Mr.
Erick Estonanto (Museum Technician II), conducted an on-site architectural documentation of the capis shell (Placuna placenta)
in Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House by virtue of their permit to travel (National Museum Paghahanap ng Pook ng mga Tauhan Blg.
0022-AABHD on October 17, 2019)
4
Ms. Divine Jope, Library Assistant of Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation assisted the team during their visit on Jose P. Laurel
Ancestral House
5
Proclamation No. 587, Declaring the Year 1991 as Jose P. Laurel Centennial in Consonance with the Decade on Filipino
Nationalism
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III. Architecture of Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House

There are two kinds of Bahay na Bato before 1880, first is the one that lived up to its name by using brick or
stone in all storeys and had a tile roof and another that restricted stone on the ground floor and had a steep
nipa thatched roof. Villa Peñafrancia or the Laurel House fell on the latter kind and possibly adopted the third
kind which is with a truss that supported galvanized iron sheets on post-1880 or early 19th century (figure 2).
Zialcita & Tinio Jr., 1980

The piso bajo or ground floor is made of adobe foundation and plastered adobe walls with Machuca6 tiles as
well as ornate window grilles, solid hardwood door panels and narra balustered staircase. It is presumed that
the ground floor has been reconfigured to suit the lifestyle of Laurel Family with areas such as oficina (office),
cuarto (bedrooms) and baño (bathroom). While the piso alto or second floor is dominated with wooden floors
and walls with wide capis shell windows and decorative grille works for the ventanillas7. The second floor was
still used as the living quarters where the sala mayor (main living room), cocina (kitchen), comedor (dining
room), cuarto (bedrooms) and baño (bathrooms) were located.

According to the Foundation’s records the narra balustered staircase, the machuca floor tiles at the ground
floor and second floor, kitchen area and the solid hardwood door panels, were all maintained by repairing
and restoring their looks. Malfunctioning hardware like doorknobs and hinges were searched in antique
shops. All the iron grille works were preserved on the ground floor, however, it was decided to remove the
grilles on the second floor to improve the facade. The original deteriorated molave floor planks on the second
floor had been replaced with new ones. Missing and broken capis shell windows were restored and replaced.
The frames of the windows were also updated using rollers for easy handling instead of the original tongue
and groove sliding mechanism.

To make the house more functional and serve its purpose as a museum, the Foundation decided to remove
some of the original partitions that separate the rooms while the ceilings of both floors were raised to their
maximum allowable height. These changes caused the house to appear more open and spacious. The rooms
have been air-conditioned to reduce the constant noise from vehicular traffic on Peñafrancia and Sto.
Sepulcro Streets, so aluminum sliding windows were installed in the interior. This allow the house to keep its
original appearance of the façade. Cathedral glass was also introduced to cover the opening of ventanillas
which only have grille works.

IV. Used of Capis Shells

Capis Shells on windows are typical during the Spanish Colonial Period. One of the immediate concerns
before was keeping the house cool and comfortable by manipulating the sun’s energy and keeping the air
moving in and out of the rooms. Bahay na Bato houses were designed to take advantage of cooling breezes,
so large windows were built high at one (1) meter and sometimes as wide as five (5) meters. The conchas or
lattice work panels with capis panes were drawn when there was too much wind or when the house needed
daylight during a storm. The capis panes allow natural light to pass through even if it’s closed due to the
shells’ translucent property. Zialcita & Tinio Jr., 1980

Laurel House flaunt capis shell sliding windows on the entire second floor (figure 3) with sizes that vary for
each area. The window panels typically have three (3) divisions except for the kitchen area which has only
two (2) divisions.

6
Machuca Tiles. Cement tiles with Mediterranean motifs originated from the Philippines during the 1900s.
7
Ventanillas. Small shuttered openings below the windows which provides natural ventilation.
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Sala/Cuarto (Living Room/Bedroom)

The window style in the sala/cuarto or living room/bedroom dominate the whole second floor. The set of
windows are composed of six (6) sliding panels. Each panel is 145 cm in height and 57 cm in width, with a
total span of 318 cm per set (figure 4). There are four (4) sets of six (6) paneled windows (figure 5) on front
façade facing south, another four (4) sets on left façade facing west while five (5) sets on right façade facing
east, where the bedrooms and living room are located. The rear is toned down with just three (3) sets of (3)
paneled capis shell sliding windows (figure 6) with the same dimension of panels.

The capis shells used are 40 to 45 millimeters in size (figure 7) and categorized as fourth flat or simple
fourths8. Each division has seven (7) pieces horizontally and seven (7) vertically of capis shells (figure 8),
equivalent to one hundred forty-seven (147) pieces per panel, considering the typical three (3) divisions. A
total of eleven thousand four hundred sixty-six (11,466) pieces was used on the six (6) paneled window sets
on the living room and bedrooms. Rear windows also have three (3) divisions on each panel, but the divisions
used only six (6) capis pieces vertically. With only three (3) sets of three (3) paneled windows, a total of one
thousand one hundred thirty-four (1,134) pieces was used.

Cocina (Kitchen)

The kitchen located on the northwest also has capis sliding windows but with smaller size panels (figure 9).
The kitchen windows have the same number of pieces per divisions, except that they have only two (2)
divisions per panel and each set has four (4) panels. Three (3) smaller awning panels were also seen in the
area, with four (4) pieces horizontally and seven (7) pieces vertically (figure 10) while a fixed capis shell
window on the corner have seven (7) pieces, both vertically and horizontally. There would be nine hundred
and seventeen (917) capis pieces used in the kitchen area alone.

Piso Bajo (Ground Floor)

There are also three (3) large casement capis shell windows with grille works at the bedrooms of ground floor
(figure 11), located on the east and rear side of the house. The casement windows are 181 cm in height and
a span 114 cm, with 57 cm width on each panel (figure 12). Each has two divisions on both side of the panel,
with seven (7) horizontal pieces and nine (9) vertical pieces of capis shells on each pane. A total of seven
hundred fifty-six (756) pieces were used while the lower part of the panel has wooden pane.

V. Summary and Conclusion

The Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House is admired for its capis shell windows that cover the entire second floor
of the Spanish-old house. An estimated amount of fourteen thousand two hundred seventy-three (14,273)
pieces were used for these windows. During its restoration, it could be assumed that the capis that were used
to replace the damaged ones were bought from existing local producers.

Generally, the restoration of the house supported the economic value of this indigenous material and showed
its visual as well as physical importance to the architecture of ancestral houses. Using of capis as well as
other indigenous materials relive the old practice of house construction in our country, which considers the
environmental condition of the area and the characteristics of local materials that are being utilized.

8
In trade, the square shells that are above 80 millimeters are classified as “head”. The so-called “first flat” and “first bent” or
simply “firsts” are shells that square from 75 to 80 mm., the “seconds” square from 70 to 75 mm., the “thirds” from 60 t0 70
mm. and shells that square less than 60 mm. are graded as “fourths”. Talavera, 1931
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VI. Maps, Illustrations and Photographs

Figure 1. Location of Jose P. Laurel Ancestral House in Paco, Manila (Google Maps, 2019)

Figure 2. Façade of Laurel House, facing Sepulcro St. (K.Sepidoza, 2019)

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Figure 3. Floor plan of the second floor, showing the location of capis shell windows (K.Sepidoza, 2019)

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Figure 4. Details of the typical 6-paneled window set located on sala/cuarto (K.Sepidoza, 2019)

Figure 5. Six (6) paneled capis shell window located on the living room and bedrooms (NM-AABHD, 2019)

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Figure 6. Three (3) paneled capis shell window located rear of the house facing north (NM-AABHD, 2019)

Figure 7. Size of the capis shells used in the window panes (NM-AABHD, 2019)

Figure 8. Details of each division of the Capis shell window panel (NM-AABHD, 2019)
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Figure 9. Four (4) paneled, two (2) divisions capis shell sliding window on the kitchen area (NM-AABHD, 2019)

Figure 10. Three (3) awning windows at the rear of kitchen area (NM-AABHD, 2019)

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Figure 11. The casement window located on the ground floor (NM-AABHD, 2019)

Figure 12. Details of the casement window located at the ground floor, bedrooms (K.Sepidoza, 2019)

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VII. References

Articles

Alex Y. Vergara, History gets a makeover, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 23, 1998

Isagani A. Cruz, The Peñafrancia house, Separate Opinion, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 8, 1998

Alvin Seale, The Fishery Resources of the Philippine Islands. Part IV, Miscellaneous Marine Products, The
Philippine, Journal of Science, D. General Biology, Ethnology and Anthropology, December 1911

Florencio Talavera, The Window Shell, Bureau of Science, Manila

Robert Gardner, From Bahay Kubo to Bahay na Bato to..,

http://www.aenet.org/photos/bahay.htm

Fisheries and aquaculture of window-pane shells, The Malacologist Mini-Review, The Malacological
Society of London, http://malacsoc.org.uk/the_Malacologist/MalEssays.htm

Records

Historical Summary of Peñafrancia Ancestral House, The Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation records

Identification of Significant Historical Structure, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, NHCP
(former National Historical Institute)

Books

Fernando N. Zialcita & Martin I. Tinio Jr., Philippine Ancestral Houses (1810-1930), 1980

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