Luzon Architecture

The architecture of the Philippines (Filipino: Arkitekturang Pilipino, Spanish: Arquitectura Filipina)
is a reflection of the country's historical and cultural heritage. Most prominent historic structures in the
archipelago are based on a mix of indigenous Austronesian, Chinese, Malay, American, and Spanish
influences.
During three hundred thirty years of Spanish colonialization, the Philippine architecture was dominated
by the Spanish influences. The Augustinian friars, along with other religious orders, built a large
number of grand churches and cathedrals all over the Philippine Islands. During this period the
traditional Filipino Bahay na bató (Filipino for "stone house") style for the large houses emerged. These
were large houses built of stone and wood combining Filipino, Spanish and Chinese style elements.

After the Philippines was ceded to the United States as a consequence of the Spanish–American War
in 1898, the architecture of the Philippines was dominated by American aesthetics. In this period, the
plan for the modern City of Manila was designed, with a large number of neoclassical architecture and
art deco buildings by famous American and Filipino architects. During World War II, large portions of
Intramuros and Manila were destroyed. Many heritage districts in the provinces were burned down by
the Japanese before the end of the war. In the reconstruction period after the Second World War,
many of the destroyed buildings were rebuilt, however, a majority of heritage structures, especially in
the provinces, were lost and never rebuilt. Most of the structures that were lost are considered a focal
properties of former heritage towns.

In the late 20th century, modern architecture with straight lines and functional aspects was introduced,
particularly in the Brutalist architecture that characterized government-built structures done in the
Marcos period. During this period many of the older structures fell into decay due to the imposition of
martial law. After the return of democracy in 1986, a new age of Philippine architecture came into
focus through modernism. Early in the 21st century, a revival of the respect for the traditional Filipino
elements in the architecture returned.

There have been proposals to establish a policy where each municipality and city will have an
ordinance mandating all constructions and reconstructions within such territory to be inclined with the
municipality or city's architecture and landscaping styles to preserve and conserve the country's dying
heritage sites, which have been demolished one at a time in a fast pace due to urbanization, culturally-
irresponsible development, and lack of towns-cape architectural vision. Such policies are used by
countries which have preserved their architectural marvels, and entire cities as a whole, for hundreds
of years, such as Italy, France, Romania, Germany, and Spain. The proposal advocates for the usage
and reinterpretations of indigenous, colonial, and modern architectural and landscaping styles that are
prevalent or used to be prevalent in a given city or municipality. The proposal aims to foster a
renaissance in Philippine landscaping and townscaping, especially in rural areas which can easily be
transformed into new architectural heritage towns within a 50-year time frame. Unfortunately, many
Philippine-based architecture and engineering experts lack the sense of preserving heritage
townscapes, such as the case in Manila, where business proposals to construct structures that are
not inclined with Manila's architectural styles have been continuously accepted and constructed by
such experts, effectively destroying Manila's architectural townscape one building at a time.
Furthermore, the singular architectural proposal has yet to be manifested into an actual policy due to
the lack of a Department of Culture. Only the city of Vigan has passed such an ordinance, which led
to its declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and awarding of various recognition for
the conservation and preservation of its unique architectural and landscaping styles. In 2016, senator
Loren Legarda filed a bill establishing the Department of Culture. The bill was introduced in the Senate
in January 2017 and is expected to be passed into law in late 2018 or early 2019. The bill is backed
by 9 other senators from different political parties, namely, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, Francis
Escudero, Juan Zubiri, Joseph Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, and
Sonny Angara. Three counterpart bills that aim to establish a Department of Culture has also been
filed in the House of Representatives, authored by Christopher de Venecia, Evilina Escudero, and
Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado.
 Luzon Weaving

In general it can be said that southern Philippine and Indonesian textiles are more
splendid than Northern Luzon highland textiles, and collectors of these are therefore often
characterized as esoteric. The interest in cotton textiles from the north invariably is an offshoot
of a fascination with the complex and intriguing cultures of the Cordillera mountains of Northern
Luzon. For the select few who have delved into this field, and who have developed a respect for
the way of thinking and behaving of these peoples, it is a privilege to own a small piece of this
vanishing culture - a culture associated with bravery, tenacity, intelligence, beauty and harmony
with nature.

Early examples of weaving consisted of basketry weaves, knotting and braiding, using vegetable
fibers such as cane (rattan), nito, and bark (rammie). The Indonesian style back strap loom was
first taken into use by the adjacent coastal people (Ilocanos), from where it spread into Abra
(Itneg), Kalinga, and the Cagayan valley (Ibanag and Gaddang) to the east. At this time all these
people were spirit and ancestor worshippers. When the first Spanish colonizers arrived in Ilocos
in the 1570's they discovered that white cotton textiles were widespread. Such textiles were
probably similar to examples collected in Abra during the 19th century. Cotton was introduced
into Ilocos by Chinese traders during the late Sung dynasty. Ilocano textiles were widely traded
in most areas among the highlanders, and regional preferences developed. top

Among the Isneg and Banao in the northern part of the mountains, weaving was never adopted.
The Itneg, eastern Kalinga, and Gaddang appear to have been the first to adopt weaving, but
when this occurred is uncertain. The Ifugao, Bontoc, southwestern Kalinga, Lepanto and
Kankanay are thought to have adopted weaving relatively recently, perhaps only in the 18th
century. Their weaving styles are distinctively different, and this must indicate the existence of a
south-eastern "valley" weaving tradition (Issinay), versus the aforementioned northern tradition
(Ilocano). The Ibaloy and the Ilongot peoples in the southern highlands did not weave. top

In addition to plain weave, the northern weavers produce a variety of twill weaves. Textiles are
embellished with knotted selvages and seams, floating warps and complimentary wefts.
Embroidery is also used. An 16th century textile thought to be woven by an Ilocano in Iloilo is of
a pinilian type with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures reminiscent of Chinese and
possibly Indonesian design. A great variety of pinilian blankets are found from Ilocos to Kalinga.
The most intricate ones are now found in Abra, while only two simple types are used in Kalinga.
In Ilocos the optical binakol design had become very popular by the end of the 19th century, and
these were also woven in Abra and traded with the Kalinga. The binakol design is probably copied
from eastern European textiles. Among the Kalinga and Gaddang fancy striped designs were
prevalent. One such is the gilamat. This textile is originally from Lubuagan, but it is popular all
over Kalinga. The weave of the modern gilamat is plain, albeit an old type is twilled and decorated
with silk embroidery rather than cotton, an indication of class delineation. The stripes of Kalinga
and Gaddang textiles are of a great variety, ranging from plain to intricate floating warps, "eye"
designs and beautiful colorful twills. Although the designs are often symbolic, they are generally
abstract and geometric in nature. Gaddang textiles are usually decorated with little seed beads.
top

Textiles from the southern highland groups are plain weave decorated with a complicated
figurative warp stripe design and supplementary warp at the end portions of some textiles. In
rare instances ikat designs are found in Ifugao, and this can be explained by the proximity to the
Issinay.

Vegetable dyes used were narra red, "black" red, indigo, green (gray), amber, yellow, and brown.
Mineral dyes from Ilocos gradually replaced vegetable dyes in the first half of the 20th century.
However, these mineral dyes were limited to a few hues, namely red, indigo, yellow, green and
brown. Brown was mostly used together with natural thread (white), and rarely used together
with many other colors. Imported chemical dyes made stronger inroads in the second half of the
20th century. top

Garments woven were skirts, loincloths, sashes, capes, headbands, blankets, blouses and
undershirts. Pouches and bags were also made. Short pants were made in the Christianized part
of Abra.

Before textiles were used, people wore bark cloth garments in the highlands. These were made
from pounded bark and could be considered a remote cousin of felt cloth. Textiles were initially
only worn by the wealthy. As such they were prestigious, and many were reserved for special
functions such as birth, kanyaws (fiestas), and burial. As with many other material objects such
as gongs and wooden sculptures, textiles could be inhabited by spirits. Some designs are specially
created to trap or ward off spirits. Imperfection in design (or signatures) were deliberately added
to create portals for the spirits to enter and depart the textile. This is particularly important with
blankets, and probably all of the older blanket designs are associated with specific functions and
uses.

The Province of Kalinga (Ilokano: Probinsya ti Kalinga, Tagalog: Lalawigan ng

Kalinga, Tagalog pronunciation: [kɐˈliŋɐ]) is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the
Cordillera Administrative Region of Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to
the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the
north. Kalinga and Apayao are the result of the 1995 partitioning of Kalinga-Apayao; this was to
better service the respective needs of the various indigenous peoples in the area. The people of
Kalinga are great weavers. Their cloth and basketry are among the finest products in the region.
Kalinga textiles characterized by dominant red stripes and motif of geometric patterns as well as
nature symbols interlaced with white, yellow, and black fibers.

The term Ifugao means people from the hills that is why non-Cordillerans called them
Igorots but they prefer the first name. Their arts and culture revolves around rice as a prestigious
crop. Their legends tell that the first grains of rice is given to men by Gods. The Ifugao weave a
loincloth called IKAT which is actually an Indonesian term, meaning to bind together. Their motif
is characterized by diamond stripes of white and red stripes. The dominant color is blue.
 Luzon Paintings

It’s a great time to swing by the National Museum. For history buffs, War and Dissent looks at
the Philippine-American War from 1898 to 1915 and examines both sides of the conflict in
meticulous detail. For fashionistas, the Slim Retrospective offers a rare glimpse of Salvacion Lim
Higgins’ exquisite creations from the 1950s to the 1990s. And for us art addicts, the Philippine
Art Awards exhibit of winners starts today.

To recap, the Philippine Art Awards started 15 years ago under the aegis of Philip Morris
Philippines Manufacturing Inc. Then, the Philippine grand prize winner would compete against
other national winners from the ASEAN region. In 2005, despite the cancellation of the ASEAN
Art Awards, Philip Morris opted to continue their sponsorship of the Philippine competition. Held
every other year, the PAA continues to be the most prestigious of the art derbies in the
country. Past winners include Gabby Barredo, Alfredo Esquillo Jr., Kawayan de Guia, Nona
Garcia, Joy Mallari, Winner Jumalon, Ambie Abaño, Marina Cruz.

As has been the case since 2007, ten winners from four regions will compete for the Grand Prize
and five Juror’s Choice prizes. Today, judges announced the ten winners from Metro Manila and
the ten winners from the Luzon Region. By the first quarter of 2010, the winning works from the
Visayas and Mindanao move to Manila, also to the National Museum, for the National
Competition.

I thought it an exciting development that the competition this year opened up to multi-
dimensional pieces. However, as can be seen from the roster, most artists opted to stick to
paintings. How interesting for the competition should the forthcoming years yield more
adventurous work. The PAA offers a venue for the daring and our artists should rise up to the
challenge!

The 2007-2008 awards produced an outstanding batch of regional and national winners that may
prove difficult to match. I did spot gems in this group of Metro Manila and Luzon winners.
Hopefully, the Visayas and Mindanao winners do not disappoint.