HISTORY OF

ARCHITECTURE 4
PRE COLONIAL AND VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
BEGINNING
• Architecture began as
response to:
• Nature
• Violent Predator
• Shelter evolution of pre
colonized man
• Cave
• Tent like shelter (fibro
constructive technology)
HOUSE, EARLY FORM
Balangay, boathouse
• An impressive boat, approximately 25 meters in length and carbon-dated
to 320 AD, and that was built entirely of wood and used for seafaring by
the ancient kingdom of Butuan.
Lungib/kweba, cave
• A natural chamber on the side of a hill utilized as one of the earliest
forms of dwelling.
Pinanahang, Lean-to
• A form of dwelling common to the Negritos, an ethnic group regarded as
wanderes, hunters, and farmers practicing slash and burn agriculture
even during the hispanic period.
Tree house
• A single-room house of light materials that are either integrally build on
high tress or above the tree stump serving as the main house‟s support
CAVE DWELLING AS THE EARLY HUMAN
SHELTER
Cave
 earliest form of human shelter
 requires minimal site work and
modification

Pleistocene People
 Philippine‟s earliest cave dwellers. (ice
age offspring)

Tabon Cave
• Most antiquated cave periodically dwelt
by prehistoric family 30,000 yrs ago.
• Found in Lipuun Point, South west of
Palawan.
TABON CAVE
• Covers 138 hectares of rugged cliffs
and deep slopes
• Was named “Tabon” after the large
footed bird that lays eggs in huge
holes it digs into cave floors, many
of which found in cave.
TAU’T BATU
• People occupying the south of Palawan who continuous lives the primeval practice of living in caves.
• Datag – a basic sleeping platform
• Since the cave accommodates multiple family, each family unit is defined by individual datag
EPHEMERAL PORTABLE ARCHITECTURE
• Ephemeral - lasting for a very short time

• Ephemeral architecture - is an ancient part

of our architectural heritage, stretching back
to the vernacular works of nomadic cultures.

• Example of Ephemeral Architecture

• Lean – to
• dait-dait
• Hawong
EPHEMERALL
ARCHITECTURE
Lean-to / Pinanahang – botanic
sheild of the Agta of Palanan. Built
with strong but light branches and
palm fronds.

Dait-dait – is a simple windscreen

used by the Mamanua of
northeastern Mindanao when
hunting. Built with wild banana,
coconut fronds or grass usually
lashed out with rattan.

Hawong – by Pinatubo Aeta.

Usually constructed with a ridge
pole supported by forked stakes
or limbs. It forms two sloping
sides with one or both end open.
ARBOREAL SHELTER
Arboreal means living in trees.
Tree houses in the philippines are usually found in areas where violent intertribal conflicts or nocturnal raids are frequent.
Tinguian of Palan, located at northwest of Abra, has two shelters. The daytime shelter was a small hut while the nocturnal abode is
called alligang.
TREE DWELLERS IN THE PHILIPPINES
• Gaddang and Kalinga of Luzon
• Manobos and Mandaya of Mindanao
• Moros of lake Lanao
• Negritos of Bukidnon and North-central Mindanao
• Bagobo of Davao
• Mandaya
• Bilaan
• Ilongot
RICE TERRACES
• Prehistoric Mega structure
• Found in the cordillera region at an
altitude of anywhere from 500-
1600 m.
• May have been used for cultivation
of taro and other crops which
continue to be an important staple
for a part of region.
• Walls ht = 6m (sometimes 16m)
RICE TERRACES PARTS bawang
pumpudungan banong

• Bawang, enclosed pond-field • Adog, rough gravel fill inado topeng lobong
surface
• Gonad, foundation stone
• Pumpudungan, property
marker • „ahbubul, submerged water guheng
source
• Inado, vegetable mulch
mounds • „anul, drainage conduit
luyo

• Banong, dike/pond-field rim • Gangal, course fills/small

stone
• topeng, stone retaining wall haguntal
• „aldoh, second-course
gonad
• Lobong, water walling stone
• Guheng, spillway • Doplah, bedrock/original „ahbubul adog
valley-floor earth
• Luyo, worked pond-field soil
• Haguntal, hard earth fill „aldoh gangal „anul

doplah
RICE TERRACES ZONING
Bable – The settlement of Ifugao
Community which compromise of bale/fale
and granary

Bale/Fale

Alang (granary)

Betel Palm
RICE TERRACES ZONING
PHILIPPINE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
 Broadly applied to denote indigenous, pock,
tribal, ethnic/traditional architecture found
among the different ethnolinguistic.
Ethnolinguistic
• Refers to the grammar, syntax, diction in
expressing buildings in a locale, while
signifying the diverse range of building
tradition in a region.
• From Latin “Vernaculus” w/c means native.
5 PRINICIPLE FEATURES VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
1. The artisans/ these planning to live in the bldgs. Are non-pro arch‟ts/engrs.
2. There is consonant adaptation using natural materials to the geographical environment
3. Actual process of construction involves intuitive thinking, done w/o blue prints and is open to
later modification
4. There is balance bet. Social/economic functionality & aesthetic features
5. Archt. Patterns & style are subject to a protracted evolution of traditional styles specific to an
ethnic domain.
TAKE NOTE
*Vernacular architecture symbolizes cultural, embodies the
communal & concretizes abstract.
* exist environmental context
AUSTRONESIAN HOUSE
• Consist of pile construction on stilts, raised living floor & a pitch roof w/ extended ridges.

MATERIALS TECHNIQUES
• Wood • Palm leaves • Post-beam method
• Bamboo • Grass thatch • Jointing
• Plant fibers • Box trame
SAMAL HOUSE
• Traditional samal houses are
elevated rectangular one-room
structures near the coastal waters
of Southern Mindanao, Palawan,
Zamboanga, and Sulu archipelago.
• The houses are clustered in groups
by kinship, with 100 to 500 members
per group, and affiliated with the
nearest mosque.
• Coastal house has ample space
underneath the house for the
family‟s pelang (boat) and fishing
paraphernalia.
BADJAO HOUSE
• Badjao is the second largest
communityin the Sulu Archipelago
• Houses are built separately in
staggard pattern but connected the
neighborhood thru Jambatan
(Footbridge) and own taytayan
(catwalk) and to the waters by
Harunan
RITUALS/ ORDERED SPACE
Tausug house
• Recreates the creation according to the genesis myth
Panay house
• Erection of post is sequenced to systematically slay the cosmic serpent (Bakukaka-
force of evil)
TAUSUG HOUSE
Bay sinug, House
• The traditional house of the tausog in
the Southern Philippines
• Tausog or “suluk” is the foremost
ethnic group in Sulu then followed by
the Badjao (Bajau, Bajao, Badyaw,
Samal or Sama), the yakan, the
Kagayan, the Iranun (Ilanun) , and the
Kalibugan (Subanun or Suba’ anun)
• The word tausug is said to come from
the words “Tau” (people) and “sug”
(tide) hence they are the “people of the
tide”
TAUSUG HOUSE
TAUSUG HOUSE
IVATAN THATCH HOUSE
• Low houses of wood, bamboo & thatch.
• Monsoon Frontier
Jinjin
• A type of house with a timber-framed
structure which uses reeds and cogon
materials for its walls and roofs.
Kamadid
• An ivatan type of house with its
enclosing‟s lower portion built of wood,
while the upper portion is built og
cogon grass.
Rahaung
• An ivatan structure used as a working
area and a place of storage for fishing
implements
 IVATAN STONE HOUSE
Sinadumparan, stone house
• A type of ivatan house usually built parallel to the road
and with stone masonry wall and thick thatch roof.
• Traditionally, the main house with paya (shelves) is a
one-room space used for sleeping and living while the
kitchen is an independent structure.
Sinadumparan
• is provided with windows only on the southern and
western side due to the strong winds coming from the
northern and north eastern areas during typhoons.
Kabahayan, village
• The housing section of a Batanes town of community
Other types of Ivatan Stone houses:
Sinadumparan a binedbaran
• A variation of the sinadumparan with the thick gable-end cogon
roof exposed or built above the masonry gable wall.
Mayhurahed
• An ivatan house with thick cogon roof, the lower portion of the
enclosing wall is of masonry while the upper portion is
constructed using cogon grass securely tied to the wall studs.
Chivuvuhung
• An ivatan house having its three sides made fromcogon grass
securely tied to the wall studs while the remaining wall is
erected out of stone masonry.
IVATAN STONE HOUSE
IVATAN STONE HOUSE
CORDILLERA HOUSE
• Vary in size & shape
• Common functions:
- Provision of shelter from cold
- Protection from dampness and humidity (w/c can destroy grains)
- Offers defense/protection from hostile tribesman, wild animals & Vermin
- Homes are designed in relation to terrain to mountains.

 ISNEG  KALINGA  BONTOC  IFUGAO  KANKANAY

KALINGA HOUSE
Foruy
 The traditional house of the kalinga
 Comprised of elevated, rectangular
one-room house.
 Feature of the house is the
removable panel and the elevated
floor along the perimeter of the wall
KALINGA HOUSE
Binayon/finaryon, House
• The traditional house in an octagonal
layout or plan. In apayao, this house
is called binuron.
BONTOC HOUSE
Afung, house
• The traditional type of house in Bontoc,
Mountain Province comprised of
perimeter wooden walls enclosed in an
open living space, and central
granaries.
Babarey, village
• The village usually consists of ator
(men‟s meeting place), afong (houses),
pabafunan (boy‟s dormitory), chap-ay
(open space with flat stone in circular
layout), and ahkamang (rice granary)
BONTOC HOUSE
Li-im, eating area
• The most spacious in the house since it contains
only an elevated stick rack (patyay) suspended
on the wall, and the water jar (panannom) in one
corner
Tap-an, pounding area
• The section of the house with stone pavement
and a pounding hole where the task of pounding
rice is done.
Ang-an, sleeping area
• The area utilized for sleeping with atag (reed
mat) as bed for the couple and children up to
eight years old.
Falig, granary
Soklut, cooking area
IFUGAO HOUSE
Bale/fale, house
• The traditional ifugao house; an elevated
square and windowless one-room
structure dominated by a high, heavy
pyramid roof.
Hagabi, bench
• A bench that provides status symbol for
the rich ifugao due to the cost of its
construction and ceremonies involved.
KANKANAY AND IBALOI HOUSE
Baey/baybayan, house
• An elevated, square, one-
room house of the Kankanay
and Ibaloi, with four thick
posts supporting a timber
upper floor and steep hip
type roof of cogon grass.
LOWLAND VERNACULAR
DWELLINGS
 Bahay kubo
- From Balai which is vernacular for house
- Cubo which comes from - Spanish “cube”/ kobo
APAYAO HOUSE
Balai, house
• The traditional type of house
in Apayao with an elevated
rectangular one-room
structure and protected by a
high-pitch thatch roof that
resembles a pointed barrel
vault.
BAHAY KUBO
Bahay kubo, cube-shaped house
• A common type of dwelling in
lowland and coastal areas during the
pre-hispanic philippines.
Sibi, eaves
• The portion of the thatch roof that
extends beyond the wall.
SAGADA HOUSE
Tinokbob, house
• One of the earliest
houses in Sagada,
windowless with a thick
and steep roof intended
to withstand the cold
weather conditions
YAKAN HOUSE
Lumah, house
• The traditional house of the
Yakans in the mountainous
interior of Basilian Island.
• The interior of the one-
room house is divided into
Kokan (sleeping area) or
tindakan (multi-use living
space), Pantan or simpey
(couch), and Kosina
(kitchen) by a 0.25 meter by
0.25 meter patung (wooden
flitch)