SAINT LOUIS COLLEGE

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO LA UNION

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT
FIRST SEMESTER SY 2021-2022

ARDES 5

FINAL- RESEARCH WORK 1.0

SUBJECT TOPIC:

GABALDON SCHOOL

STUDENT:

DULAY, DENNIS ROEL T.

BS. ARCHITECTURE 3A

PROFESSOR:

AR. ROLANDO CAASI

ARCHITECT UAP
HISTORY OF GABALDON BUILDING
The Gabaldon School Buildings or simply known as the Gabaldon’s is a term used to refer to
heritage school buildings in the Philippines built during the American colonial era. They are
noted for the architecture inspired from the bahay kubo and bahay na bato.

Old Gabaldon School Building - Dr. Celedonio

A. Salvador Elementary School in Paco,
Manila

Illustration of the front façade and floor plan of the Gabaldon school building of Dr.
Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary School (October 2019). The Salvador Elementary
School comprise of a building at the center of the school property with its front façade
facing north. As an example of a quadrangular layout with central courtyard and has a
floor area of 1,760 square meters. The existing building is about fifty-two meters wide
and forty-four meters long excluding the front and back stairs. It has been elevated
around two meters from the ground. The main building has three large rooms, having
a length and width of 9 by 10 meters, respectively. These rooms are interconnected by
three cased openings on each wall and currently used as the school library. The east
and west side each 6 six classrooms with the standard length of seven meters and
width of nine meters. The four corner rooms are larger with 8 meters in length. The
south corner room on the east was converted to two restrooms for the students. The
south side has 4 classrooms, also 9 meters long and 7 meters wide.

As we enter the month of June, we remember our time in school but probably
never wondered how these common four-walled structures may have been
where our elders have also started their formal education. 

This article features one of the early schoolhouses in our country.

An adequate, secularized and free public school system was established during
the first decade of US American colonization during which schoolhouses were
prioritized. It was an essential structure for each community since education
was the major focus of their governance by virtue of Philippine Commission Act
No. 74 of 1901. These schoolhouses were designed with local factors in mind,
such as the country’s tropical climate, the constant earthquake, and the building
materials which were easily sourced from different areas.
 
 The front façade of the Gabaldon school building of Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador
Elementary School (November 2019). The colonnade on the front façade support the
arches which are around 5.40 meters high. The doors are typically two paneled and
larger than the standard size with height of 2.60 meters and total width of 1.70 meters.
Door openings located on the main building on the north and south have transoms
which are 0.70 meters high and are made of Capis shells.

A standard school building type emerged from these considerations. The

buildings have symmetrical layout either in linear, U-shape, H-shape or
quadrangular with a central courtyard. Each classroom had the typical size of 7
by 9 meters which were provided with partitions that could open up and join
classrooms. 

Moreover, long planks of native hardwood were used for the floor, making them
resistant to wear and tear. For classroom windows, capis shells were designed
fitted in wood grid holders to control excessive sun light and allow circulation.
The windows were either sash-type, horizontal pivoted or hinged at midsection.
They were two meters high and one meter wide with a one-meter high transom.
Awnings were installed over tall windows to keep shaded its interiors. While
their ceilings were four meters high and made of sawali (thin sheets of woven
bamboo), tongue and groove, or coffered plywood, their roofing materials were
made of galvanized iron sheets, that may be plain or corrugated, or of flat
cement tiles. Eventually this type of schoolhouses later called Gabaldon after
the author of the Public Act No. 1801, Congressman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva
Ecija.

The extant capis panes can be seen on the door transoms and semi-circular windows
located on the main building but were covered with paint. Each pane is estimated to be
typically 60 to 65 millimeters in size. Cased openings around the Gabaldon structure
also have existing capis panes. Unfortunately, the current classroom windows were
replaced with jalousie glass.

Founded in 1917, Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary School in Paco, Manila,

formerly named Jefferson Primary School is an existing example of a Gabaldon
school building. It has a standardized design prepared by William Parsons, who
was an American Architect appointed as Consulting Architect for the colonial
government. As a training department for the Philippine Normal School, it was
partially damaged during World War II and was restored under the
Rehabilitation Act of 1946 by the US Congress. The school’s name was changed
to its present name after the first Filipino Educator who served as Director of
the Bureau of Public Schools in 1937.
The main building’s floor to ceiling height is approximately 6.40 meters while
classroom and hallway ceiling height are about 3.60 meters. An important
feature that has every indication of designing schoolhouses for the tropics is the
central courtyard, which has an area of around 486 square meters. These are
and accessible from the east and west hallways using the wide concrete stairs.
Although still intact, the original hardwood floors inside the rooms bear signs of
deterioration while the hallway floor finish has been converted with tiles. 

The former name of the school was indicated in “JPS” initials on the wrought ironwork
of the building’s façade. (above);
Latticework made from wood are found on the espejo calado (an opening above walls)
along the classroom to allow the circulation of air. (bottom) (October 2019).

The Gabaldon School Buildings Conservation Act (or RA 11194 of January 18,
2019) emphasizes the protection and conservation of Gabaldon school buildings
as part of the Philippines’ built heritage. The Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador
Elementary School is a fine example of our built heritage that deserves
preservation.

Dr. Celedonio A. Salvador Elementary School is one of the featured Built

Heritage Structures in the Placuna placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to
Indigenous Artistry exhibit of the National Museum as it demonstrates the
clever use of capis shells on Gabaldon school buildings. Once the museum doors
open to the public again, we invite you to visit the exhibition and appreciate the
built heritage that displays the rich culture and long history of our country. 

ALTERNATIVE USE OF THE GABALDON BUILING

I will make this building a museum because this building is very old. I will preserve some part of the
building. If I made this museum this is good for the students and teachers. They enjoy the sight inside
and they can also learn about the historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest.

REFERENCE

https://www.yodisphere.com/2021/06/gabaldon.html