HOA 104

MSEUF
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE & FINE ARTS
1ST SEMESTER 2022

BY: AR. JFPUERTOLLANO

History of Architecture 4 – HOA 104
Reflection on Architecture in the Philippines

Topics
Prelims: Pre-Spanish Period
Midterm: Spanish Colonization Period
Semi-Finals: American Colonization Period
Finals: Independence & Modern Architecture
History of Architecture 4 – HOA 104
Reflection on Architecture in the Philippines

Vernacular Architecture
History of Architecture 4 – HOA 104
Reflection on Architecture in the Philippines

Vernacular Architecture
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Luzon
• Mangyan
• Binuron/ Apayao House
• Binayon/Finuryon / Kalinga House
• Bahay Kubo
• Fayu/ Bontoc House
• Bale / Fale / Ifugao House
• Ivatan House
• Binangiyan / Kankanay o Ibaloi House
• Inagamang / Tinikbob / Sagada House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Mangyan
• Mangyan house is built on a slope, the entrance
faces the rise.
• The steep roof is of cogon grass, the sidings, of tree
bark, and the floor, of logs and saplings.

The Mangyan of Mindoro, who are swidden farmers,

have two types of houses—the single-family dwelling
and the communal house. Although the communal
house is occupied by several families, its interior is not
divided by partitions. The area for each family is
defined by a mat on the floor
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Mangyan
Plan
• Commercial house is elevated from the ground at
1.50m to the surrounding platform.
• It measures 6x10m and is rectangular in plan
• Flooring is made of smoothened smaller sapling.
• At the central part of the house, leading from the
main door is the called PALAGANAN. Traditional Mangyan house 1898-1912
- this passageway is at much lower than the platforms By: William Cameron Forbes
- visitors may sleep but most of the time it is used as extra Mangyan house is built on a slope, the entrance faces the rise.
storage spage for families The steep roof is of cogon grass, the sidings, of tree bark, and the
- Flooring is made of large logs laid parallel to each other and floor, of logs and saplings. The house appears to have no
attached to the joints by vines or rattan lashing. windows. However, it has a narrow strip of opening between roof
and wall.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Mangyan
• Walls are made of barks of trees, and constructed about a
meter less above the floor – this opening allows occupants to
observe the exterior without having seen from the outside
• Gabbled roof with cogon grass thatching.
• Roofs are projected 1m beyond the wall for protection against
cold wind.

• The ascent to the house is thru a ladder of 4steps, or sometimes thru a

notched log.
• The ladder leads to a narrow door which in turn leads to the palaganan.
• There are no windows.
• Openings are provided thru the space from the flooring, and the
underneath surface of the wall.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binuron
• Traditional Isneg House
The Isneg, also Isnag or Apayao, live at the
northwesterly end of northern Luzon, in the upper
half of the Cordillera province of Apayao. The term
“Isneg” derives from a combination of is, meaning
“recede,” and uneg or “interior.” Thus, it means
“people who have gone into the interior.”
• Isneg are natural boatpeople and boat builders.
• The Isneg use wood for the posts, girders, joists, and
walls, and thatch or bamboo for the roof.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binuron
• A typical Isneg house resembles the traditional Isneg boat in
some ways.
• It is regarded as the largest and among the most
substantially constructed houses in the Cordilleras.
• The roof of the Isneg house suggests an inverted hull
• the floor joists when seen from the outside appear to have
the shape of a boat.
• An interesting feature of the Isneg house is the way the
bamboo roof is constructed. Lengths of bamboo tubes are
split in two, and these are laid in alternating face-down-face-
up arrangement, their sides interlocking. 
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binuron
• is a multifamily, one-room, rectangular dwelling supported by 15
wooden piles, with a clearance from the ground of about 1.2
meters.
• It measures about 8 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 5.5 meters
from the ground to the roof ridge.
• The walls slant and taper downward.
• Its atap (roof) is gabled, in contrast to most Cordillera dwellings,
which have pyramidal or conical roofs.
• A tarakip, an annexlike structure, is built at one end. It is as wide
as the house itself, with a slightly higher floor but a lower roof.
Some houses feature a tarakip at both ends. 
• The Isneg use wood for the sinit (posts), anadixiyan (girders),
toldog (joists), and dingding (walls); and thatch or bamboo for
the roof.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binayon or Finaryon House

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binayon or Finaryon House

• Octagonal in plan, exterior features are not stronglu
defined.
• Dataggon – central section
• Sipi – slightly elevated sections.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Bahay Kubo
• Traditional lowland dwelling, northern & central regions.

• A common type of dwelling on lowland and coastal areas during

the pre-Hispanic Philippines.

• is a one-room house, raised above the ground to protect the

dwellers from the dampness' and humidity of the earth.

• The bahay kubo is often built with whole bamboo or tree

brinches as itructural framework, and finished with bamboo
strips for floors, palm leaves for roof, and bamboo striis or palm
leaves for walls.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Bahay Kubo
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Fayu – Bontoc House
• The traditional type of house in Bontoc, Mountain Province comprised
of perimeter wooden walls enclosed in an open living space, and
central granaries. lt is covered by a steep, thick roof that is ' almost
covering the perimeter wall.
• Afung is the Bontoc house for married couples and children up to eight
years old.
• Katfuyong – dwelling for the poor
• Kol-lob – residence of widow or unmarried women; can also be called
katfuyong.

babarey, village The settlement area in a Bontoc comm.unity.

• The village usually consists of ATAR (mens meeting place)
• AFONG (houses)
• PABAFUNAN (boys dormitory)
• PANGIS (girls dormitory)
• CHAP-AY (open space with flat stone in circular layout)
• AKHAMANG (rice granary)
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Fayu – Bontoc House
The steep roof made by cogon grass the grows abundantly near the
village, extends beyond the walls and much lower than a standing
Bontoc man.

The roof and the granary are bothe supported by independent

wooden posts and functions distinctively: the covered roof space as
the main house, and the elevated central granary for storing rice
grains.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Fayu – Bontoc House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Bale/Fale – Ifugao House
• The traditional lfugao house; an elevated square and windowless
one- room structure dominated by a high, heavy, pyramidal roof.
• bale/fale, house. A single room structure that serves as living
quarters of an Ifugao family.
• The framework of the bale/fale is done using hand-hewn timber,
mortised without nails or hardware. lt can be disassembled,
moved and raised again on a new site within a day.

bale ifugao house - Bing images

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Bale/Fale – Ifugao House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Bale/Fale – Ifugao House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Bale/Fale – Ifugao House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Ivatan House
• The Ivatan permanently settled on only three islands: Itbayat
(9,290 hectares), Batan (7,573 hectares), and Sabtang (4,067
hectares).
• Batan is referred to as the “mainland,” being the seat of the
provincial government.
• Traditional Ivatan society was hierarchal, with the village chief
called mangpus at the top, assisted by district subalterns called
mapolon.
• The community is called kumaidian.
• As described by the William Dampier in 1687, the early Ivatan
houses were built small and low, their sides made of small posts
no more than 1.4 meters high. They had ridgepoles that were
about 2.1 or 2.4 meters. 

ivatan houses - Bing images

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Jinjin - Ivatan House
• house has walls made of woven cogon thatch with bamboo or
wood framework. The roof is made with the distinctive Ivatan
 multi-layered cogon system.

Kamdid- Ivatan House

Ivatan type of house with its enclosing’s lower portion built of
wood, while the upper portion is built of cogon grass. It has a thick
hip type cogon roof.

Rahaung – Ivatan House

An ivatan structure used as a working area and a place of storage
for fishing implements. The structure does not have any wall
enclosure, exposing posts that support the roof, either with or
without gable wall, made from cogon and reeds.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
• The huts were low, partly because high structures would have
been easily destroyed by typhoons and partly because Batanes
did not have enough suitable timber nor appropriate tools for
larger construction.
• Cogon grass was the main roofing material.
• Occasionally, the walling of the house was made of stones held
precariously together by fango (mud mixed with chopped
cogon).

• The more familiar Ivatan traditional house of stone and mortar

known as cal y canto did not appear until the late 18th or early
19th century when the Spanish government and the missions
were established permanently, and public structures like
churches and tribunales, fortifications, and bridges necessitated
stronger materials.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
RAKUH – 2 Storey Ivatan House
• With 2 windows and door built on three walls, while the 4 th wall
faces the direction of the strongest wind.
• rakuh has bigger floor area with a lower level which functions as
the storage area. The walls are made of lime mortar that binds
the stones of different sizes. It has two doors and three windows.
• WINDOW LESS PART ORIENTED TO THE STORMINDS
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Classified according to roof configuration
Maytuab (hip roof) & Sinadumparan (gable roof)

SINADUMPARAN
sinadumparan ivatan house - Bing images
• is a low, stone and lime- walled house with thick cogon roof.
• It is usually4-5 meters in width and 6-7 meters in length. Its
walls have a thickness of a meter or so and a usual height of 5-6
meters from the ground. 
• The floor plan is rectangular, commonly in two stories, composed
of the basement ( ahbu ) and the upper story ( sahad ). 
• Both kitchen and main building are similar in shape but differ in
height, with the main being higher.
• The two structures are connected by abatalan which is level to
the floor of the kitchen. There are two or three steps going up
the main structure
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Maytuab/Nituavan
Chivuvuhung
•  The four sides of the roof of this structure tapers upward to the
•  The walls of this structure are made of thatched cogon enclosing
top to form a trapezoidal shape on the two opposite longer sides
the floor space on all sides. This houses the hearth on one end and triangular on the other two opposite shorter sides. It has
with a sleeping area on the other. a low basement.
Kamadid Rahaung (A)
•   This has a low structure made entirely of wood, reeds and • This is more complex than the kamadid. Its triangular cogon
cogon. It has a triangular shape when viewed from the roof is lifted from the ground by four or more wooden posts.
front, with the two sides serving as its roof going down to its
walls. It has a trapezoidal shape as seen from the side view Rahaung (B)
where both ends are open. This type of house is commonly used
as a shelter for shing boats and other seacrafts. Very few of these • This essentially has the same basic structure as the (A) variant
remain today. with an additional protection in the form of cogon and reeds on
both ends
Mayhurahed
Sinadumparan a binedberan
•  This resembles the chivuvuhung. The only difference is that this
•  This structure’s slight difference with sinadumparan is the way
has a low wall made of stone, chopped cogon and mud or lime
and sand between the ground and the cogon sides which is the roof is made. The roof is placed above and extends to the
called hurabed  triangular wall
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Binangiyan / Kankanai Houses

Baey/Babayan, house
An elevated, square, one-room house of the kankanay and ibaloi,
with 4 thick posts supporting a timber upper floor and steep hip
type roof flared out similar to the roof of the Bontocs and Kalingas
houses.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Binangiyan / Kankanai Houses

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Binangiyan / Kankanai Houses
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Tinokbob / Sagada House
• one of the earliest houses in sagada, windowless with a thick and
steep roof intended to withstand the cold weather conditions.
• Built directly on the ground
• Similar types of houses are Bontoc and Nabaloi
• The ground space is usually used for eating, sleeping, cooking,
and working at the elevated central structure is used as granary
only.
• The roof of a tinokbob house is steep. Ieaving only a minimum
wall surface exposed to the elements.
• The house is comprised of two independent structures - the
main house and the granary.

tinokbob house - Bing

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture
Tinokbob / Sagada House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Mindanao
• Lepa / Luma / Badjao House
• Samal House
• Bay sinug / Tausug House
• Yakan House
• Torogan / Maranao House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Luma - Badjao House

- Traditional Badjao House
The traditional of the badjao Communities at Southern Philippines
comprised of a windowless one-room house of light materials and
thatch roof built above coastal waters.

Houses are built separately in a staggered pattern but connected to the

neighborhood thru “jambatan” (footbridge) and own taytayan
(catwalk) and to the waters by harunan (ladder).

Harun – stairs where women often wash clothes and kitchen utensils

The badjao or bajao – 2nd largest ethnic community in the Sulu

Archiepelago after Tausug. Originally they are known as “orang-selat”
or “orang-laut” and were living on the lepa-lepa (boats).
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Luma
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Lepa / Lepa-lepa – Badjao House

• ‘Bajau’ is apparently an Indonesian name for boat-dwelling
people who were transferred to the Sama people in Borneo,
both land-dwelling and boat-dwelling.
• Lepa is the house boat used by the Sama Dilaut or Badjaw which
serves as their house and mode of transportation.
• No outriggers, roofed, loose, and detachable structure.

Djenging – has outriggers, roofed, walled in all sides by wooden

boards.
Dapang or Vinta – not roofed, only used for fishing and short trips

lepa badjao house - Bing images

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Samal House
• Traditional Samal Houses are elevated rectangular one-room
structures near the coastal waters of Southern Mindanao,
Palawan, Zamboanga, and Sulu archipelago. These houses are
directly built on shallow water and connected to the shore by a
pantan (bridge) or directly built on a solid ground.

• The houses are clustered in groups by kinship, with 1oo to 5oo

members per group, and affiliated with the nearest mosque.

• Coastal house has ample space underneath the house for the
family's pelang (bbat) and fishing para.phernalia

Pre-Spanish Architecture Presentation (slideshare.net)

HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Samal House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Tausug House
Tausug or “suluk” is the foremost ethnic group in Sulu then
followed by badjao, samal, yakan, kagayan, Iranun and
kalibugan

Bay-sinug
The traditional houses of Tausug in the southern Philippines. It
is comprised of two or more houses on stilts that are connected
by an elevated open space serving as house extensions.

The word Tausug is said tciiffiifrom-ih-e wiirds "tau" (meaning

people) and "sug" (meaning tide), hence they are the "people
of the tide." The two distinct communities of the Tausug is the
"tau gimba" (inland people) and the "tau higad" (people along
the shore)
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Tausug House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Tausug House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Tausug House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Yakan House
• Yakan is the 3rd largest ethnic community in Sulu Archipelago,
after the Tausug and the badjao.
• Known for their intricate and colorful embroidery.
• The interior of the one-room house is devided into:
Kokan – sleeping area
Tindakan – multi-use living space
Pantan or simpey – (porch)
Kosina – kitchen
By a 0.25m patung (wooden flitch)
Angkap – mezzanine, for girls above sleeping area.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Yakan House
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

• Torogan / Maranao House

Ancestral residence of datu and his extended family
Torogan – home reserves for nobilities
Mala-a-walai – traditional house
Lawig – Small house
Panalong – (decorative beam ends) are often with pako rabong and
naga carvings
Lamin – lady’s dprmitory tower.
• A torogan is elevated above the ground by columns cut from trees
of huge girth
• Its walls are covered with plywood sticks and the roof thatched
with dried coconut leaves.
• There is no interior partition, so it appears as a huge hall. 
• it is intricately engraved with the flowing geometries of the
Maranaw design system called okir
• torogan is not complete without the legendary bird sarimanok
 being displayed inside.
maranao philippine map - Bing
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Torogan / Maranao House

Parts:
• Torogans were elevated from the ground using “tukod” or hard tree
trunks of huge girths. At the center is the “tapuwilih” post surrounded
by twenty-five others at the base.
• Each of it stands on a careful assemblage of huge stones half-buried on
the ground. They also act as shock absorbers making the house sway in
times of earthquake or strong winds.
• “Dorung” is the multi-purpose ground space created under the
wooden beams. The main house on the second floor is called the
“poro”. It is an open space partitioned only with cloths & chests.
• “Barimbingan” planks make up the “lantay” (flooring) held together by
wooden floor joists called “dolog”. The wooden staircase or “towak” as
well as its stringer board screams of the folk motif okir carvings.
• Traditional Maranao houses from ancient times used cogon for roofing
or “atup” supported by the “rampatan” beams & adorned by a
“diongal” on top. However, during the American times, GI sheets
replaced the cogon.
• Uniquely, the panolong is the most distinct part of the torogan. These
are carved end-beams. The serpent design (niyaga) fill the front while
the sides use the pako okir or the fern patterns.
HOA 104 – Philippine Architecture
Vernacular Architecture

Torogan / Maranao House

Lamin:
• Perched atop the roof or sometimes tucked at the back is the 
princess chamber called “lamin”. In the absence of a lamin, a
“gibon” or a makeshift room of adorned fabrics inside the
torogan replaces it.

• Today, only a few lamin are left. Among them is that of the late
Bae Minangoao Dimaporo in Binidayan.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Reference:

Traditional Mangyan house – Objects – eMuseum (harvard.edu)

Mangyan - History of Architecture (slideshare.net)
The Isneg (Isnag) Tribe of the Philippines: History, Culture, Customs and Tradition [Cordillera Apayao Province Indigenous People | Ethnic Group] - yodisphere.com
PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE 1 (EARLY DWELLINGS) Flashcards | Quizlet

Traditional Houses [6ng2273gdjlv] (idoc.pub)

BATANES IVATAN ARCHITECTURE REGIONAL HOUSE TYPES PRE HISPANIC ERA Dominican | Course Hero
Ivatan People of the Philippines: History, Customs, Culture and Traditions [Batanes Islands] - yodisphere.com
Sinadumparan Ivatan House Types | Ryan Jay Dizon - Academia.edu
Torogan | The Maranao Royal Houses of Lanao - Travel Trilogy