Spanish & American
Architecture in the Philippines
Prof. Samuel T. Ramos, Jr., MCM
• Architecture in the Philippines today is the result
of a natural growth enriched with the absorption
of varied influences. It developed from the precolonial influences of our neighboring Malay
brothers, continuing on to the Spanish colonial
period, the American Commonwealth period,
and the modern contemporary times. As a result,
the Philippines has become an architectural
melting pot-- uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the
occidental.
Pre-colonial Architecture
• The pre-colonial
architecture of the
Philippines consisted
of the Nipa hut made
from natural
materials. A great
variety of the Nipa hut
exists over the
Philippines.
Pre-Colonial Architecture
•
The bahay-kubo (nipa hut) is a
typical traditional house found
in most lowlands all over the
Philippines. Originally built as a
one-room dwelling, the nipa hut
changed as family needs
become more diverse.Modern
urban dwellings, on the other
hand, are typically two-story
structures with a concrete
ground floor, sides of brick,
concrete blocks, or wooden
slats, and an iron roof. During
the 19th century, wealthy
Filipinos built some fine houses,
usually with solid stone
foundations or brick lower walls,
and overhanging, wooden
upper story with balustrades
and kapis shell sliding windows,
and a tiled roof.
Philippine Architecture during
the Spanish Colonial Period
Fort Santiago
•
•
Fort Santiago (Fuerza de
Santiago) is a defense fortress
built for Spanish conquistador,
Miguel López de Legazpi. The
fort is part of the structures of
the walled city of Intramuros, in
Manila, Philippines.
The location of Fort Santiago
was also once the site of the
palace and kingdom of Rajah
Suliman, chieftain of Manila of
pre-Spanish era. It was
destroyed by the conquistadors
upon arriving in 1570,
encountering several bloody
battles with the Muslims and
native Tagalogs. The Spaniards
destroyed the native
settlements and erected Fuerza
de Santiago in 1571.
Intramuros
• Intramuros, located along
the southern bank of the
Pasig River, was built by
the Spaniards in the 16th
century and is the oldest
district of the city of Manila.
Its name, taken from the
Latin, intra muros, literally
"Within the walls", meaning
within the wall enclosure of
the city/fortress, also
describes its structure as it
is surrounded by thick, high
walls and moats. During the
Spanish colonial period,
Intramuros was considered
Manila itself.
• The Rizal house in
Calamba,
Laguna .Vigan, Ilocos
Sur as well as Taal in
Batangas have the
best surviving
Spanish quarters.
• During three hundred years of Spanish
colonialization the philippine architecture was
dominated by the Spanish culture. During this
period Intramurous, the walled city, of Manila,
was built with its walls, houses, churches and
fortresses. The Augustinian friars built a large
number of grand churches all over the Philippine
Islands. During this period the traditional Filipino
"Bahay na Bato" style for the large mansion
emerged. These were large houses built of
stone and wood combining Filipino, Spanish and
Chinese style elements. The best preserved
examples of these houses can be found in Vigan
, Ilocos Sur and Taal, Batangas.
Bahay na Bato
• The , the Colonian Filipino House, is a
mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and
Chinese influences. In Vigan, Ilocos Sur,
excellently preserved examples of the
houses of the noble Filipinos can be
admired. In Taal, Batangas, the main
street is still ligned with examples of the
traditional Filipino homes
Old Colonial houses in Vigan
Heritage houses in Taal
Colonial Churches
• Philippine colonial churches are unique in their own
sense. Some of the best preserved colonial churches in
the country are found in the Ilocos Regions, as well as
those in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas, as well
as the Visayan islands of Panay, Cebu and Bohol.
Colonial Churches
• Dr. Jose Rizal was
baptized in this church on
22 June 1861 by Fr.
Rufino Collantes. During
World War II, the fleeing
Japanese soldiers herded
Calamba’s residents
inside the church and
then burned it down in
what became known as
the Calamba Massacre.
The church was rebuilt
after the war.
Colonial Churches
• The Cathedral of San
Pedro and San Pablo
was started to be
constructed in 1761. It is
the biggest colonial
church to be built by the
Spanish in Cagayan and
became the pattern of
what is called as the
“main Cagayan style” of
Spanish churches in the
province, and in Nueva
Vizcaya and Isabela.
Colonial Churches
• Binondo's Basilica of San
Lorenzo Ruiz was first
built sometime in the 18th
century. It was damaged
during the British invasion
of 1762, repaired and
improved, damaged again
during the 1863
earthquake, repaired, and
restored and improved
from 1946 until 1971.
Baroque Churches in the
Philippines
--refers to four Spanish-era churches in
the Philippines designated by
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in
1993.
Baroque Churches in the
Philippines
• The Baroque Churches have been at the
forefront of Philippine history since their
construction in the 1500s. During the time
of Spanish colonial rule, the Church and
State worked hand in glove. They had
served the Catholic church in the
archipelago and as the political backbone
of Spanish colonial rule.
• The unique design of the churches reflects
the integration of Spanish and Latin
American architecture to indigenous
architecture of the Philippines, including a
fusion with Chinese style. The Church's
political power of that period manifests in
the architecture. They had been designed
to withstand attacks during revolts and
rebellions, giving the Churches the
appearance of fortresses.
• The Baroque churches of the Philippines
had been designed similar to the Spanish
churches in America. They had the
appearance of a fortress. Spain sought to
protect itself from the native peoples (who
had killed Ferdinand Magellan) and from
the Muslims in the south. The formidable
appearance outside the Church buildings
hide the remarkable beauty and spirituality
inside.
4 most Prominent Baroque
Churches
1. Church of San Agustin in Manila
2. Church of La Nuestra Señora de la
Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur
3. Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos
Norte
4. Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in
Miag-ao, Iloilo
Church of San Agustine, Manila
• The The Order of St.
Agustine built the Church
of San Agustine located
inside the historic walled
city of Intramuros in
Manila. Completed by
1607, The Church of San
Agustine constitutes the
oldest church building in
the Philippines.
Features
Church of La Nuestra Señora de la
Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos
Sur
•
The Church of La Nuestra
Señora de las Asuncion marked
a departure from the traditional
Spanish church building.
Rather than setting the town
church in the central plaza, the
Augustinian mission chose to
build the church and convento
on a hill. A formidable defensive
wall surrounds the structure.
The builders, taking cues from
the topography of the hill, set
convento parallel to the front of
the cathedral while building the
bell-tower at the center of the
sanctuary wall. That showed an
adaptation to PhilippineHispanic architecture.
Church of San Agustin in Paoay,
Ilocos Norte
•
The first church was built in
1731 near the Tumagbok River
three years before the arrival
of the first Spanish priests.
Moro pirates burned this in
1741 and another one was
built in 1746. This was again
looted and burned by
marauding pirates and another
one was built in 1787 this time
on top of a hill called Tacas.
The church was designed to
serve as a fortress against
frequent pirate raids and has
withstood typhoons and
earthquakes. It underwent
restoration work in 1869, was
razed during the Philippine
Revolution of 1898 and the
Filipino-American War of 1899,
rebuilt but was again damaged
by fire in 1910, repaired and
damaged again by fire during
the Japanese occupation
Church of Santo Tomas de
Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo
• The Miag-ao Church, built
in 1786 by Spanish
Augustinian missionaries,
had been declared as
part of the UNESCO
World Heritage Site
"Baroque Churches of
the Philippines" in 1993.
On the front facade,
flanked by two
watchtower belfries, the
unique blending of
Spanish and native
influences manifests.
Philippine Architecture during
the American Colonial Period
American Colonization
• After the Spanish American war in 1898 the Americans took over
rule of the Philippines until after the second world war. During this
period the Americans constructed many Art Nouveaux buildings in
Manila. In 1902 Judge William Howard Taft was appointed to head
the Philippine Commission to evaluate the needs of the new
territory. Taft, who later became the Philippines' first civilian
Governor-General, decided that Manila, the capital, should be a
planned town. He hired as his architect and city planner Daniel
Hudson Burnham, who had built Union Station and the post office in
Washington. In Manila, Mr. Burnham had in mind a long wide, treelined boulevard along the bay, beginning at a park area dominated
by a magnificent hotel. To design, what is now known as, the Manila
Hotel Taft hired , a New York architect, who envisioned an
impressive, but comfortable hotel, along the lines of a California
mission, but grander. The original design was an H-shaped plan that
focused on well-ventilated rooms on two wings, providing grand
vistas of the harbor, the Luneta, and Intramuros.
Manila Hotel
The Metropolitan Theatre
• is an art deco building
designed by the Filipino
architect Juan M. de Guzman
Arellano, and built in 1935.
During the liberation of Manila
by the Americans in 1945, the
theatre we totally destroyed.
After reconstruction by the
Americans it gradually fell into
disuse in the 1960’s. In the
following decade it was
meticulously restored but
again fell into decay. Recently
a bus station has been
constructed at the back of the
theatre. The City of Manila is
planning a renovation of this
once magnificent building.
The Metropolitan Theatre
• The sculptures in the façade of the
Theatre are from the Italian sculptor , who
lived in Manila from 1930 until his death in
1958, and worked closely together with
J.M. de Guzman Arellano. Highly stylized
relief carving of Philippine plants executed
by the artist decorate the lobby walls and
interior surfaces of the building.
End.