Báhay na bató (Filipino for "stone house"), also known in Visayan as baláy na bató or balay nga bato, is a traditional Philippine architectural style originating from the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines (1565–1898) It was popular among the ruling upper-class (principalía) and middle-class families in the 19th to early 20th centuries. Báhay na bató are also commonly referred to as "ancestral houses", due to it being the most common style for surviving ancestral family homes.
It is also referred to as ("mixed architecture") due to it being composed of both wood and stone. It has certain elements similar to the bahay kubo, which is adapted to the tropical climate and the frequent typhoons and earthquakes in the Philippine islands.
Báhay na bató is built in a hybrid style of Tropical and Spanish architecture; and later, also early 20th-century American architecture. Instead of using an open ground layout, this design enclosed the lower wooden frame within thick stone or brick walls. This created a solid, forming a "ground floor" (the ). This enclosed ground level contains storage rooms, stables (the or ), carriage storage areas (the ), cellars, and workshops. The is accessed through a large main entrance known as the , which has one or two smaller inset doors for foot traffic known as .
The upper floor is accessed by internal stairs (), and it contains the actual living areas, as it is with the bahay kubo. The upper story is characteristically overhanging the and features balustrades (ventanillas) and capiz-shell sliding windows.
The roof materials are either Spanish-style curving clay tiles (teja de curva) or thatched with leaves (like nipa, sago palm, or cogon). Later 19th-century designs feature galvanized iron roofs. Roof designs are traditionally high pitched, with gables or hip roofs, or a traditional combination of both (similar to the East Asian hip-and-gable roof).
Aside from houses, the same architectural style was also used for Spanish-era convents, monasteries, schools, hotels, factories, and hospitals. It was also used for the Gabaldon school buildings, during the American colonial period of Philippines (1898–1946). After the Second World War, construction of these buildings declined and eventually stopped in favor of post-World War II modern architecture.
Etymology Though the Filipino term bahay na bato means "house of stone", these houses are not entirely made up of stone; some are dominated by wooden materials, while some more modern ones use concrete, in contrast to the organic materials that make up the bahay kubo. The name bahay na bato was applied to the architecture over generations.
Bahay na bato were also referred to as arquitectura mestiza ("mixed architecture") by the Jesuit priest Ignacio Alzina in 1668 due to it being composed of both wood and stone.
History
Precolonial Philippine architecture is based on traditional stilt houses of the Austronesian people of Southeast Asia. The first buildings during the early years of Spanish occupation were Bahay kubo which are made of wood and bamboo materials. It is a type of construction with which the pre-Hispanic indigenous Filipinos had been working expertly since early times and is known as Austronesian architecture. Bahay kubo roofs were made of nipa palm or cogon grass. In its most basic form, the house consisted of four walls enclosing one or more rooms, with the whole structure raised above ground on stilts.When Spaniards arrived, they quickly introduced Spanish architecture of building a more permanent construction traditions which they inherited from the Romans. They thus began building communities with the church and government as focal points. By the mid-1580s, through the efforts of Domingo Salazar, the first bishop of Manila, and of the Jesuit Antonio Sedeño, edifices began to be constructed of stone. Fr. Sedeño built the first stone building, which was the residence of Bishop Salazar.
By 1587, Governor General Santiago de Vera required all buildings in Manila to be built of stone. For this purpose, the indigenous Filipinos were taught how to quarry and dress stone, prepare and use mortar, and mould bricks. Thus began what has been called the first golden age of building in stone. This new community setup made construction heavier and more permanent materials desirable. Some of these materials included bricks, mortar, tiles, and stone. Heavily favored accounts of towering palaces and splendid mansions reached the peninsula. However, the ambitious plans of the Spaniards were dashed in 1645 when a terrible earthquake struck Manila.
The twin dangers of fire and earthquake gave rise to another type of architecture. Finding European construction styles impractical in local conditions, Spanish and Filipino builders quickly adapted the characteristics of the bahay kubo of the natives and applied it to Spanish Colonial architecture. This type of construction was soon called bahay na bato. It was also called arquitectura mestiza ("mixed architecture") by the Jesuit priest Ignacio Alzina due to it being composed of both wood and stone. Under more than three centuries of Spanish initiative, buildings of wood, stone, and brick were constructed all over the archipelago, from the Batanes Islands in the north to Tawi-Tawi in the south, from Palawan in the west to Samar in the east.
During World War II, the American and Japanese forces destroyed many of these houses.
Styles Different styles depend on each house's individual appearance. For example, some bahay na bato do not have ventanillas, some do not have Capiz windows, and some lack both. Some have galvanized, tiled, nipa, or cogon roofs. Ground-level walls may be made of bricks, adobe, coral, or wood, although modern structures typically use concrete. While retaining the basic form, the 19th-century bahay na bato reflected changing tastes by incorporating motifs from other prevalent styles.
Houses such as the Vega Ancestral House that have emerging stone works at the bottom part of the house but have almost wooden materials appearance even to the first level walls are still considered bahay na bato; the name bahay na bato was applied to this architecture over generations, as most of these houses use stone materials, contrary to the precolonial era that used little to no stones at all. The same principle applies to the nipa hut: not all nipa huts use nipa materials; some use cogon.
Though many houses are built in a standard design, many houses are also mixed, arranged, patterned and/or coated with a variety of designs from different architectural styles and cultures connected to the Philippines. This is including Chinese, Romanesque and Classical styles among others. These houses could have an unprecedented mixing and matching of architectural styles, such as having Neogothic and Neo-Mudéjar or Moorish Revival details in the same corners – that is, on top of Baroque. Although retaining its basic form, the 19th-century bahay na bato reflected changing tastes through the incorporation of motifs from prevalent styles such as Victorian, Renaissance Revival and Neoclassical decorations which included columns, pilasters, caryatids, atlases and friezes adopted from Greco-Roman architecture, the civilizations from which Spanish culture descend. Classical traditions in these houses also appear in Beaux-Arts later in history. The dawn of Art Nouveau also greatly influenced the mixing of styles and aesthetics of these houses. Many later bahay na bato buildings adapted design styles, such as Art Deco during the latter era of American rule, and even through the postwar period of loose restoration. The mixing of so many different architectural styles give the bahay na bato a distinct look that is reflective of the Philippines' unified cultures and society.
Regional variants The style of bahay na bato may also vary by area. Each region evolved its own building style, which was in many cases dependent on the materials available. As construction techniques were developed, quarries opened, and kilns constructed, various parts of the country began to show a preference for specific building materials. As a result, bahay na bato have several variations along ethnic lines. The bahay na bato in Cebu, for example, differs from the one in Ilocos which may include having the façade walls of the second level made up of plastered bricks, but still embedded with a Bahay kubo wooden skeletal frame. This style is also present, albeit rarer, outside the north, but with the use of adobe or coral stones instead of northern tradition of brick materials. The more common style is having a wooden second level façade popular in the rest of the country outside the north.
Metro Manila Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has some of the most diverse styles and materials of bahay na bato, ranging from the early period of Spanish colonization to the American era. Many were destroyed by World War II. The Metro Manila area still has one of the largest concentrations of bahay na bato houses. Most buildings in Manila and Central Luzon were of adobe, a volcanic tuff quarried from the hills, which is entirely different from materials of the same name found in Latin America (adobe in those Hispanic countries refers to mud and straw formed into rectangular blocks which are then dried in the sun).
In Manila, the largest, fanciest, and most prestigious companies eventually established themselves along the Escolta; by the second half of the 19th century it was the most important commercial district in the country. The opening of Manila as a free port encouraged British people, Germans, French people, and other foreigners to set up businesses on the Escolta and adjacent streets, causing many majestic bahay na bato buildings to be built.
Northern Luzon Northern Luzon has some of the best preserved bahay na bato in the Philippines. The unique style of the north, commonly in the Ilocos Region, usually bases its design on brick materials. This material is commonly used in bahay na bato buildings, houses, churches, walls, monuments and fortification of the region.
Brick was the essential building material in northern Luzon; houses and churches of brick were also built in scattered areas of the archipelago. Unique designs of the north may include having the façade walls of the second level made up of plastered bricks, embedded with a wooden frame. Although the wooden second level façade in bahay na bato are also present in the north.
In Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, many homeowners built both stories in brick, which was available in large quantities. With the massive walls, the volada (an overhanging balcony) disappeared in many residences, and the kitchen became an extension in stone, with vents piercing the walls to let out smoke.
Southern Tagalog Southern Tagalog, especially Calabarzon has some of the most thoroughly preserved heritage houses, built mostly using adobe stones."Physical and Natural Resources" . Province of Cavite Official Website. Towns along the coasts of Luzon, especially in Batangas, used roughly hewn blocks of coral and adobe stone.
Central Luzon The bahay na bato in Bulacan and the rest of Central Luzon are famous for their carvings. The most notable ones are in the Malolos, in its heritage core, where ancestral houses are located. Since adobe lends itself to sculpture, houses in Bulacan had façades decorated with carved flowers, leaves, Classical motifs, Mudéjar motifs and religious symbols.
Bicol Many constructions in the Bicol peninsula took advantage of the abundant volcanic stone from nearby volcanoes. One characteristic of houses in Bicol is that ground-floor overhangs are common, considering the region's rainy climate and decorations tend to be minimal for these houses. Larger towns in Bicol boast many bahay na bato homes.
Visayan