Philippine
Ethnic Architecture
- Ethnic culture lies on Phil. Architecture, an amalgam on Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Indian, Chinese, Japanese & other foreign influences with sensibility of Pre-Hispanic, Pre-Western & Southeast Asian. Its Ethos’s is linked with elements and creatures. It draws inspiration from environment. It also responds to man’s communal and social needs.
General Characteristics
- Ethnic Structures are made of natural materials such as wood, vegetations & sometimes molds. The favorite material is bamboo, which is used for doors, flooring siding, roofing & many others.
It is informal and usually designed by the owner itself and executed with manpower provided by his family and the community. Often influenced first by tradition, second by chance.
Most ethnic houses conform to a general pattern: have steep thatched roofs to facilitate drainage; elevated on posts or stilts and have slanted flooring. The result is generally a comfortable and functional, yet durable and structurally stable.
Decorations are aesthetics and socio-politico-religious factors. Pig skulls and carabao horns for instance in Ifugao to indicate social position.
It is at modest proportions as it is used essentially as a shelter from the elements and as a place to cook, eat and sleep. At other times, the house doubles as a social and cultural center. It becomes the setting for weddings, wakes, death anniversaries, religious rites and other life-cycle celebrations.
Ethnic architecture can be classified using four different considerations:
1. According to structural methods used
2. According to use or function
3. According to historical period
4. According to cultural groups or people
Types of Structures in History
- Ethnic architecture has evolved in response to changes in time and history.
Cave dwellings were perhaps the earliest shelters in the Philippines. The next stage of evolution of ethnic architecture was marked by the appearance of the “lean-to”, the first attempt at building. The practice of kaingin gave rise to a more settled life in a real house. But durability was not a major concern. The introduction of wet rice agriculture brought about a truly settled life and a need for a more permanent dwelling. The bahay kubo, the dwelling of the lowland, christianized populace had already been established even before the Spaniards came.
Because of different environments, upland and lowland houses developed interesting contrasts. Lowland houses have more open, airy interiors, while upland ones are more tightly enclosed.
Special types of houses developed in various parts of the Philippines. In Sulu archipelago, houses were built over water.
The original building was made of sticks and straw, but these building materials made it an easy victim of Indian attacks. The missionaries wanted to make life in the mission communities be comparable to that of villages in Spain. The missionaries taught Indians specific jobs such as carpentry, masonry, and stone cutting to make buildings. The Espada was one of the first missions to make brick, which can still found today.
“Various animals build shelters but only humans built homes. (Pg. 1)” The word home evokes so many emotions and mental image of past and future. At the end of the day there is no greater comfort then going home. Yet in our daily hustle and bustle and hectic schedule we seldom take time to appreciate the most age old technology that keep us safe and provide comfort. From the basic shelter and cave dwelling of the earliest humans to the modern concrete jungle of the present, humans have move past the simple shelter. Technology has allowed us to build modern homes in various shapes and sizes but this technology follows thousands of years of footstep. The author did not just catalog different structures and domicile of human history but told a story of what these structure means to us. Moore starts off on a dig site searching for archaic structures. Moore explains how humans just don’t build shelter like most animals, human homes signifies social status, comfort, shelter and creativity. Moore uses the famous multimillion dollar house of Aaron Spelling in Hollywood as an example of how extravagant our humble dwelling can be. Human homes are different shapes and sizes and often build with different material and standard based on geographical location. I believe A Prehistory of Homes is a book about the history of technology because it is written about one of the most essential invention of human evolution. Human went from caves to build our own shelter. It allowed us to be mobile and become a foraging creature. The author addresses the most commonly shared interest and provides knowledge, history and relation to past and future of our homes.
...humash houses were hemispherical in shape and as large as 55 feet in diameter. They were constructed of arched poles covered with grass. Typically several families within the tribe shared one dwelling. Members slept on raised beds separated by hanging mats to offer privacy. Mats were also used as doors to keep the dwelling separated from the outside elements. A fireplace was present in the center of the structure to provide heat while a circular vent in the ceiling allowed for the smoke to escape. The houses were arranged clustered together in the village to provide for security and community. Shelter was a vital part of Chumash survival. They provided shelter from the elements as well as a sense of unity within the village.
One of the most important structures to the Native American tribes of Western New York is the longhouse. This structure built only of wood. These structures allowed for these people to stay warm throughout winters that could be as harsh as any we have seen. The masterly crafted houses provided warmth in the winter and in the summers allowed for the air to flow through and keep the house cool. Without these houses, the tribes of New York would not have survived.
When researching Pueblo dwellings and the Anasazi people "Anasazi meaning ancient ones in the Navajo language"(Lynnd2012). Information retaining to the culture and how permanent dwellings did not start until the Anasazi started growing their food. Prior to agriculture, all food was product of hunting and gathering, this made moving across the country more frequent to be able to gather enough food. Once they started to farm and cultivate they stated building the first sets of housing which consisted of holes in the grounds and only later would they build on top of the holes with stone and mortar, this didn't happen till around 750AD and was a means for storage.
The family in this story has moved around a lot throughout the protagonist's life. They desire to own a house of their own someday, and the protagonist's parents have always dreamed about how it would look, and what amenities it would have. She remembers how “[t]hey always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn't have to move each year. […] And we'd have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we took a bath we wouldn't have to tell everybody. Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence” (Cisneros 151). My family too, has moved around quite a bit. Her parent's dreams for the house they want to provide for their family remind me...
Architecture, like many things, can also be made for the use of or inspired by the symbols people believe in. Therefore, art and architecture in Ancient Mesoamerica can be stated to be made for the use of religious symbols. Making architecture and art forms takes effort, dedication, and patience. Architecture can take years to make, as was s...
The furnishings found in each hut also provide indications of how the people lived. In the centre of all the huts lay a fireplace that is thought to be the only source of heat and light in the entire hou...
area. Every house had to have a bucket to put out fires, a safe room
The relatives must have a sharp thought of the existing climate conditions and they ought to have an arrangement to empty the building in most exceedingly terrible cases. They must be given a fitting direction when such circumstance happens. Typically the children in the house must be given legitimate guidelines for their survival and
The homes in New France were commonly built of felled timber or rough-hewn stone, solid, stocky buildings, usually about twenty by forty feet or there abouts in size with only one doorway. The rooves were steeped pitched with a dormer window or two on either side. Also the eaves were well projecting over the walls, and behind each house there was a storage room. Most habitants had their own bake ovens set a good distance behind the house rising about 4 or 5 ft. From the ground. A lot of the time the habitant would close off a small area of land surrounding the house or the shed, barn, or storage room(etc.) with a fence of piled stones or split rails and in a cornnerhe would plant his kitchen garden. In the house on the main floor there were usually one or two rooms but never more then three. When the door was first opened it led to a huge room of the house. It opened to the parlor, dinning room, and kitchen combined, but the room was split up, with the kitchen seperated from the rest.
Some of the main architectural features in German and Dutch influenced houses are dormer windows, stepped gables or "hoods", metal gutters, small windows with sliding shutters, and the Dutch door. The Dutch door is a door that is divided in half horizontally, like the door outside of the pool for the concession stand.
A home, many people spent their whole life in search of his or her home. It has many different definitions to different people. To some people it may be their home country, to some it may be where they were born, to some it may be where their family is. home's most basic trait is its ability to provide shelter from weather. Rain or snow, a house will always be there to shield the elements from the family. In the cold times of the year, the heater will be there to warm the house. The heat of the summer is no problem for a good home. The ideal dwelling definitely must have a dependable central air conditioner. When located in an area abundant with tornadoes and hurricanes, a home must have a safe place. A storm shelter or a basement is an excellent place to hide. But to most people home has more meaning than just dwelling it should be a place where their family is, where they could have family times together.
...nature. There are advantages of green building, the construction of clay can protect from natural calamity and the properties of natural materials are suitable for creating a home.
The author explains architecture as an identification of place. Architecture starts with establishing a place. We define ‘place’ as a layout of architectural elements that seem to accommodate, or offer the possibility of accommodation to, a person, an activity, a mood, etc. We identify a sofa as a place to sit and relax, and a kitchen as a place to cook food. Architecture is about identifying and organizing ‘places’ for human use.