Quest For Filipino Architecture

2/18/2010



Due to his idealism and nationalism, there is a niggling issue that keeps coming up in the mind of the young Filipino architect: the question of having a Filipino architectural identity. Oftentimes, the simplest questions are the most difficult to answer.

I submit that we lack an architectural identity. This may be due to the numerous events that influenced our country. There are Moorish influences in Mindanao, Spanish influences in the Visayas and Luzon, and modern American influences in our cities. We do have the vernacular or native Filipino houses but these can likewise be found in other tropical settings, which make it unfair to claim the style as our very own. We do have the “bahay na bato”, but its distinguishing characteristics also come from Spain, our most influential colonizer. And when these styles were introduced in real estate residential development, they did not sell very well because they did not seem to appeal to the real Filipino taste.

In a gathering of architects back in the 70’s, my father remembers that no less than Leandro Locsin, our national artist for architecture, claimed that he is saddened by the fact that we do not have our own distinct Filipino architecture. On this point, I am certain another national artist, Bobby Manosa, will disagree. He seems to have captured a style that we now classify as Filipino Architecture. Through the inspiration of the “kubo” and the use of locally available materials, he was able to establish a style that is generally acknowledged as Filipino.

In addition, more Filipinos today could have been influenced by their travels and by what they see in media. Our culture is highly exposed to other cultures bought about by the phenomenon of overseas contract workers, who upon coming home, wanted to live like they did abroad. This is probably why themed real estate developments became so successful. A good developer knows what his market wants; a true Filipino architect must know how to address the desires of the Filipino. As a result, a plethora of design styles thrived on our shores. This view may not appeal to the idealistic Filipino nationalist on the quest for our very own architectural identity. In the same manner that there are TV shows that may be described as “baduy” or tacky that do not appeal to some of us, yet appeal to so many of our “kababayans”. So who are we to argue that it is not Filipino when it appeals to a clear majority?

So what is Filipino architecture? I believe the answer to this is as diverse as the views of everyone willing to give their own definition. There surely is architecture in the Philippines, but not a distinctly Filipino one. That character that distinguishes our architecture is still in progress, the same way that a young child is still growing into his adult form. It took China, Italy, and Spain millennia to shape their respective identities; other Asian neighbors, like Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand, have preserved theirs for centuries. We still have a long way to go. All attempts at fashioning our own are welcome. Like children, we continue to explore our surroundings. We have yet to discover what really works for us. We are on a quest for architectural identity.

For now, I believe that a structure designed by a Filipino, which addresses the needs of Filipinos is Filipino architecture. 

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