Bahay na Bato
The bahay na bato (from Tagalog bahay “house” and na bato “of stone”
The bahay na bato (from Tagalog bahay “house” and na bato “of stone”), also known as bahay kastila (‘Castilian house’ but generally understood as ‘Spanish house’) or bahay na tisa in Tagalog, balay tisa (house of tile) or balay nga bato in Ilocano, Ilonggo, Waray, and Cebuano.
Spanish-era Fajardo bahay na bato in Bacolor, Pampanga (Photo from Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University)
The bahay na bato has certain fundamental characteristics, though it has evolved over time and varies from region to region. In Manila’s densely populated neighborhoods of Binondo and San Nicolas, it is not uncommon for buildings to have three stories. The walls of the ground floor are made of cut adobe stone, volcanic tuff, coralline limestone, or brick; the walls of the upper floors are made of wood. The windows on the first floor are protected by grilles, while the windows on the second floor feature wide sliding shutters whose latticework frames are either shell or glass panes. Below the window sill (pasamano), smaller windows reach the floor. These small windows, known as ventanillas, are protected by iron grilles or wooden barandillas and have sliding wooden shutters. A steep, four-sided hip roof extends over the entire structure.
The majority of surviving bahay na bato examples date back only to the 19th and early 20th centuries, despite the fact that the form originated in the 17th century as a synthesis of three traditions: the indigenous, the Spanish, and the Chinese.
During the precolonial period, houses on the islands followed a design prevalent throughout Southeast Asia. They were constructed of wooden frames with floors elevated high above the ground. These homes were elevated on stilts, like spiders with many legs. Thus, they shielded the inhabitants from the wet ground, seasonal flooding, insects, wild animals, and human enemies. The resulting space was utilized as a work area and animal pen. The steep slope of hipped or gabled thatched roofs facilitated the rapid drainage of precipitation.
Balay na Tisa or Sarmiento-Osmeña bahay na bato in Carcar, Cebu, 2013, exemplifying arquitectura mestiza (Photo by Constantine Agustin)
The commoners lived in small houses with bamboo floors and walls. The aristocracy lived in considerably larger homes with hardwood floors and walls. The largest and tallest structure was the chief’s residence. According to the 17th-century missionary Francisco Alzina, SJ, it had numerous rooms and multiple floors. On each side, there were nine to eleven posts and three ridgepoles. The houses were ornamented with carvings. Sulayman, the lord of Manila, resided in a large mansion that contained numerous valuable items.
After conquering Manila in 1571, the Spaniards established a settlement and initially constructed their buildings in the indigenous style. After an accidental fire destroyed the city in 1853, however, many structures were rebuilt with stone quarried from the Guadalupe, Makati cliffs—specifically, volcanic tuff, which became known locally as adobe. At this time, the Chinese were settling the islands in ever-greater numbers. Antonio Sedeo, a newly arrived Jesuit, instructed both native and Chinese workers in the Spanish method of making tiles and building houses.
Numerous windows, balconies, and iron grilles adorned the expansive, tile-roofed, tall, all-stone dwellings that suddenly appeared. It was said that they resembled their contemporary counterparts in Spain and Mexico. Nevertheless, not all home builders have abandoned wood construction. A detailed list of all Intramuros houses from 1617 reveals that slightly more than half were constructed of wood.
Pamintuan bahay na bato in Angeles, Pampanga, 2016, showing balcones voladizos (Photo by Florentino Floro)
In 1645, a powerful earthquake shook Manila, causing the collapse of many stone structures. Even though the massive stone structures were fireproof, they were too rigid to withstand earthquakes. In contrast, the local frame houses swayed in response to the shocks. As a result, a synthesis emerged. The entire house was now supported by haligi (wooden columns) in the traditional manner. The upper story would be constructed of wood, while the lower story would be constructed of stone, giving rise to the arquitectura mestiza. The roof could be composed of either curved tiles or dense thatch. Tiles had the benefit of being fireproof, but because they were laid in multiple layers, they were susceptible to falling during earthquakes. Thatch was lighter and less expensive, but it caught fire easily.
Doa Isabel Navarro de Piero’s home in Intramuros is described in her 1699 will. Each of its numerous wooden columns had a diameter of 1.67 meters. The majority of the 1.12-meter-thick walls on the ground floor were made of adobe. The upper story of the wooden structure had balcones voladizos that extended over the street. These could be covered with latticework shutters with capiz shell panes. These shutters did not slide, as would become the norm in later homes; rather, they swung out. The concept of having latticework panels for windows originated with Chinese artisans, as these were used to hold translucent rice paper or oyster shells in China. Only during the 19th century did glass become affordable worldwide. Below the shell-shaped windows were ventanillas extending to the ground. The overhanging balconies protected the interior from the sun while permitting airflow.
Since the 1699 will makes no mention of a ceiling, the rafters and beams were likely exposed, just as they were in the Intramuros homes described by the Frenchman de Guignes from the following century.
The floor plan of the Piero home was representative of a pattern that would endure until the 1890s. There were storage rooms and a porter’s room on the ground floor. Two flights of stairs led to the rooms above. At the top of the stairs was a large corredor principal (corridor). This led to a hall named canon, presumably due to its length, which extended to the street. Almost certainly, the canon was a reception area. The canon was flanked by two camaras or cuartos (bedrooms). The kitchen was a separate structure behind the house that was connected to it by a walkway. Besides it was a wooden outhouse. The L-shaped layout of the home allowed for a rear courtyard with a side well. There were clear continuities with the earlier indigenous custom of confining family activities to the upper level.
This wood-and-stone architectural style spread throughout the islands. The evolution of the wood-and-stone style during the eighteenth century merits investigation. The Jesuit House, built in 1730 in Cebu City, the recently relocated Ordoveza House, built in 1744 in Majayjay, Laguna, and the supposedly 1730s Incon House in Loboc, Bohol are among the very few 18th-century houses still standing. The picture becomes clearer after the 1780s. Numerous examples of these structures can be found throughout the nation, and numerous descriptions and floor plans are available.
From the 1780s to the 1880s, houses were characterized by a geometric style. In this style, the wooden flying gallery, now known as the corredor or galeria volada, extended along the exterior walls. It had two sets of slidable shutters, one made of concha (shell) and the other made of wooden persiana, jalousies, or louvers. The volada was separated from the adjoining rooms by a brick wall that had been plastered. There were wooden doors leading into the volada. During this time period, roof eaves were merely a narrow strip, so the wooden gallery let in light and air while blocking excessive sunlight. In the middle of the day, the shell shutters were pushed to the side and half-open jalousies were drawn. When it rained, the opposite happened. The shell shutters that were drawn let in light. However, not all houses of the era featured a galeria volada that could be shut on both sides. In some instances, the rooms extended to the exterior.
The minimal surface ornamentation consisted of shells arranged in squares and diamonds on the window panels and simple neoclassical motifs on the friezes; hence the term “geometric.”
The massive pillars that characterized the 1699-documented house had shrunk to less than 50 centimeters by the nineteenth century. They were either exposed or enclosed by nearly one-meter-thick stone or brick walls. Stone or brick was bonded with mortar and coated with a mixture of lime and egg whites or the sap of local plants.
In houses with a geometric design, wooden partitions and ceilings enclosed the rooms. The ceilings were as high as four meters to allow hot air to rise. The calado (wooden fretwork panel) began to appear in the wall space between the door and ceiling to facilitate air circulation. The concept may have originated with the Chinese, who adorned their walls with traceried panels. In traditional Japanese architecture, similar panels called ranma are found. However, the Sama Dilaut (Badjao) utilized lauwa-lauwa (“cobweb”), calado-like panels on their balutu or kubu (large houseboat), which was the exclusive residence of their panglima (community leader). In the 1960s, a handful of abandoned balutu with the lauwa-lauwa were anchored at Tawi-Tawi.
The ground floor (zaguan) of the bahay na bato was used to store carriages, antique furniture, and saints’ floats. Occasionally, it had a mezzanine for offices and servants’ quarters. This was elevated one meter above the frequently damp ground. Windows were guarded against intruders by barrigones (literally “big bellies”), also known as buntis (“pregnant”), which were protruding iron grilles, or by massive wooden bars. Cuadra or caballeriza (stables) were located on the opposite side of an open courtyard from the main house.
From the zaguan to the upper level, a two-flight staircase led. Particularly in large homes, the caida (reception hall) may serve as both a reception area and dining room. Other homes, however, distinguished between the antesala (entryway) and the sala (living room). In close proximity to the sala was the comedor (dining room). In some homes, the kitchen serves as both the cooking area and the dining room on a daily basis. Due to the reduced risk of fire, kitchens with exterior walls made of cut stone or brick became widespread. The azotea was an elevated stone porch with ceramic railings that connected the kitchen to the toilets and bathrooms. This porch served multiple purposes. Due to its proximity to a balon (well) or aljibe (cistern), this structure was used for food preparation and laundry. It was also a convenient location for cultivating many edible and medicinal plants in pots. The multifunctional nature of the common rooms and the concept of a kitchen-porch were also carried over from the modest bamboo hut to the magnificent wood-and-stone residence.
Quema bahay na bato in Vigan, Ilocos Sur (Photo by Jesse Alegre, courtesy of the Government of Vigan City)
Typically, a large extended family consisting of a couple, their children, and their grandchildren resided in the residence. Yet, there were few bedrooms, typically only two or three, as the children slept on large mats rolled out on the caida or sala. During certain times of the year, especially during the town fiesta and Holy Week, the house served as a community center because the owners were obligated to feed anyone who came to venerate the holy image they kept, regardless of the devotee’s socioeconomic status.
Existing examples of the geometric style include the homes of the Ilagan (Taal), Constantino (Balagtas), Quema (Vigan), Syquia (Vigan), Lizares (Talisay), and Gorordo families (Cebu).
In 1863 and 1880, tremors shook Manila, destroying numerous homes. New regulations mandated that house posts be thinner and connected by multiple braces for greater flexibility. The braces were filled with thin brick panels. Both brick panels and posts in the new houses in Manila had a thickness of 21 centimeters. Where brick was in short supply, house posts were placed next to the walls to prevent them from cracking.
Another ordinance discouraged the use of curved tiles in favor of flat tiles or imported corrugated iron sheets. The former gained popularity because it appeared to be more durable and easier to install. Without a high ceiling beneath it, it unfortunately radiated the sun’s heat into the rooms. However, because iron roofs were lighter, they could extend well beyond the exterior walls to create wide eaves, which were equipped with soffit vents to allow hot air to escape from under the roof. Tapancos or media aguas (metal awnings) made of artfully shaped tin sheets were used to protect windows. Desagues (tin tubes) or downspouts conducted roof runoff to the ground.
Since these innovations protected the house walls from rain and sun, the volada, as a closed corridor, became obsolete and was subsequently merged with the room behind it, with the former dividing walls being removed or replaced with ornamental wooden arches.
As a result of these innovations, homes built after 1880 had more space than their predecessors. In addition, they utilized more wood for the upper-story walls. Sometimes the siding consisted of wooden panels adorned with bandejados (oval, platterlike forms). Glass, sometimes frosted and sometimes in a harlequin pattern of multiple colors, became more prevalent; consequently, rooms became brighter. The fretwork of the calados took the form of butterflies, flowers, or lyres and grew wider and longer from post to post. In the soffit vents, corbels, and iron grilles, floral motifs proliferated on the exterior as well. This style of bahay na bato, which lasted from the 1880s to the 1930s, is therefore known as the “floral.”
Other innovations distinguished floral designs from geometric ones. The form of the roofs became more diverse. For instance, jerkinhead roofs in the Swiss style gained popularity. On the roof stood a mirador (tower) for observing the distance and housing additional plants. As the walls in the ground floor became thinner and, consequently, less humid, family bedrooms were constructed in the entresuelo.
The floral version is exemplified by the houses of the Pamintuan (Angeles), Tecson (San Miguel de Mayumo), and Bautista (Malolos), as well as the interiors of the Pastor (Batangas City) and Avenida (Batangas City) families (Alaminos, Laguna). In the 1870s, Villavicencio gave his bride Gliceria Marella a Taal house with a floral theme.
As proposed by academics such as Fernando Zialcita, the Geometric and Floral styles can be further subdivided into distinct variants. These include the bandejado style, which is characterized by platter-like wall panels; the flower in the trellis style, which is characterized by extravagant decoration; the quadrant style, which divides the facade into sets of squares; and the horizontal and vertical and related straight and narrow styles, which are characterized by horizontal wall boards. Erik Akpedonu proposes the simple board-and-batten style and the austere reconstruction period style to complement the Geometric and Floral styles. Unbeknownst to many Filipinos, the traditional Batanes house is also a bahay na bato, as the tradition of building in stone was introduced to the Batanes archipelago by Spanish missionaries in the mid-18th century.
Numerous and varied furnishings were present. In these homes, Philippine furniture and painting reached their pinnacle. The antesala, sala, and comedor were filled with intricately carved consoles, chairs, and tables made of hardwood. On the walls were easel paintings and murals created locally, along with imported lamps and mirrors. The bedrooms featured elaborate four-poster beds, side closets, chests, and chests of drawers. In 1859, Sir John Bowring, a British diplomat, remarked that these homes were “not, as is often the case in England, overcrowded with unnecessary items.” Photographs and surviving interiors from the 1880s to the 1900s demonstrate a healthy moderation.
The bahay na bato has a number of regional variations. In the Ilocos region, particularly in the city of Vigan, walls on both stories are composed of plastered brick encasing a wooden frame. Exteriors feature simple, unadorned pilasters and cornices. “Vigan House,” a common term for a residence with a stone base and a wooden upper level, is therefore deceptive. The plaster is occasionally tinted with light indigo because Ilocos used to export the dye. Houses such as the Mercado in Bustos, Bulacan, utilize stone for both stories. The exterior wall space between the window sill and the floor is adorned with bas-reliefs of stylized flowers and crosses, and the corner posts are carved into clusters of slender pillars. Some homes in Silay, Negros Occidental, like the Gamboa, have porches with cusped arches on the ground floor. Other notable houses in Negros Occidental belong to the Locsin and Gaston families in Silay and the Lizares and Claparols families in Talapa. The Casa Gorordo in Cebu is one of the finest examples of the bahay.
As the tropical climate becomes increasingly hot and humid, the bahay na bato becomes lighter and airier from north to south. Due to the cooler climate and strong winds, houses in Batanes’ extreme northern region have only small windows, whereas those in Ilocos have much larger windows, although they typically lack espejos and ventanillas. The latter only appear in central Luzon’s southern region, where the espejos are typically enclosed in capiz or glass. As one travels further south to the Visayas, the decorative calados that replace the espejos above the windows provide additional cross ventilation in addition to the windows and ventanillas. In Mindanao, these calados are frequently installed along the entire length of exterior walls, allowing for cross ventilation along the entire facade.
Bahay na bato reflect not only the socioeconomic status and composition of individuals, but also of entire provinces. Thus, the magnificent mansions of the sugar barons of Iloilo and Negros, which reflect not only the enormous fortunes made in the 19th and early 20th-century plantation economy, but also a much sharper social divide than in, for instance, neighboring Bohol, whose comparatively modest bahay na bato not only hint at the relatively marginal economic significance of the province throughout the entire colonial period, but also indicate a much less pronounced social class divide.
At the end of the Spanish era, revivalist styles such as neo-renaissance, neo-baroque, and neo-classicism, as well as beaux-arts, which combined all of the aforementioned, emerged. Other historicist styles, including neo-gothic, neo-romanesque, and neo-mudejar, as well as eclectic combinations, became popular in the Philippines, not just for churches and public buildings, but also for private residences. Thus, many houses began to feature protruding neoclassical risalits over driveways, topped by stately pediments; elegant columns and pilasters and even caryatids carrying dentil friezes with triglyphs and metopes; neogothic lancet arches and stained glass windows, neo-Ottoman blind arcades, and a great deal of other details. During the 1910s and 1930s, art nouveau and art deco would join these revivalist styles. Despite being frequently adorned with imported European ornamentation, windows, and decorative details, these private residences remained functionally, structurally, and materially typical bahay na bato. Typical examples include the 1897 Victor Gaston Mansion in Silay, Negros Occidental (commonly known as Balay Negrense) and the 1910 Montinola Mansion in Jaro, Iloilo.
As a result of the United States’ colonization of the Philippines in 1901, a tidal wave of technological advancements engulfed the country, including significant changes in the building industry, construction methods, and most importantly, building materials. Although they were not the first to introduce reinforced concrete to the country, the new colonial administration led by American architect William Parsons popularized the material throughout the archipelago. After that, poured concrete largely replaced adobe, coralline limestone, and bricks. Consequently, the structural framework of the majority of houses consisted of a combination of load-bearing exterior ground-floor walls and concrete columns, sometimes combined with wooden interior posts. In contrast to the wooden framework of the Spanish era, which absorbed horizontal earthquake forces by swaying, reinforced concrete, while capable of absorbing some bending forces, relies primarily on maximizing stiffness for stability.
In the 1930s, the bahay na bato as a house style began to decline. However, its influence continues to this day. Numerous houses in both the city and the countryside have a ground floor with hollow-block walls and a wooden upper floor with an overhang. Farmers in Ilocos frequently choose capiz panes over glass. Even though ventanillas are no longer provided, the space beneath the windows in many houses built between the 1950s and the present is still separated from the adjacent wall by a frame. This space is decorated with plaster bas-reliefs or bricks if the home is made of concrete.
The former Alunan Mansion in Pasay, built in 1925, and the former Pickett Mansion in Sta. Mesa, Manila, built in 1919, are examples of this transitional style. Other notable examples are the planter’s mansions in Iloilo and Negros Occidental, such as the neo-palladian Lacson-Yusay or Molo Mansion (1926) in Molo, Iloilo and the eclectic Jose Gaston Mansion in Manapla, Negros Occidental (1935). Typically, these have a front facade made entirely of concrete, often in the form of an arcaded or colonnaded open-air veranda. The exterior walls of the ground floor are also made of concrete, whereas the interior partition walls and the entire second floor are still made of wood.
The grand Lacson Mansion, also known as The Ruins in Talisay, Negros Occidental, built in the 1910s in neo-renaissance style by sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, is the best example of the combination of concrete framework and traditional bahay na bato elements. While its structural framework consists entirely of reinforced concrete posts and beams as well as concrete arcades on both floors, all interior and exterior upper-floor walls were originally made of wood, as in a bahay na bato. In the same manner, many of the early 20th-century all-concrete institutional buildings incorporated distinctive bahay na bato characteristics, such as capiz windows, whitewashed walls, and the design for maximum cross ventilation, as seen in the new Normal School and Normal Hall (1912) in Ermita, Manila.
In the 1920s, a new style of residential architecture, known as the neo-castilian villa, emerged and quickly gained elite favor; this popularity persisted until the 1950s. Large, sprawling villas constructed of poured concrete on both levels and decorated in an ornate neo-Mediterranean style. While not technically bahay na bato, they incorporated many bahay na bato characteristics into their design, such as partially wooden upper stories, wooden partition walls, calados, and sliding capiz windows. The Juan Arellano Residence in San Juan del Monte, built in the 1930s, the de Leon Mansion in New Manila, Quezon City (1931), and numerous smaller postwar houses in Ermita and Malate, Manila, are prime examples of this fusion style.
In the 1930s, the bahay na bato began to decline as a house style as the more affordable concrete became more widely used and high-quality wood became scarcer. 1945 marked the abrupt end of all traditional and revivalist styles of the bahay na bato, as modernism began its triumphant march around the globe following World War II, promising a brave new world. In the austere, immediate postwar years, the bahay na bato took on a much more simplified and serene appearance, which was aptly termed the reconstruction period style and hinted at the advent of modernism, before disappearing entirely by the mid-1950s.
However, the bahay na bato’s influence continues to this day. Numerous houses in both cities and rural areas have a ground floor with hollow-block walls and an upper floor of wood or even concrete that overhangs. Farmers in Ilocos frequently choose capiz panes over glass. Even though ventanillas are no longer provided, the space beneath the windows in many houses built between the 1950s and the present is still separated from the adjacent wall by a frame. This space is decorated with plaster bas-reliefs or bricks if the home is made of concrete.
The wood-and-stone house of the 1800s through the 1930s represents the pinnacle of the evolution of a truly urban Filipino style. It took into account both earthquakes and weather conditions, making it both secure and comfortable. During its final phase, it acquired ornate ornamentation, but at its best it exercised restraint. The proportions and balance of empty and filled space are what give many houses from that time period their beauty.
Unfortunately, the insistence on calling this style “Spanish” or “Antillean” has hampered appreciation for its accomplishment. As stated, it is a unique combination of three architectural styles that is exclusive to the Philippines. In the 1660s, Alzina referred to it as “mestiza” because it combined wood and stone. Engineers dispatched by Madrid in the 19th century referred to it as “el sistema adoptado en el pas” (the adopted system in the country), which they preferred to the stone-only “European style” due to its obvious advantages.
There is also no evidence that Philippine house styles are mere copies of the Antillan, a form associated with the Caribbean island group of the Antilles. Authentic Antillean or Caribbean homes had exterior walls made of stone on both levels and projecting balconies without sliding shell shutters or shuttered ventanillas. At the turn of the nineteenth century, some houses, such as that of the Claparols in Talisay, had balconies similar to those in Cuba. However, they were the exception and not the rule. In addition, their upper stories were made of wood, which was distinctly un-Cuban.
Continuities with the bahay kubo (nipa hut) are evident in the provinces. Sometimes, kitchen and even dining room floors lack floorboards. Instead, they are constructed from timber joists that can be walked upon, allowing trash to be easily swept into the ground below. Although ceilings may be coffered, sawali or woven bamboo strips are used to construct them. Oftentimes, the lifestyle within the gentry’s mansion is merely an upscale version of life in a traditional hut.
The erroneous belief that their occupants were Spaniards is another reason why such homes are labelled “Spanish.” In reality, peninsular Spaniards have always been a small percentage of the population. The inhabitants of such houses were locals: mestizos and Christianized natives, all of whom would eventually call themselves “Filipino” to distinguish themselves from the peninsular Spaniards who dominated high positions in the state and church. In fact, by 1840, the authorities were alarmed by the fact that a significant proportion of Intramuros’ homeowners were indigenas (natives) and mestizos.
Emilio Aguinaldo bahay na bato in Kawit, Cavite, 2017 (Photo by Jovan Soriano)
Residents were either professionals or wealthy landowners resembling 19th-century elites in other regions, including noncolonized states. Although many residents played crucial roles in the emergence of nationalism, democratic ideals had not yet been adopted. Father Jose Burgos (Vigan); Emilio Aguinaldo (Kawit); the Luna brothers (Binondo); Gregoria de Jesus, Andres Bonifacio’s widow, and her second husband Julio Nakpil (Quiapo); Gliceria Marella (Taal), who gave the doomed First Republic its only warship; and Manuel Hidalgo (Tagbilaran), Jose Rizal’s brother-in-law who was exile
It was difficult to find an alternative name for these houses. “Bahay na bato” implies a house made entirely of stone, which it is not. “Bahay na bato at kahoy” or “wood-and-stone house” may be a more precise description.
By Leah Cruz
Malabon - Leah Cruz, holding a journalism degree from the City of Malabon University, specialized in local culture and heritage. Her comedic content, inspired by Malabon’s rich history and her experiences as a reporter, provides a humorous insight into the city’s unique traditions and daily life.