HISTORY: Filipino Architecture in the American Commonwealth Period

Filipino Architecturein the

American Commonwealth Period(1898-1946)

Primary sourced in the book “Diksyonaryong Biswal ng Arkitekturang Filipino” by Ar. Rino Fernandez

HISTARC 4 1st TERM S.Y. 2016-17

Word of the Lourd: Putim

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Taft avenue

La Islas Filipinas

Philippine-American War

THE PHILIPPINES

“Political Construct” made by US

Word of the Lourd: Patayin in the ‘Pilipinas’

American Period (Various Typologies)• Italianate• Victorian• Mission Revival• Neoclassic• Neo-Gothic• Neo-Renaissance• Art Deco• Streamlined Deco• Bauhaus

American Period (Various Typologies)• Italianate• Victorian• Mission Revival• Neoclassic• Neo-Gothic• Neo-Renaissance• Art Deco• Streamlined Deco• Bauhaus

I. Italianate

ItalianateA style which originated in Western Europe in circa 1840-1885 reviving the elements of the Italian Renaissance Architecture of the 16th Century with

- square cupolas or towers- elaborate classical detailings- wide overhanging eaves with closely-spaced decorative brackets; - tall and narrow square or arched windows- L-shaped plans- arcaded porches with balustrades- low-pitched or flat roof

Villa Lizares (now Angelicum School) in Iloilo

Bullseye

Low-pitched roof

Accouplement

“Bintanang nakaungos sa pader”

Rustic Wall

“AXIS”

Best example of “Italianate” style?

MALACAÑAN PALACE

Square cupolas

“Elaborate” classical detailings

Arcaded porches or balustrates

Broken-bed segmental pediment- A type of segmental pediment with a basehaving an opening at the center; usually applied to a wallabove a door or window.

“Eskudo”, coat-of-arms

Aedicule – a canopied nicheOr opening flanked by pilasters Or colonnettes.

Salomonica columns- A type of column with a Shaft carved into twistedOr spiral form.

II. VICTORIAN

VictorianA style in Europe during the reign of Queen Victoria in Great Britain (1837-1901) reviving and/ or combining the elements of Gothic and Italianate styles such as;

- steep gabled roof and dormers- cone-shaped turrets or square tower with mansard roof - intricate or richly ornamented paneling, trusses, and braces- paneled exterior walling with either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal design- and wide overhanging eaves with exposed rafters ends

Best example of Victorian style in PH?

#TitasofMNL “style”

Siliman University “Hall” (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental)

“Eastern Stick Style” of American Architecture in the PH

“Eastern Stick Style” of American Architecture in the PH

cast iron columns and ornate metal pan ceiling salvaged from the debris of a theater in New York.

III. Mission Revival

Mission RevivalAn architecture movement which originated in the US at the end of the 19th Century reviving and/ or employing the elements of Spanish Colonial Revival Style.

This had been widely used in California characterized by;- Use of low-pitched roof- Stucco finish exterior walls- Wide eaves with closely spaced exposed rafter end- Frontispiece with exposed gable wall- Imposing square towers with pyramidal roof

Philippine Normal University (PNU) Campus

PNU Normal Hall

PNU Normal Hall

BALCONETTE

QUATREFOIL WINDOW

MISSION DORMER

BRACKETED CORNICE

IV. NEOCLASSICAL

NeoclassicalA style which orginated in Europe and in the US from 1885-1925 reviving and combining the Greek and Roman Classical Architecture with the ideas of Renaissance Architecture.

Also known as Classical Revival or Beaux Arts Classicism, this style incorporates;- grandiose symmetrical compositions and façade, - Colonnaded portico with grand stair and imposing columns- Balustraded balconies- Pronounced cornices and entablatures,- Triangular pediment

Manila Post Office

ENTABLATURE

COLUMN

BASE BLOCK

V. NEOGOTHIC

NEOGOTHICA style which originated in Europe and used in the PH in the later part of the 19th Century reviving the architecture vocabulary of Gothic architecture. In includes;- Lofty facades- Pointed arches- Soaring spires- Ribbed vaulting- Flying buttress- Rich ornamentation and tracery

INC locale churches

San Sebastian Church, Manila

INC Central Temple• Designed by Ar. Carlos Santos-Viola (he is Catholic btw)

INC Central TempleNEEDLE SPIRE

Umbrella Dome with multiple ribs

OCTAGONAL LANTERN

STEEP GABLE WALL

VI. NEORENAISSANCE

Neo-RenaissanceA style which originated in Italy during the period of architectural style revival in the 19th Century which has been characterized by;- Hip type tiled roof with low-pitched or inclination- Eaves with supporting decorative brackets- Employment of details such as columns, pilasters, pediments, quoins,

and arches- And often symmetrically balanced

Quoins?

Quoin

Quoin

Ayuntamiento de Manila

Gota de Leche

Gota de Leche

SPANDREL

ROUNDREL

AfterwordExcerpts from the book, “Edifice Complex” by Ar. Gerald Lico

AfterwordImag(in)ing the Tropical Empire and the Architectures of Benevolent Creation

THE DEMISE of the Spanish empire at the end of the 19th Century signaled the emergence of monumental neoclassicism in the Philippines and signified the advent of American colonialism and its cultural dominance.

AfterwordThis style in a way gave continuity to a form of government that shifted from Spanish to American colonial rule. A military government was soon established to conduct various modes of pacification in the region.

The American troops pledged freedom and a more civilized way of life. The Filipinos, with the exception of those who rebelled, responded with great optimism.

AfterwordTo actualize this civilizing scheme, however, Americans had to supplant the existing cultural system through the establishment of new sociopolitical criteria under the persuasive theme of “benevolent assimilation”.

The constructed social environment in the first half of the 20th Century under the American colonial regime saw the process of Americanization accomplished through architecture and urban planning, Hollywood cinematic technology, and public education (“Thomasites”).

AfterwordThe uncultured were thus converted into the cultured.

The ideological exposure exerted a tremendous impact on the Filipino psyche, to a point where local architectural and artistic production generated artifacts that faithfully replicated American cultural paradigms and icons.

How will you generate a “Filipinized” discipline of Architecture with zero

influence of US (or in general, Western traditions?)

Thankz