INTRODUCTION The way we live tells us who we are, so our homes are dead giveaways. We Filipinos are known around the world for our unconditional caring for our elders. This thesis, “REINVENTING EARLY FILIPINO TRADITIONAL HOUSES INTO A CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO RESIDENCE”, is a tribute to our forefathers to somehow show them that their heritage is still alive and as well appreciated. And what better way to show them appreciation than to relive their work in the past and incorporate it in the future. What people in other countries call vernacular architecture we call folk architecture here, but mostly we identify the rural bahay kubo as a “native” house. The bahay kubo is by far the Filipino majority’s prime idea of a traditional Filipino house.
Vernacular architecture goes beyond the bahay kubo. From its origins as a rural bamboo and nipa house, it evolved into the urban bahay na ba to (house of stone) during the Spanish colonial era. From there, certain features evolved into the houses built in the early part of the 20 th century during the American regime. On the other hand, the early inhabitants of the Philippines were of many different peoples and of these peoples spawned the rich cultural diversity that we have now.
Some ethnic communities scattered across the country, even to this day, still live governed by their ancestor’s culture. Unblemished, these people’s culture stands strong that even through the test of time, they still live in their ethnic traditional homes. These traditional houses are the architectural heritage left to us by our early Filipino ancestors. However, in this day and age, these traditional houses have become an anachronism. The more fortunate of their residents have, over time and generations, built new houses of cement roofed with galvanized iron roofing. It matters little that the new house is not safe from floods, oven-hot in the summer and that typhoon rains deafen the residents as it drums on the thin roof.
The Essay on Filipino Traditional Music
Main Article: Filipino folk music Philippine gong music can be divided into two types: the flat gong commonly known as gangsa and played by the groups in the Cordillera region of the bossed gongs played among the Islam and animist groups in the Southern Philippines. Kulintang refers to a racked gong chime instrument played in the southern islands of the Philippines, along with its varied ...
The concrete house is the supreme status symbol. People have forgotten the significance of these culture-rich homes. It is by this thesis that we look back at the past and commemorate the beauty that we have long overlooked and about to neglect.
