History of Philippine Architecture

I can still remember that moment in my freshman days, when I looked through that glass covered window of room 202 Roque Ruaño building. It’s drizzling then, kind of cold and bored, when suddenly I’ve been warped into another place and time. I think it was Hispanic or something. But yes, of course, it was my imagination. Like a glimpse of the past as I gaze at the façade of the University of Santo Tomas main building. Then I started to wonder why it looks so grandiose and like it has a story to tell. Then I told myself, definitely it has a history.

Philippine Architecture started way back from Malay’s migration to the Philippine islands. Compared to what we have right now, our architectural heritage reflects varied foreign influences.

To clearly picturesque the turning points of architecture in our country, let it be known that this is classified according to successive periods in our history: the Pre-Colonial, the Spanish Colonial, the American Commonwealth and the Modern Contemporary Times.

It has been always said that we already have our own flourishing culture before the Spaniards came to colonize us, and I firmly believe that. Our Malay tribal ancestors had their “Bahay Kubo”, a steep-roofed, one- or two-roomed hut raised on steep posts over the ground or shallow water. Throughout the archipelago, the rural native huts depicts a typical look but have marked dissimilarities. These dissimilarities depend on where they are located. A good comparison is the two types of native huts, the low-land and the high-land.

Low-land huts, like the Yakan tribe hut, are well ventilated, suitable for humid climate. On the high-lands, especially in Cordillera region, their huts are well insulated for the region’s cold climate. One of the several known tribal huts is the “Torogan” of the Maranao tribe, because it is designed for the royal family, thus, ornamentation and elaborate details are taken into consideration.

Low-land Nipa hut (Batangas Province)

High-land Nipa hut (Mountain Province)

Torogan hut of the Maranaos (Lanao, Mindanao)

Ornamentations on a Torogan hut

The arrival of the Spaniards in 1571 brought in Christianity. The demand for chapels began to spurt due to the conversion of the locals into Roman Catholics. At first, locals built chapels using bamboos and nipas, much like the native nipa hut.

The concern for stability, literally, has been raised to make sure that the church can withstand calamities such as storms or earthquakes. Educated friars then designed churches according to the prevailing style at that time, the Antillean Architecture. Obviously, the design is not suitable for a tropical country, like ours, so our Filipino and Chinese master builders revised the design according to climate and funding. A typical colonial church is built with a belfry, friar’s house or office, a convent and a walled forecourt.

San Agustine Church (Paoay, Ilocos Norte)

San Agustin Church (Intramuros, Manila)

Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion (Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur)

Miag-ao Church (Miag-ao, Iloilo)

Noticeably, the style that tremendously influenced most of these colonial churches is the Baroque style, a style that implies motion. At that time, schools and hospitals were also built and some of them also follow the Baroque style as exemplified by University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo Municipal, Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Hospital de San Juan de Dios.

University of Santo Tomas main building (Espana, Manila)

Ateneo de Municipal (Intramuros, Manila)

Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Intramuros, Manila)

Hospital de San Juan de Dios (Pasay)

With the churches, schools and hospitals, residential and commercial buildings were also built. These structures are called “Bahay na Bato”. The structural format of this is an integration of bahay kubo. Bahay na bato is built from refined wood on the main storey and concrete on the ground storey. It features shelled (capiz) windows and well ventilated rooms, and to add, a tiled roof.

Bahay na Bato (Sorsogon)

The coming of the Hispanic culture also brought in the Military Architecture, as depicted by the fortifications built all over the archipelago. The most famous is the walled city of Manila, the Intramuros, which inside it resides the foremost military outpost during the Spanish reign, the Fort Santiago.

Intramuros: The Walled City (Manila)

In the same location, we are freed by the Americans from the Spanish regime led by the 1887 Philippine Revolution.

Compared with the Spaniards, the Americans brought in educational and government system. In line with it, they brought the Greek and Romanesque style. Buildings raised at that time resembled the said styles as seen in the Palma Hall of University of the Philippines, the Government Post Office Building and the Legislative House.

University of the Philippines Palma Hall (Quezon City)

Post Office Building (Manila)

Legislative House (supposed to be the National Library) (Manila)

With the American rule firmly established in the islands, the military government invited Chicago based architect and town planner, Daniel Burnham to develop the City of Manila. It then became the “Burnham Plan” which identifies the City of Manila as uniquely European city in the tropics, but it was stopped by Manuel L. Quezon to make way for an irrigation system funding. He then found the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio.

At the turn of the century, commercial and residential districts are established and flourishing. The Eclectic Style rose as a mixture of historical styles, examples of this is the Regina building along Escolta. Art Noveau broke out, such as the Uy-Chaco building along Calle Rosario, as well as the Casa de Ariston in Calle Barbosa, Quiapo. In the mid 20’s until the eve of World War 2, Art Deco was the “In” architectural style. The most notable example of this is the Metropolitan Theatre along Plaza Aroceros.

Regina Building (Escolta, Manila)

Uy-Chaco Building (Calle Rosario, Manila)

Metropolitan Theatre (Plaza Aroceros, Manila)

The aftermath of World War 2 left nothing but destruction. This led to rebuilding. The architectural style that prevailed at that time is the International Modern Style, a style that uses simple straight lines.

By 1970’s, a new form of architectural style emerged, a style that we truly can say ours, the Filipino style. Bahay Kubo and Bahay na Bato became the popular motifs for inspiration, the perfect example of this is the Batasan Pambansa.

Batasang Pambansa (Quezon City)

By the 80’s, with the world, Post-Modernism architecture took its reign, and up to this day, it prevailed.


The history and culture of the Philippines is greatly reflected in its architectural heritage.


The late national hero for architecture, Leandro Locsin, said, “The Philippine Architecture is an elusive thing, because while it makes full use of the modern technology, it is a residue of the different overlays of foreign influences left in the Philippines over the centuries: the early Malay culture and the vestiges of earlier Hindu influences, the more than three hundred years of Spanish domination, the almost fifty years of American rule, the Arab and Chinese influences through commerce and trade over the centuries. What resulted may have been a hybrid, a totally new configuration which may include a remembrance of the past, but transformed or framed in terms of its significance today. As a result, the Philippines have become an architectural melting pot, uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the occidental.”

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This was my report some years ago when I was still a sophomore Civil Engineering student at UST. My professor and fellow classmates were surprised with this presentation since we should be researching and reporting something related to our major. I guess math, cement and critical thinking bored me. My intuition guided me to architecture. I'm such an artsy.

P.S.: Clicking on the pictures redirects you to the sites where I've found these photos (my thanks to the admins of those sites, especially the bloggers. The text was done on research.