Philippine Architecture

during the Spanish Colonial Period

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 04

AR. AZARCON, MD
 Fort Santiago
• Fort Santiago (Fuerza de Santiago) is a defense
fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel López
de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the
walled city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines.

• The location of Fort Santiago was also once the site of

the palace and kingdom of Rajah Suliman, chieftain of
Manila of pre-Spanish era. It was destroyed by the
conquistadors upon arriving in 1570, encountering
several bloody battles with the Muslims and native
Tagalogs. The Spaniards destroyed the native
settlements and erected Fuerza de Santiago in 1571.
 Intramuros
• Intramuros, located along the southern
bank of the Pasig River, was built by the
Spaniards in the 16th century and is the
oldest district of the city of Manila. Its
name, taken from the Latin, intra muros,
literally "Within the walls", meaning
within the wall enclosure of the
city/fortress, also describes its structure
as it is surrounded by thick, high walls
and moats. During the Spanish colonial
period, Intramuros was considered
Manila itself.
The Rizal house in Calamba,
Laguna .Vigan, Ilocos Sur as well
as Taal in Batangas have the best
surviving Spanish quarters.
• During three hundred years of Spanish colonialization the
philippine architecture was dominated by the Spanish culture.
During this period Intramurous, the walled city, of Manila, was
built with its walls, houses, churches and fortresses. The
Augustinian friars built a large number of grand churches all
over the Philippine Islands. During this period the traditional
Filipino "Bahay na Bato" style for the large mansion
emerged. These were large houses built of stone and wood
combining Filipino, Spanish and Chinese style elements. The
best preserved examples of these houses can be found in
Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Taal, Batangas.
 Bahay na Bato
• The , the Colonian Filipino House, is a mixture of native
Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences.

• In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, excellently preserved examples of

the houses of the noble Filipinos can be admired. In
Taal, Batangas, the main street is still ligned with
examples of the traditional Filipino homes
Bahay na bato (Filipino for
"stone house"), also known
in Cebuano as balay na
bato or balay nga bato and
in Spanish as casa Filipino
is a type of building
originating during the
Spanish colonial period of
the Philippines
Old Colonial houses in Vigan
Heritage houses in Taal
 Colonial Churches
• Philippine colonial churches are unique in their own sense. Some of the best
preserved colonial churches in the country are found in the Ilocos Regions, as well as
those in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas, as well as the Visayan islands of
Panay, Cebu and Bohol.
 Colonial Churches
• Dr. Jose Rizal was baptized in this
church on 22 June 1861 by Fr. Rufino
Collantes. During World War II, the
fleeing Japanese soldiers herded
Calamba’s residents inside the church
and then burned it down in what became
known as the Calamba Massacre. The
church was rebuilt after the war.
 Colonial Churches
• The Cathedral of San Pedro and San
Pablo was started to be constructed in
1761. It is the biggest colonial church to
be built by the Spanish in Cagayan and
became the pattern of what is called as
the “main Cagayan style” of Spanish
churches in the province, and in Nueva
Vizcaya and Isabela.
 Colonial Churches
• Binondo's Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz
was first built sometime in the 18th
century. It was damaged during the
British invasion of 1762, repaired and
improved, damaged again during the
1863 earthquake, repaired, and restored
and improved from 1946 until 1971.
Baroque Churches in the Philippines

Refers to four Spanish-era churches in

the Philippines designated by UNESCO
as a World Heritage Site in 1993.
• The Baroque Churches have been at the forefront of Philippine history since their
construction in the 1500s. During the time of Spanish colonial rule, the Church and
State worked hand in glove. They had served the Catholic church in the archipelago
and as the political backbone of Spanish colonial rule.
• The unique design of the churches reflects the integration of Spanish and Latin
American architecture to indigenous architecture of the Philippines, including a fusion
with Chinese style. The Church's political power of that period manifests in the
architecture. They had been designed to withstand attacks during revolts and
rebellions, giving the Churches the appearance of fortresses.
• The Baroque churches of the Philippines had been designed similar to the Spanish
churches in America. They had the appearance of a fortress. Spain sought to protect
itself from the native peoples (who had killed Ferdinand Magellan) and from the
Muslims in the south. The formidable appearance outside the Church buildings hide
the remarkable beauty and spirituality inside.
 4 most Prominent Baroque Churches

1. Church of San Agustin in Manila

2. Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in
Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur
3. Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
4. Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo
 San Agustin Church
Archdiocesan Shrine of
Nuestra Señora de la
Consolación y Correa
(Intramuros, Manila)
The The Order of St.
Agustine built the Church
of San Agustine located
inside the historic walled
city of Intramuros in
Manila. Completed by
1607, The Church of San
Agustine constitutes the
oldest church building in
the Philippines.
San Agustin Church - Features
 Santa Maria Church
Nuestra Señora dela
Asuncion Church (Santa
Maria, Ilocos Sur)
• The Church of La Nuestra
Señora de las Asuncion
marked a departure from the
traditional Spanish church
building. Rather than setting
the town church in the central
plaza, the Augustinian mission
chose to build the church and
convento on a hill. A
formidable defensive wall
surrounds the structure. The
builders, taking cues from the
topography of the hill, set
convento parallel to the front
of the cathedral while building
the bell-tower at the center of
the sanctuary wall. That
showed an adaptation to
Philippine-Hispanic
Architecture.
 Paoay Church
Saint Augustine Church
(Paoay, Ilocos Norte)
The first church was built in
1731 near the Tumagbok River
three years before the arrival of
the first Spanish priests. Moro
pirates burned this in 1741 and
another one was built in 1746.
This was again looted and
burned by marauding pirates
and another one was built in
1787 this time on top of a hill
called Tacas. The church was
designed to serve as a fortress
against frequent pirate raids
and has withstood typhoons
and earthquakes. It underwent
restoration work in 1869, was
razed during the Philippine
Revolution of 1898 and the
Filipino-American War of 1899,
rebuilt but was again damaged
by fire in 1910, repaired and
damaged again by fire during
the Japanese occupation
 Miag-ao Church
Santo Tomas de Villanueva
Parish (Miag-ao, Iloilo)

The Miag-ao Church, built

in 1786 by Spanish
Augustinian missionaries,
had been declared as part
of the UNESCO World
Heritage Site "Baroque
Churches of the
Philippines" in 1993. On
the front facade, flanked by
two watchtower belfries, the
unique blending of Spanish
and native influences
manifests.
Philippine Architecture during the
American Colonial Period
 American Colonization
After the Spanish American war in 1898 the Americans took over rule of the Philippines
until after the second world war. During this period the Americans constructed many Art
Nouveaux buildings in Manila. In 1902 Judge William Howard Taft was appointed to head
the Philippine Commission to evaluate the needs of the new territory. Taft, who later
became the Philippines' first civilian Governor-General, decided that Manila, the capital,
should be a planned town. He hired as his architect and city planner Daniel Hudson
Burnham, who had built Union Station and the post office in Washington. In Manila, Mr.
Burnham had in mind a long wide, tree- lined boulevard along the bay, beginning at a park
area dominated by a magnificent hotel. To design, what is now known as, the Manila Hotel
Taft hired , a New York architect, who envisioned an impressive, but comfortable hotel,
along the lines of a California mission, but grander. The original design was an H-shaped
plan that focused on well-ventilated rooms on two wings, providing grand vistas of the
harbor, the Luneta, and Intramuros.
Manila Hotel
 The Metropolitan Theatre
is an art deco building designed by the Filipino
architect Juan M. de Guzman Arellano, and built
in 1935. During the liberation of Manila by the
Americans in 1945, the theatre we totally
destroyed. After reconstruction by the Americans
it gradually fell into disuse in the 1960’s. In the
following decade it was meticulously restored
but again fell into decay. Recently a bus station
has been constructed at the back of the theatre.
The City of Manila is planning a renovation of
this once magnificent building.
 The Metropolitan Theatre
The sculptures in the façade of the Theatre are from
the Italian sculptor , who lived in Manila from 1930
until his death in 1958, and worked closely together
with J.M. de Guzman Arellano. Highly stylized relief
carving of Philippine plants executed by the artist
decorate the lobby walls and interior surfaces of the
building.