Spanish Colonial Architecture in the Philippines

Part 1 – SPANISH PERIOD I. ARCHITECTURE Chapter 1 Pre-Spanish Houses. Houses of the pre-Magellan Filipinos were made of light materials like bamboo, palm, vine, and grass. Wood was also used, usually for posts and joists....

Part 1 – SPANISH PERIOD I. ARCHITECTURE Chapter 1 Pre-Spanish Houses. Houses of the pre-Magellan Filipinos were made of light materials like bamboo, palm, vine, and grass. Wood was also used, usually for posts and joists. In places where the nipa palm grew, nipa thatch was the material for roofing and siding; otherwise, grass was used. Flattened bamboo and bark of trees were utilized for siding and flooring. Bamboo slats interwoven and held by a frame of whole or halved bamboo served for doors and windows. Rattan and similar vines were the materials for tying. Ladders were made of bamboo. The pre-Spanish Filipino house had a pyramidal roof. The walls were low; the floor was raised a few feet above the ground. Oftentimes, leantos extended from the main house. The houses of the well-to-do class were generally of larger dimensions. The Beginnings of Intramuros: The Spaniards discovered the Philippines in 1521. However, it was more than four decades later, in 1565, than an expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi succeeded in establishing settlements for the purpose of colonizing the archipelago. Settlements were set up in Cebu, Panay and Luzon. In Manila after conquering the native chieftains, Legaspi put up the administrative center of the colonial government. And, just as in Cebu and Panay, he established the Spanish settlement on the site of the native stronghold at the mouth of the Pasig River. Since half off the native settlement was burned down in the battle for the conquest of Manila, Legaspi had to rebuild it. Barracks were built for the soldiers, houses for the officers and civil personnel, and a chapel. These structures, at first, were made of  1 2 light materials – bamboo, wood, palm and grass – which the natives used. Later on, however, as new streets were laid out for the town, stronger materials were used. Building stone, better known with the Mexican term “adobe,” abounded in many places in the vicinity of Manila. The best kind was quarried in Guadalupe, a few kilometers east of Manila, and in Meycawayan, about twenty kilometers north. The Meycawayan stone possessed strong bonding quality. In the building of Philippine towns by the Spanish colonists, the common scheme in the plan of the streets was to layout a square of about one hundred varas or more to a side, depending upon the importance of the locality. Usually, the church was built on the opposite side. The residences of the town administrators and other prominent persons, like the aguacil mayor and the regidores were on the other two center. As the town expanded, streets were laid out parallel to the streets around the plaza. The original town of Manila was rebuilt by Legaspi in 1571 in accordance with this scheme. And he also strengthened the palisades surrounding the town. The area within these fortifications developed to be Intramuros, or Walled City, of Manila. Start of Stone and Tile Construction. After the unsuccessful attack of Manila by Limahong in 1574. Governor Lavezares built stronger palisades to protect the Walled City. However, a second fire destroyed the city. This fire started from the San Agustin church, which was of wood and nipa, while the remains of Governor Ronquillo lay on a catafalque. A piece of decorative material stirred by the wind caught the flame of a candle. On account of this disaster, the incumbent Governor De Vera laid plans to replace the palisades with a stone wall. He also discouraged the use of nipa for roofing of houses within the city. And so houses of wood and stone with tile roofs began to be built. At the beginning of the 17th Century, De Morga noted these casas de canteria y teja. By the middle of the 17th Century, Intramuros was a city of stone and tile. The walls of Intramuros were however started under Governor Gomez Perez Dasmariñas. Quarrying of stones was under-  3 taken by Sangleys and natives under the direction of Father Sedeño, a Jesuit. Father Sedeño also instructed the natives in the manufacture of bricks and tiles. The construction of the massive walls of Intramuros was an engineering feat. It surrounded the entire city. There were watch towers at strategic points. At some sections were compartments for the guards on the walls and at the gates. (Fig. 83, 85, 113) Gates including the entrance to Fort Santiago were accorded some architectural treatment. Possibly the ornamentations of the latter were done by Sangley artisans. Early Churches of Intramuros and Vicinity. The first buildings of architectural importance in Intramuros were the San Agustin church and the Manila Cathedral. (Fig. 4) As late as the 18th century, governors and archbishops complained of the death of component architects and builders in the colony. The Agustinians were fortunate in having had the lay brother Antonio Herrera, who was a master builder. He was either the son or nephew of Juan de Herrera, builder of the Escorial and originator of the Herreresquestyle in Spanish Renaissance architecture. Antonio had been one of the assistants of the elder Herrera. He came to the Philippines for some unknown reason. Construction of the San Agustin church had already been started when Antonio tool over. Presumably some changes were made on the original plans. He undertook also the construction of the convent. Chief characteristic of his construction was massiveness and stability. (Figs. 6-8) Originally, the church had twin towers, four-sided, three stories each. The sides of the third story ended in pediments. Cupolas sitting on drums capped the towers. In the earthquake of 1863, when the churches of San Diego, San Francisco, Recoletos, the Manila Cathedral, and other buildings were levelled to the ground, only the two upper stories of one tower of the San Agustin church suffered damage. This damaged part did not even fall to the ground; it had to be removed afterwards. The San Agustin church is one of the very few constructed in the Philippines with a true barrel vaulting. Subsequent builders were reluctant to build entire naves with stone vaults as the frequent earthquakes endangered them. The barrel vault of San Agus-  4 tin church has withstood the severest earthquakes. It is the only same church of its size built in the first decade of the 17th Century (1509-1606) that is still standing as originally built. In 1875, two Italian painter-decorators, Alberoni and Dibella, decorated the interior of the church. They made a perfect illusion of the third dimension in the sunken panels, rosettes, cornices and mouldings rendered on the ceiling of the vaulted nave. The Manila Cathedral which was destroyed along with other churches in Intramuros by the catastrophic earthquake of 1863 was the fourth structure built on the same site. Construction of this particular structure was begun in 1751 and took a quarter of a century to complete it. The work was under the directions of Father Juan de Uguccioni who was an architect and master builder. This cathedral had three naves; the sacristy was behind the main altar. It had a huge octagonal tower separated from the body of the church. The façade was in the Renaissance style. It consisted of two stories. The lower story was divided into three vertical zones; the central one, wider and flanked by twin pillars. The main portal was topped by a curved, broken pediment. The second story was triangular in form; the inclined edges of the triangle had double volute ornaments. The dome was a truncated cone; while the cupola of the tower was hemispherical. (Figs. 9-11) There were many other churches in early Intramuros: theSto. Domingo, the Recoletos, and the San Francisco churches. They were built of light materials in the beginning; then later, of stone. Fires and earthquakes destroyed them in the course of the years, but were always rebuilt. The great earthquake of 1863 levelled them all at the same time. As Intramuros developed, other big buildings aside from churches were constructed. By 1671, the Governor’s palace, the Audiencia and the Cabildo were completed along the three sides of the Plaza Mayor; the Manila Cathedral being on the fourth side. In the immediate vicinity were the University of Santo Tomas, the San Juan de Letran College, the Royal Hospital, and the Archcishop’s palace. All these buildings were executed by maestros de obras. They were all obras de canteriaand were mostly devoid of distinction in design. As the colonization and Christianization of the archipelago progressed, other communities in Luzon and in other islands developed. The establishment of dioceses in sectors outside of Manila  5 brought about the founding of parishes, and consequently the construction of churches and other buildings. Most often, the parishes developed into towns, and government houses had to be built. In the provinces, usually it was the parish priest who managed the construction of churches and buildings. And the plan was the simplest – the rectangle. In many places, nipa was the only roofing material since the manufacture of tiles was not widespread. In the Bicol region, for example, brickmaking started only about the second half of the 19th century. Undoubtedly the churches built by inexperienced builders could not withstand the huracanso often mentioned as levelling to the ground many early constructions. In some regions where good stone material was not available, nipa roofing, wooden poles and tabiquepampango were used to build chapels, visitas, as late as the 19th century.