A Filipino children’s song that has been passed down through generations inspired me to write this article. “Bahay-kubo, kahit munti, ang halaman doon ay sari-sari. “[There is a nipa hut, although very small, the plants that grow there are varied].” It goes on to enumerate the many vegetables that grow around the bahay-kubo.
The bahay-kubo has figured in folk songs, legends, short stories and children’s drawings. I was one of those children who drew the Philippine countryside with two mountains and a setting sun between them as the backdrop to a rice field with a scarecrow and a small bahay-kubo on one side. Growing up, the bahay-kubo became quite familiar to me, as we’d sleep in one on visits to the provinces. During my university years, it was a topic we explored in our History of Philippine Architecture subject.
Today a visit to the country’s tourist destinations will not be complete without a sighting of clusters of these houses. Even as we race to modernity, the nipa hut still serves as a takeoff point in Philippine architecture and design, and a lot of architects have pitched their take on “The Modern Bahay-Kubo.” What makes the Filipino bahay-kubo so unique in our tropical country, and what useful design principles can be extracted from the original to come up with a modern bahay-kubo?
PASSIVE COOLING
Living in a tropical country has its pros and cons. We have extreme heat and humidity, along with strong winds, especially at the peak of the monsoon season. Our architecture also has to deal with these types of extremes. Passive cooling is about harnessing these types of energy to work for the house by means of design and construction methodologies, rather than using energy-powered cooling appliances. The bahay-kubo pictured here exemplifies this through the presence of oversized windows in strategic locations of the house for natural ventilation. Other fenestrations that allow wind to flow through the house are ventanillas or louvers, and an exhaust route for hot air at the top of the ceiling, to name a few. Furthermore, wide eaves and overhangs provide shading for the entire house, as well as its surroundings. Proper orientation of the house to open up to wind directions (amihan and habagat) may also be helpful when site allows. When this is achieved, heat is deflected away from the house but light is still welcomed. The same principles can be applied to a modern house and, I promise you, you will also get the same wind flow and heat protection.
ON STILTS
Conditions in the Philippines also range from rainy to sunny. Raising a house on stilts is also beneficial, as this not only allows wind to enter and circulate from under the house, but also protects it from floods. In the case of the modern bahay-kubo, if the house is raised on stilts, the lower floor acts as a social space for family and friends to come together. In older times, this space also served as an extension of the family space, or a storage for livestock or harvest. Moreover, a house on stilts also reduces the building footprint and has very minimal ground disturbance during construction.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS, SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Building materials also play an important role in the construction of a bahay-kubo. These include bamboo, sawali, anahaw and rattan, among others. Bamboo is a type of grass that has utmost strength and flexibility. It is also one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, hence its sustainability. A typical bahay-kubo is 80-percent to 90-percent bamboo. The leaves act as cladding for the ceiling and the roof. Concrete may also be used, but only recommended for the foundations of the house and so that insects are not able to eat into the house’s foundations. Today the modern bahay-kubo uses more modern materials that are still sustainable and environment-friendly. Certain materials are also certified to be sustainable, as they are eco-friendly or made from recycled products, or those with low volatile compounds, etc.
THE FAMILY AS SINGLE UNIT
A unique trait among Filipinos is that we consider the family as a single social unit. The family plays an important role in Filipino society. This is something designers and planners must never forget. The spaces within a typical bahay-kubo are limited but big enough to accommodate a whole family living together. The social space adapts to the Filipino family values of being together and sharing their lives with one another. The idea of family as a single unit dictates that the common spaces of the house are bigger than, i.e., their rooms. Usually, the bigger rooms are the dining or family areas. This is also evident in the modern bahay-kubo. Filipinos love to entertain and have friends and extended families over, thus spaces have to be designed to accommodate large or small groups, and spaces have to be able to open up to each other. One might notice that the dining room opens up to the living area, and the living area may open up to the garden or an outdoor patio. Heck, in a traditional bahay-kubo community, everybody lives so close to one another that they share their big common space with their neighbors, opening the house not only to their family but also to the community. That is how social Filipinos can get.
There are still a lot more design principles that I can extract from the small bahay-kubo but I will stop here and leave the rest to the imagination. The bahay-kubo, is not just a “small” house; it is a home that is very functional given the limited material choices in the provinces. But with the right choice of materials and the right construction methodology, the bahay-kubo can withstand strong storms. Its elements are sustainable and its design principles are still being extracted, studied and translated into modern-day thinking.
Image credits: Boom Boncan