Junelle B.

Barcena
February 6, 2013
Diwa ng Lunan (Spirit of Place)
The Spirit of Togetherness

Filipinos are a sentimental race. We often take as many pictures as possible at events or at
other happenings no matter how often they occur. We always have keepsakes and oftentimes,
our homes are cluttered with these material items, each of which holds a different meaning or
memory. This inclination to sentiment also applies to structures such as homes or buildings,
or to other spaces such as a special spot in the park or a specific bench along the sidewalk.
The feeling or memory we associate with a certain space makes it become, architecturally
speaking, a place, while the feeling or memory itself is called the spirit of place, or in
Filipino, diwa ng lunan.
The first houses the Filipinos built oftentimes were composed of only one room where the
family did everything together. The only separate entity was the bathroom, which was often
placed outside. The typical day would consist of the father perhaps working nearby, the
mother taking care of things inside the house, and the children either helping out or playing
under the house where it was shady and cool. In this simple setting, the members of the
Filipino family would create memories, strengthen their bonds, and associate their feelings
with the home.
In recent times, the Filipino home has evolved from the simple, one-roomed structure to
the multi-chambered, concrete house, but the spirit of place is always present, especially in
the childs earlier memories. Anybody who is asked about his or her childhood would
probably conjure up images of playtime in the immediate vicinity of the home, birthday
parties held in the living room, or the entire family watching television in the master
bedroom. Even until now, when technology is dominant and the dining room has become

perhaps the only space in the house where the family is still together, there is still the
presence of diwa ng lunan, no matter how small the space it covers is.
It is in this context that I define Filipino architecture as a space designed to cultivate
familial relationships as well as provide a setting for the Filipino childhood. Filipinos are not
very fond of putting up partitions unless completely necessary, and this I have witnessed in
many houses. We often leave doors open and we prefer to be in the spaces where there are
people. For example, at home during Sundays, my entire family stays outside near the
hammock we strung between two trees. This is the reason why I think of that particular spot
in the house whenever somebody mentions the word family, because Sunday is the only
day were all home, and is therefore the only time we are able to build our relationships with
each other.
There is also this tree that once stood right in the middle of the sidewalk in front of our
home. When I was in high school, it was under this tree where I waited patiently for a
pedicab to ride to school. Most of the time it took me ten to fifteen minutes, and in that time I
would reflect on the previous days occurrences as well as wonder at what that present day
had in store for me. I had not realized it but I had associated those memories with the tree as
well. When my mother decided to have it cut near the end of my senior year, I felt like a part
of me, albeit a small one, had gone missing. I felt like it was harder to gain access to those
memories and reflections I had under that tree because of its absence. Over time, I learned to
live without it, but sometimes I think about that tree and the specific spot where I stood under
it, and I remember high school.
A house that is heavily influenced by western architecture is perhaps one of the places in
the country that holds the least amount of memories. For instance, one of my classmates live
in a three story house in a very prominent subdivision, where all the other houses are just as
big, if not bigger, than theirs. As expected, my classmate and each of her siblings have a room

and an adjacent bathroom of their own. I have also noticed that she and her siblings do not
get along very well, and her disposition towards her parents is more formal than a normal
person would be, almost as if they were business associates. True, they live in a big house
filled with all the things that they like, but their family bond is weak compared to a family
who lives in a smaller house and who therefore have bigger chances of seeing each other in a
day.
Diwa ng lunan affects the way we look at our surroundings and the way we think about
spaces, and as it had been mentioned many times during the discussion, it would be a tragedy
to spur a huge change in a place that holds many, many positive memories, especially if that
place was the home. What makes a space become a place is the memory we associate with it,
oftentimes with a specific person who we have built a relationship with, no matter to what
degree, and since Filipinos value family above almost everything, it is just fitting that Filipino
architecture focuses on keeping the family together instead of apart.