List: Parts of bahay na bato

The turn of the century bahay na bato or "stone house" -- the Old Manila Nostalgia blog correctly
renames it the bahay na bato at kahoy -- is practically extinct. Except for Las Casas de Acuzar,
which dismantles bahay na bato from their original context and reconstructs them in a resort near the
shore of Bagac, Bataan, no one builds them anymore.

Although non-indigenous, the bahay na bato (at kahoy) has become "authentic Filipino," to go by
Fernando Nakpil-Zialcita's argument, because the original Spanish architectural design has been
repurposed to suit the native climate using the native architectural idiom, in particular construction
ideas from the bahay kubo. The Old Manila Nostalgia blogger observantly notes these ingenious
adjustments:

- making the structure more earthquake-proof

- allowing more light into the house
- allowing more air (wide windows, ventanillas, high arches, pierced transoms)
- shielding the house from the rain and heat of the sun (medias aguas)
- raising the floor as a precaution against flood

Bahay na bato researcher Maria Cecilia Sunico Atienza lists the following as among the most
distinguishing features of the bahay na bato (in no particular order): portico, porte cochere, volada,
load-bearing walls, pilasters, engaged column, stained-glass windows, capiz sliding ventanas, and
ventanillas.

Note that, just like everything else in Filipino culture, the bahay na bato also has several variations
along ethnic lines, or so Imelda Marcos' Nayong Pilipino educated us long ago. The bahay na bato in
Cebu, for example, has differences from the one in, say, Samar. Augusto Villalon, in support of this
observation, has an interesting compare-and-contrast essay on the Vigan (Ilocos Sur) bahay na bato
versus the Taal (Batangas) bahay na bato. (Unfortunately, it can't be found via Google.)

Other observers point out another distinguishing feature: the unprecedented mixing and matching of
architectural styles, such that a bahay na bato can have neo-gothic and neo-Mudejar (neo-Moorish)
details in the same corners -- that is, on top of the baroque (which may be of particular style, e.g. the
spare-by-comparison Viennese Secessionist style). These quaint mixes give the bahay na bato an
architectural style that evolved from both East and West and thus making it truly Filipino.

One can't help but think the bahay na bato should be a source of identity and pride among Filipinos,
and yet the realities on the ground contradict this assumption. Instead of continuing with the
construction of our houses in this tradition, which is perfectly suited to the tropics, we now mostly
prefer the "modern Asian" or Japanese style. What we do with the fine cultural fusion that is the
bahay na bato is consign it to the status of a museum artifact, to be visited and relished only as an
afterthought. Apart from this, we obliterate it for commercial purposes, if not leave to self-destruction.
Why has the bahay na bato fallen into disrepair and disfavor? We can only speculate. Maybe the
reason is economics: it's simply too expensive to build the bahay na bato in the original style using
original materials.

Could the reason also be sociopolitical in nature? Could it also be that its death is only a reflection of
the death of the feudalistic structure of Philippine society? Let's not forget that, in its time, the bahay
na bato is a status symbol, and because of that, the Filipino masses could only associate it with a
social status and a way of life way beyond their means in their whole lifetime. Do the Filipino masses
regard the bahay na bato with hate, resentment, or disdain? Maybe the left-leaning do, but I have yet
to actually meet such a resentful bunch among fellow ordinary Filipinos.

With the bahay na bato inevitably vanishing from our culture, except as museum artifacts and
themed-resort structures, these architectural and interior design terms have practically vanished
along with it. All we can do now is make this quick requiem of a list:

Bahay na Bato at Kahoy Architectural and Home Furnishing Terms

Accessoria - "apartment-type dwelling characterized by common party walls shared by adjoining

units with separate door each in front"

Aljibe - cistern

Antesala - see Caida

Aparador de tres lunas - "armoire with three sections"

Arko - arch

Azotea - "open-air balcony beside the kitchen that housed a cistern (aljibe) and the bathroom and
was usually a work area" (Bambi Harper)

Atlas, Atlantes - "a column in the shape of a man"

Balconaje, Balcon - balcony

Banggera - " a wooden dish rack that extends outside the kitchen window. After the dishes are
washed, they are placed here to be air-dried. The inverted cups are placed on the ends of the
wooden sticks and the plates are placed in between or above the slats. On the far left is a
tapayan/banga, an earthenware jar that keeps water cool." (Old Manila Nostalgia blog); cf. Batalan

Baera - bathtub
Bao - bathroom

Barandillas - (usually wooden) railing or balustrade

Barrigones - "buntis" (or bombere, pregnant) grillworks on windows, to accommodate planters

Batalan - rear part of house used for washing and water storage, with a flooring often made of
slatted bamboo; more a part of a bahay kubo (but may be present as well at the rear of a bahay na
bato)

Baul mondo - traveling trunk

Bentwood beech chairs and other furniture - imported dark wood furniture made by European
August Thonet

Brackets - series of often diagonal braces placed in support of the volada on the second floor

Butaka - "a version of silla perezosa with no leg rests"

Caida - landing on the upper entrance hall; "foyer of the second floor"; also called Antesala

Calado - lace-style fretwork or latticework used to adorn room dividers and to allow air to circulate

Capilla - "long bench, a staple item in the caida"

Capital - "topmost member of a column (or pilaster) mediating between the column and the load"

Capiz window - (often) sliding window made of capiz shells cut into squares

Caryatid - "a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column
or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head"

Clerestory - "any high windows above eye level for the purpose of bringing outside light, fresh air, or
both into the inner space"

Cocina - kitchen, which was typically built separately from the house

Colonette - "a small, thin decorative column supporting a beam (horizontal timber) or lintel (beam
spanning a door or window)"

Comedor - dining room

Comun - toilet; also called Latrina

Corbel - "a projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it"; also Braces?

Cornice - a ledge or "generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture
element"

Court, Courtyard - "a space enclosed by walls and is open to the sky; has azotea or balconaje"

Cuartos - rooms

Cuatro aguas - "hip roof, which has more corners and angles, making it stronger than the dos
aguas (gable) or high-pitched roof due to stronger aerodynamics (i.e., more wind resistance); also
has the advantage of providing an overhang, which is effective for protecting the house from
rainwater and from direct sunlight"

Dapugan - "a platform in the kitchen where the 'kalan' or clay stove is placed"

Despacho - office; also Oficina

Dispensa - pantry

Dos aguas - "gable or high-pitched roof"

Eave - "bottom edge of a roof"

Engaged column - column in support of the roof above

Entresuelo - mezzanine; "literally meaning 'between floors, this is the area where clients, tenants or
estate managers (if the owner was a rich landowner) wait before being admitted to
the oficina (office)"

Escalera - stairway

Escritorio - "a large chest of drawers, commonly adorned with inlay work"

Estante - dining room cabinet where chinaware and silverware are diplayed

Faade - front

Finial - "a usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity"

Fresquera - storage room for salted food, etc.; placed on the wall of the house facing outside

Gable - "the part of a wall that encloses the end of a pitched roof"

Gallinera - literally, "chicken seat"; "usually found outside the oficina of a landowner; coming from
the Spanish word 'gallo' (chicken), this church bench-inspired settee is used for farmers to place
chickens on the cage underneath in exchange for paying cash" (Old Manila Nostalgia blog)

Gargoyle - "a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away
from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and
eroding the mortar between"

Gingerbread trim, Running trim - "19th century Victorian style of fancifully cut and pierced frieze
boards, scrolled brackets, sawn balusters, and braced arches, to transform simple frame cottages
into one-of-a-kind homes" (Murvyn Callo); "usually attached to the eaves to make it more decorative
and to curving iron rods that help support the media agua"

Kama - typically meaning four-poster bed

Kama ni Ah Tay - "a once popular signature four poster bed design that was carved by a famous
Chinese furniture maker named Eduardo Ah Tay. To have this bed was considered a symbol of
status during the Spanish era." (Old Manila Nostalgia blog)

Kantoneras (Brackets) - "either plain calado cut-outs or fully carved embellishments usually placed
where beams and columns intersect especially under the "soffit" or overhanging ceiling outside
house; also seen to decorate door or window openings, hallways or simply dividing spaces"

Lansenas - kitchen sideboards

Latrina - see Comun

Load-bearing wall - wall used in place of posts to bear weight

Machuca tiles (formerly known as baldozas mosaicas) - colorful Mediterranean-style cement tiles
used for the zaguan flooring; often in harlequin pattern; manufactured by the Machuca company;
another brand is Majolica

Mascaron - "an architectural ornament representing a face or head -- human or animal -- that is
often grotesque or frightening"

Media aguas - canopy or roof shed, consisting of "a piece of metal roof that protects the window
from rain or heat"; not to be confused with awning
Mirador - lighthouse; lookout tower

Moulding, molding - "a strip of material (such as wood or metal) with some design or pattern that is
used as a decoration on a wall, on the edge of a table, etc."

Oratorio - prayer room with an altar of santos

Painted metal sheet ceiling - pressed "tin or copper ceiling from maybe late Victorian to early
American colonial period, to prevent decay by moisture or worms (or even mouse)"

Paminggalan - "a cabinet where leftover food and preserves are stored. The doors of the cabinet
have slats so that it can absorb air and room temperature inside. To avoid ants from coming up and
getting to the food, the legs of the cabinet are placed on containers filled with kerosene or any liquid."
(Old Manila Nostalgia blog)

Pasamano - window ledge

Persiana - louver window

Piedra china - Chinese stone used to pave the floor of the zaguan

Pilaster - false pillar "used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent
of wall, with only an ornamental function"

Platera - aparador or cabinet for kitchenware (chiefly china)

Porte cochere - horse carriage porch or portico at the main entrance

Portico - "(from Italian) a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade,
with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls"

Puerta - "door of the entrada principal (main entrance)"

Puertita - "small cut door that is part of the puerta"

Pugon - clay oven

Punkah - ceiling cloth fan

Sala mayor - main living room, place for late-afternoon parties called tertulias and dances called
bailes
Sala menor - secondary living room

Sillas Americanas - "American chairs, considered the Monobloc chairs of their time (due to
ubiquity)"

Silla perezosa - lazy chair

Solihiya - typical wicker weave pattern in furniture

Stained glass - "glass colored or stained (as by fusing metallic oxides into it) for decorative
applications (as in windows)"

Transom - "transverse horizontal structural beam or bar" often in floral tracery design

Trompe l'oeil - "a style of painting in which things are painted in a way that makes them look like
real objects"

Tumba-tumba - Philippine rocking chair

Valance - "a length of decorative drapery hung above a window to screen the curtain fittings"

Ventana - "wooden window panel that uses a grid pattern with flattened capiz shell panes"; often in
sliding style, as opposed to flinging out

Ventanilla - literally 'small window'; "sliding panels between the floor and windows" to allow more air
and light; "usually protected by balustrades which can either be wooden or wrought iron grills"

Volada - "an enclosed overhanging balcony"; "a gallery (along the elaborate system of windows)
which protects the rooms from the heat of the sun"

Yerong pukpok - see Gingerbread trim

Zaguan - ground floor (literally "passageway" in Arabic) to accommodate horse carriages and
carrozas (processional carriages)

Reference:

http://filipiniana101.blogspot.com/2014/03/list-parts-of-bahay-na-bato.html