(Delivered at the launch of the Balay Kulayan Coloring Book in Davao City on Saturday, May 20, 2023 by Architect Glory Rose Dy Metilla, co-writer and President of the Mindanao Architecture Advocacy Network (MAAN), the book’s publisher).
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and the architecture we are discussing today. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and the indigenous Elders of other communities who may be here or may view the recording sessions in the future.
As a start of this talk, I’d like to say that our indigenous architecture has the opportunity to help us reimagine and adapt to our post-pandemic era. Today, we are embarking on a meaningful conversation that will guide how we move forward in a way that honors our past while paving the path toward a brighter future.
We have the unique opportunity to shape our futures, as we are in a critical transition between an old world and the new, considering what happened during the pandemic. It is essential that we examine what cultural architectures will be most relevant for succeeding generations by facing this moment head-on with open eyes and hearts.
After the pandemic, certain principles have emerged as critical elements for our new normal architecture. We must recognize that previously unimportant values now constitute a vital foundation of how we interact with each other and the world around us in this unprecedented time. While it has become monotonous to keep talking about these changes, let’s focus on creating an inspiring blueprint that can create a brighter future at large!
To emerge successfully in a post-pandemic world, one can adopt design principles that were less widely applied prior.
For example, the focus on health and well-being in architecture. It’s all about creating an atmosphere of holistic balance that engages our physical and spiritual selves while regenerating our environment. In other words, it’s a practice that combines art and science to make life more mindful.
Do you notice that you have been designing buildings with more green courtyards now than ever before? That is one example of our cognitive imagination as designers adapting to these new normal changes of focus on health and wellbeing without even knowing it.
Second, the focus is on sustainability. Have you noticed that we have more Local Government Unit (LGU) ordinances now on rainwater catchment? Or that solar panels are so popular at this point? Every household wants to have them. The emergence of local governance initiatives in rainwater catchment and the gradual acceptance of solar panels show that people are increasingly interested in a more sustainable approach to energy.
Third, the focus is on flexibility. Rather than designing a space meant to last indefinitely, forward-thinking architects are now creating flexible architecture that can shift and evolve in tandem with our ever-changing needs. It’s like taking the idea of modular design up several notches: you get something robust enough to adjust as needed while still being highly cost-effective.
Take your workspaces, for example; it doesn’t make sense anymore to have an unchanging floor plan when teams come together temporarily, or functions change over time. We have come to the consortium in our minds that a hybrid working model is a norm.
And that is because we have adopted changes brought about by the pandemic.
Unknowingly or knowingly, the bottom line is that we did adopt.
Let’s discuss our indigenous architecture. How is it relevant to the post-pandemic principles? We will discuss Mindanao Indigenous Architect specific in Davao City, based on the Indigenous Peoples (IP) groups here.
Mindanao Indigenous Architecture has the potential to shape future design principles, combining traditional influences with modern innovation. By exploring its history and context, we can elevate our standards of architectural excellence into something even more powerful – that means more impactful to the community.
Mindanao’s Indigenous Architecture, similar to post-pandemic buildings and homes, focuses on livability for its inhabitants. Structures are also designed with sustainability in mind: reducing their ecological footprint as much as possible.
Finally, the flexibility of design allows occupants to easily adjust their homes whenever necessary – making them more resilient during times of crisis or change. Let’s examine how?
First is the rituals. The rituals of these structures enable them to have responsible land use. They choose sites based on rituals and nature that provide a sense of the spirit of the place. I’m not going to explain the rituals one by one anymore because you’ll have to experience them firsthand, but I want us to remember the topic a while ago: Wellness Architecture. It’s not only for the health but the overall wellness of the residents of the place. The mindfulness of the places.
Second is the manok-manok.
Every traditional house in East Asian, South East Asian, and Australian Indigenous Culture has a crowning glory at the end of the roof ridge beam. There are protruding elements that look like crowns. Houses and homes of indigenous cultures in these regions have these crowns, decorations, and ends.
While modern architecture argues that these are merely decorative and esthetic in nature, most of these crowning glories are symbols of a certain cultural community residing in these particular regions or social status within them.
The manok-manok roof ridge crowns exhibit the interchange of human values from generation to generation through oral traditions. It is what defines the house in terms of culture.
What can we relate this to? Cultural Sensitivity. It can also be related to the wellness of the mind as an identity is being accepted.
Third is the roof. The roof is either hip or gable or a composite with its strategically angled pitch. It means the top ensures rain slides off swiftly and efficiently, leaving the livable space secure from the storm. Remember Sustainable Architecture a while ago? Does this ring a bell?
Fourth the air vents at the gable end. If you notice, all the structures have vents at the gable end. Vents are the portal to freshness, allowing hot air to escape and welcoming a new wave of excellent, circulating airflow that keeps things feeling generously refreshed. It’s a Philippine design, right? Yeah, like it’s no secret that the tropical climate here has been a leading inspiration for all of us. These concepts are even like a scratched CD on repeat – the same thing, over and over again, and still, we fail to take notice.
Fifth, the doors. The doors are made of material that enables the building to breathe while keeping privacy and people safe. So the Bagobo Tagabawa and Matigsalug’s door is made of Bamboo. The Bagobo Klata is also made of bamboo with minor openings. While the Ata Manobo has no door, we have a reason for that, which we will discuss later. The door serves two purposes, ventilation and also security.
Sixth is the windows. Functional windows act as both secondary roofs and an opening or vents. A kitchen with windows that double as cool, airy vents to allow the heat of cooking and baking to escape. Very tropical design.
Seventh, the ease of construction. The Indigenous architecture uses industries nearby. The beauty of Indigenous architecture lies in how easily it can be built through the use of local industries and materials.
Eight, the plan. There is flexibility in spatial design. Morning activities, including cooking and making livelihood products, are done in the same place where night activities happen, which include sleeping areas and storage spaces. They also have removable parts like the ladder of the Ata Manobo which is removed at night for safety purposes and other functional purposes.
Here is a personal contemplation that I would like to share with you, fellow architects, and I hope you can relate. I put a lot of energy and thought into these. I wanted to be an architect who puts all these principles not unknowingly but, instead, mindfully.
And so, when I designed the projects in the Ministry of Interior of Local and Government Unit of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), I used these principles to heart.
First is the design for the Public Markets of BARMM.
These buildings are historical because the towns did not have public markers, especially on the farthest end of the Philippines. What you see is the map off BARMM showing the farthest end or the BaSulTa (Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi) areas.
The building is livable due to its multi-dimensionality. To improve airflow and provide a sense of openness, the floor-to-ceiling height is very high, and the building is wrapped around Traditional Lattice work.
The materials used in the production are sourced locally. They include local timber and wood carvings by woodcarvers in the area, combined with modern technology to produce the product. It also reduces logistical costs and boosts the local economy.
Each element and decor is contextualized based on where it is. For example, when it is in Tandubas, it also reflects the culture of Tandubas.
The Bamboo Smart House is a contemporary version reflective of a Tambobong, a resilient house traditional to the Southern Philippines. In this Bamboo Smart House, one can live off-grid with its solar-powered lights and outlet, rainwater catchment, kitchen, living room, and bedroom using one of the best construction products now, Bamboo. Still, in its final product development stages, this modular house can be delivered in pieces, and buyers can assemble it. This is the first of its kind, made by Davao del Norte Bamboo Makers.
The third project is called Amihan. Each house has an open plan and can expand from a household of two to as many as ten people.
Based on this concept of flexibility, the idea of co-living with flexible living spaces where there is versatility in the way living is being made. Each living space can turn from a simple studio to a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or even three-bedroom.
Units are modular and flexible. Families can choose which type they want. If they choose a one-bedroom unit, they can change it to a one-bedroom with a mezzanine should they need to.
To end, Mindanao indigenous architecture and its relevance in the post-pandemic world are even more poignant. Health and well-being have become paramount considerations in our lives today – something that Mindanao indigenous people already understood centuries ago when their community decided to build unknowingly using the principles in mind and adapted it throughout time. In a post-pandemic world, we can learn a lot from them about how to make healthy, sustainable, and flexible buildings that will stand the test of time.