Philippine Vernacular Architecture as Design Logic

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts of Philippine vernacular architecture as design logic, focusing on regional case studies and recurring patterns.

Ifugao Bale

A Cordillera Highlands house sitting on $4$ massive posts, built without nails using interlocking post-and-lintel joinery, serving as both a residence and a rice granary.

Rat guard

A wide wooden disc capping the posts of the Ifugao Bale to protect rice stored in the loft from rodents.

Bulul

Guardian figures associated with ancestral spirits that protect the rice stored within the Ifugao house.

Ivatan Stone House

A storm-resistant house in Batanes with $1\text{-meter}$ thick limestone walls and a reinforced cogon roof designed to withstand approximately $8$ typhoons per year.

Kayvayvanaan

A communal cooperative labor system in Batanes where the whole village is culturally obligated to rebuild and repair houses together.

Maranao Torogan

A traditional Lanao house featuring a single undivided hall resting loose on boulders to allow the structure to sway during earthquakes.

Panolong

Flared beam-ends on a Maranao Torogan carved with okir motifs that publicly communicate the owner's social rank.

Okir

The decorative motifs carved into the panolong, serving as a social communication system and status signal.

Batalan

A semi-open transitional zone in traditional Filipino homes that facilitates graded, zoned space between the sacred core and the yard.

Multi-Function Elevation

The use of stilts to solve $4$ to $5$ problems simultaneously, including flooding, pests, heat, defense, and symbolic cosmological separation.

Syncretism

The tradition of architectural mixture and hybridity, such as combining indigenous stilt-house logic with Spanish stone construction.

Bahay na Bato

A hybrid architectural style from areas like Vigan and Taal that fuses indigenous Philippine logic with Spanish stone construction.

Oro, plata, mata

A homegrown staircase counting belief (Gold, Silver, Death) used in modern Philippine homes to ensure favorable outcomes.

Beliefs as Blueprints

The concept that vernacular beliefs are not just superstitions but function as structural, climatic, or social design logic.