Architecture reflects culture
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Taking cognizance of the importance of the structural designs of the tribes inhabiting Mindanao, the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP)–Cagayan de Oro Chapter has documented the abode of the tribes to better understand the concepts of their dwellings.
Ray Salva, immediate past president of the UAP–Cagayan de Oro Chapter, said that the endeavor is a joint project with the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It is a documentation project on the architectural motifs and construction details of vernacular structures and sites in southern
Salva said that his group has found their efforts rewarding as it opened a window for more concepts that they can incorporate in their future designs.
“We find the endeavor challenging as we have realized that the homes of the indigenous people like the Maranaos were built according to their culture, aside from purpose,” Salva said.
He said that the Maranao design, for example, where the so-called Panolong, a protruding art shape that adorn rooftops, with some appearing like murals, has a cultural dictate indicating the social class of the inhabitants, notwithstanding that the house’s motif is colorful.
As for the Higaonons in the past, their houses were built high above the ground, supported only with one big post, its roofing made of grass. The interior of the house had no partition just like that of the Maranaos.
“Understanding the origin of the tribe’s designs gives us an art-full of concepts in the future, especially when they are incorporated with the methods of modern architecture,” Salva said.
The architects, who have gone to the tribal villages, said they would also endeavor to find ways of preserving the architectural heritage of the tribes, which is now fast vanishing that even in the hinterlands the use of cement has already overtaken their cultural ways of building a house. Worse, the indigenous design is already gone.
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