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MANILA, Philippines - What was the first building of the Silliman Institute, built in 1901 by Silliman’s Filipino students?

In January 1901, Dr. David S. Hibbard made plans for the first building of the Silliman Institute. For this first building, construction work was done by Filipino students who were learning how to use machines and foundry-shop work. They were able to finish the building, including the four gables on the tower, under the supervision of their shop teacher. Before the Silliman church was finished, the ground floor of the building was used for most church events such as Sunday worship, church meetings and student activities.

During World War II, it was used by the Japanese as a “jail” for the faculty and staff, Filipinos and Americans alike, who had been captured in the mountains of Negros Oriental. In recent times, the Silliman Anthropology Museum was established on the second floor of the building and how houses a collection of artifacts excavated from archeological diggings in Negros Island.

Decorated cast-iron steel columns, used structurally, were salvaged by Charles Glung, former secretary of the Army and Navy, from the debris of a theater in the United States. It is one of the first buildings that used cast iron for structural purposes. Corrugated galvanized iron sheets, the breakthrough roofing material, cover the not-so-steep roof. Windows on the second level are wide. Spacious verandas wrap the three sides of the building, maximizing the east and south views of the sea.

Capiz windows and spaces that flow are reminiscent of the bahay na bato but the Victorian-inspired details are more dominant. Stone and concrete are used for the ground floor walls, and wood for the upper level. The building used wood that was also imported from the United States. Due to the proximity to the sea, the cast-iron columns and the galvanized iron roof are constantly painted to protect them from the salt-laden air.

The development of the Silliman campus in the southern Philippines maximized the lovely vista of the location. The view of the sea is kept open and the sprawling campus was planted with acacia trees. Tropical architecture, best exemplified by this building, set the tenor of the quality of the eventual growth of the city of Dumaguete.

—From Philippine Heritage Architecture before 1521 to the 1970s by Maria Cristina Valera-Turalba

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Last week’s question: Who is the renowned Japanese architect known for creating extreme conceptual architecture in which he seeks to meld the physical and virtual worlds?

Answer: Toyo Ito

Winner: Ernany Lagunda of Lumban, Laguna

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