Espasyo: Journal of Philippine Architecture and Allied Arts

125 Pages·2015·36.68 MB·English

by  Gerard Lic

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES
01 Infrastructures of Colonial Modernity:
Public Works in Manila from the late 19th to the early 20th Centuries
Gerard Lico and Mary Delia Tomacruz
26 Condensing the Country:
Identity Politics in the Design of Nayong Pilipino (Philippine Village)
and the 1998 Expo Pilipino Th eme Parks
Edson Roy G. Cabalfi n
49 Grassroots Approach for Filipino Community Gardens:
An Evaluation of the Luntiang Barangay Landscape Design Framework
Applied in Villa San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
Cathe Desiree S. Nadal
40 Kinetic Architecture:
Th e Experiential Connections between
Human Consciousness and Informal Settlements
Kelley O’Brien
64 Developing an Assessment Tool to Assist Local Government Units
Monitor Low-Carbon Programs in the Pursuit of Ecological Governance
David Leonides T. Yap, Toshiaki Ichinose,
Rowena T. Zapanta and Faith T. Dumaligan
77 Urban Renewal of the City of Manila and its
Impact to Environment and Physical Design:
Where Can We Go From Here?
Maria Lourdes T. Munárriz, Preecess Julee A. Perez and
Rory S. Caguimbal
92 A Step towards International Accreditation:
A Review of the Curricula of Philippine and
Internationally-Accredited Architectural Schools
Dolores Cecilia T. Madrid
102 Biofi ber Reinforcement and Natural Pozzolana:
Upgrading the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Interlocking
Compressed Earth Blocks through the Inclusion of
Durian Husk Fiber and Sugarcane Bagasse Ash
Nory Loyd N. Pernes and Gwen Harriet R. Bautista
REVIEWS

112 BOOK REVIEWS
Interior Design in the Philippines: A Retrospect of Spaces and Culture
Philippine Heritage Homes: A Guidebook
What Kids Should Know About Philippine Architecture
Maureen Anne L. Araneta
115 EXHIBITION REVIEWS
Th e Surface of the World Gerard Lico
Time Space Existence Reuben Ramas Cañete
A Shared Heritage Timothy Augustus Ong

Infrastructures of
Colonial Modernity
Public Works in Manila from the late 19th to the early 20th Centuries
GERARD LICO
MARY DELIA TOMACRUZ
Gerard Lico is a Professor at the College of Architecture,
University of the Philippines Diliman. He is the multi-
awarded author of publications on Philippine architecture
and cultural studies, designer and curator of pioneering
exhibitions in architecture, and producer and director of
documentaries on Philippine built environments.
Mary Delia Tomacruz is an Associate Professor at the
Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional
Management of the College of Home Economics, University
of the Philippines, Diliman. She is currently the Assistant
Vice President for Academic Affairs in R &D Resource
Management of the University of the Philippines System.
INTRODUCTION were kept abreast of the latest materials and
Colonial Manila at the latter half of the 19th building methods through French publications
century was at the vortex of a social and and translated articles reprinted in Spanish
economic maelstrom. Th is propitious socio- professional magazines like the Revista de Obras
economic climate necessitated the introduction Públicas. From the pages of these magazines,
of mechanized modes of production and the one material stood out as the focus of intense
construction of infrastructural systems of colonial discussion and exhaustive experimentation -- the
modernity that relied heavily on iron and steel, the cement armado (reinforced concrete). Reinforced
essential materials of the Industrial Age. Colonial concrete was introduced in Spain through
infrastructure and public works took shape under Catalonia, the Cantabrian coast and the Basque
the auspices of the Spanish authorities in the Country, areas with a high level of industrial
form of portworks, roads, bridges, lighthouses, development in the 1890s. However, the advent
waterways, sewerage systems, piped-water of reinforced concrete in the Philippines would
supply, telegraph cables, railroad and streetcar be ushered in by a new colonial power and would
systems and electrical power plants – all adhering become the symbol of American construction
to the modern and leading-edge technology supremacy in the new century.
available at that time.
Th e shift from Spanish to American colonial rule
Th e earthquake of July 1880, which toppled at the turn of the century provided an auspicious
many public and residential structures in Manila, atmosphere for a construction boom, in which
brought an immense material transformation to reinforced concrete became the material of
local architecture that signifi ed the modernization choice. Importation of new building technologies
of long-standing building practices. Heavy clay from the United States sustained the massive
tiles were replaced by light-weight galvanized infrastructure program. In the Philippines, the
iron sheets (hierro galvanizado). Th e importation search for raw materials to produce cement
of steel and pre-fabricated steel components from became an obsession of colonial scientists at the
Europe that heralded the industrialized methods Bureau of Science; thus, the establishment the
of building made possible the construction of fi rst cement plant in Binangonan, Rizal in 1914
the new Neo-gothic church of San Sebastian and ensured uninterrupted infrastructural production
Puente Colgante, the new railway system. in the colony. Neoclassical monumental
structures, the embodiment of the American
At this time, Spain was heavily infl uenced republican ideals, slowly rose in Manila’s urban
by engineering and construction techniques landscape, promoting the imperial image, colonial
from France. Spanish architects and engineers commerce and native discipline. And it was
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND ALLIED ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES 1
Figure 1. Th e Pasig Farola and the Port of Manila from the watercolor rendering of Honorato Lozano in the late 19th century.
urban design and the production of architecture
created a metropolitan imagery that bore witness
to America’s sanitary zeal, reformist building
program, colonial tutelage and technological
progress.
Colonial Infrastructures and
Industrialization under Spain
Th e advent of colonial industrialization in the
Philippines can be traced back in 1834 with the
abolition of Compaña de Filipinas (Royal Company
of the Philippines), which by royal decree had
the exclusive privilege of trade between Spain
and the Philippines. Th e company’s bankruptcy
prompted the Spanish Crown to open the port
of Manila to world trade and to relax restrictions
against foreign traders that year. Th e opening
of the Philippines to global trade resulted in a
great demand for its agricultural products and
processed commodities in the world market,
necessitating the use of machineries for massive
export production.
As Manila became an entrepot, trading
houses owned by various nationalities soon
established offi ces and branches in Manila. Th ese
establishments brought in many European goods
to the colony. Soon after, foreign consulates
opened in Manila to protect the economic interests
of their country and citizens. By the end of 1859,
Figure 2. Cover of the monograph Cement Raw Materials for the 1915
Panama Pacifi c Exposition drawn by Juan Arellano 15 foreign fi rms were operating in Manila, seven
of which were British, three were American, two
through this style, in modern reinforced concrete
French, two Swiss and one German. Th e British
buildings, that the processes of democratic
and Americans reigned supreme in the foreign
apprenticeship were made more tangible. Th e
trade. Th e British ventured into the exportation
mass production of school buildings, introduction
of sugar and Manila hemp and importation of
of a modern domestic architectural prototype,
machinery employed in the manufacture of
and the installation of urban utility lines were
sugar, iron sheets, coal tar, paints and textile. Th e
remarkable feats of colonial modernity. For almost
English introduced mechanized milling of rice and
half a century, the implementation of colonial
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Figure 3. Th e metallic lighthouse from the foundry of Gustave Eiffel Figure 4. Plan for the Port of Manila
Figure 5. Th e Bridge of Spain in Manila
processing of sugar. Th e Americans prized the a sheltered docking area for ships and large
Manila hemp or abaca as it was in demand among areas designated for sheds and warehouses to
the shipbuilders in the East Coast of the United store produce and other merchandise awaiting
States. shipment to Europe and America.
In 1842, Sinibaldo de Mas, a Spanish diplomat With the increase in maritime traffi c in the mid-
commissioned by the Spanish King to conduct 19th century, the colonial authorities embarked
an economic appraisal of the Philippines, on the systematic construction of lighthouses
recommended the opening of more ports to or farolas all over the archipelago. Th e Plan
promote foreign trade, encouraging Chinese General de Alumbrado de Maritimo de lascostas
immigration to stimulate agricultural del Archipelago de Filipino (Masterplan for the
development in the countryside and abolishing Lighting of the Maritime Coasts of the Philippine
the tobacco monopoly. Heeding this economic Archipelago) crafted in 1857 was carried out
prescription, a number of ports were opened by the Inteligencia del Cuerpo de Ingenieros de
to global trade at the behest of the Spanish Caminos, Canales y Puertos (Corps of Engineers for
monarch, the ports of Sual, Pangasinan, Iloilo and Roads, Canals, and Ports), the goal of which was
Zamboanga in 1855, the port of Cebu in 1860, and to install 55 lighthouses all over the archipelago,
Legazpi and Tacloban in 1873. Th ese port facilities including its remotest corners. Notable was the
made possible the integration of the colony with prefabricated iron lighthouse designed by José
the routes of global commerce and the veins of Echeverría in 1876 and erected at the sandy
the world economy. In 1881, Manila’s role as an promontory of San Nicolas in Manila. Completed in
important maritime city was recognized when 1879, the metallic lighthouse was purchased from
plans drafted by José García Morón, a Spanish the foundry of Gustave Eiffel and used cast-iron
engineer, included a major overhaul of the port screw piles, a construction method developed by
of Manila. Th e latest methods and technology a Belfast engineer, Alexander Mitchell, to anchor
for port construction were employed to provide the lighthouse in soft sand.
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND ALLIED ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES 3
Figure 6. Puente Colgante
Figure 7. Ayala Bridge
Th e Pasig River and its branching canal system Two other bridges spanned the Pasig River:
were the great transportation and commercial the Claveria and Ayala bridges. Th e Clavería
routes for Manila and nearby provinces. Bridges Bridge, popularly known as Puente Colgante,
interconnected all parts of the city, whose was completed in 1852. It earned distinction as
topography was defi ned by clusters of marshland the fi rst suspension bridge in Asia. It was built
intersected by shallow rivers and canals. At the end by a private enterprise, Ynchausti y Compañia,
of the 19th century, the Port Works Board drafted according to the design of Basque engineer
a master plan for channeling the waterways to Matias Menchacatorre. Th e bridge components
improve fl uvial movement and transit of goods. were imported from England and its assembly
was supervised by M. Gabaud, a French engineer.
In 1875, Puente de España on Pasig River in Manila Th e suspension bridge consisted of a tall concrete
was inaugurated, replacing an old pontoon bridge. pier where strands of steel cables were attached
It had eight arches, two central arches of iron truss to and then slung across the river to carry a
and the other six of quarried stone. Th e bridge was steel trussed bridge. On the other hand, the
designed by Spanish engineer José Echeverría, Ayala Bridge, constructed of prefabricated steel,
who was assigned to make the specifi cation and crossed the river in two independent sections
procure the central steel spans in Paris. He also that converged on Convalescencia Island. Eiffel’s
commissioned La Carrière, a renowned lamp offi cial catalogue of work made reference to the
maker in Paris, to fabricate the ornamental triple- Ayala Bridge which was completed in 1880.
branched street lamp for the bridge.
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Steel bridges or puentes de acero had prefabricated the construction of a line network totaling 1,730
components sourced from France and Belgium as kilometers, consisting of three lines, and sought
evidenced by French historian Bertrand Lemoine’s to connect the productive agricultural areas
collection the letters of correspondence between of Luzon - Cagayan Valley, the Central Plains,
Spanish engineers deployed in the Philippines and Bicol. In the list of priority, a 195-kilometer
and the offi ce of Gustave Eiffel. Lemoine traced stretch of track was constructed between Manila
the origin of manufacture of the following steel and Dagupan and began to service the public by
bridges to Eiffel’s foundry: the Bridge of Santa November 1893. A concession for the construction
Cruz, Laguna (1890); Ayala Bridge on the Pasig of a railway line from Manila to Dagupan City was
River, Manila (1890); Bridge of Simala, Cebu granted to Don Edmundo Sykes of the Ferrocarril de
(1891); Bridge of Calamba, Laguna (1892); Bridge Manila-Dagupan on June 1, 1887. Th e construction
of Tanauan, Batangas (1892); Bridge of San commenced with the laying of the cornerstone at
Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan (1892); and Bridge Manila Central Station in Tutuban, Tondo on July
on the Janipan River, Iloilo (1895). 31, 1887. Most of the construction materials were
shipped from abroad. Railroad ties and bridge
Colonial industrialization also summoned the timber came from Australia. Portland cement,
construction of a railroad system to facilitate rails, switches, track spikes and bolts, steel bridges
effi cient imperial penetration of the hinterlands. and cast iron components were from England. Th e
By and large, the colonialist used railways to steam-power locomotives could travel at what
integrate and annex territory and to exploit the was then an amazing speed of 45 miles per hour.
resources of the regions surrounding the ports On the average, it took eight hours to traverse the
they controlled. Colonial railways or ferrocarril entire line. What used to be a travel duration of
played a critical role in the diffusion of economic several days on an animal-driven carriage could
processes, ideas and institutions of the colonial now be accomplished in a matter of hours. Th e
powers, making the conquered lands auspicious iron horse allowed for the fast, convenient and
for investment and exploitation. Th e plan for an inexpensive movement of goods and passengers
insular, locomotive-driven railroad system in the over long distances and would play an infl uential
Philippines was offi cially initiated in June 25, 1875 role in the urbanization patterns of the island of
by a Royal Order issued by King Alfonso of Spain Luzon. Furthermore, the new railroad encouraged
instructing the Offi ce of the Inspector of Public urban diaspora and expansion of the city of Manila
Works to submit a railroad plan for the island of at an unprecedented scale.
Luzon. Spanish engineer Eduardo López Navarro
submitted his Plan General de Ferrocarilles en la New technologies of communication were also
isla de Luzon (General Plan for Railways on the introduced. Th e fi rst telegraph line ran from Manila
Island of Luzon) in 1876. Th is plan contemplated to Cavite and commenced message transmittal
Figure 8. Manila-Dagupan train Figure 9. Tutuban Train Station in Manila
Figure 10. Train depot at Tutuban train station
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND ALLIED ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES 5