Parts of Bahay Na Bato
Parts of Bahay Na Bato
Parts of Bahay Na Bato
Just like any other architectures, different features of Bahay na bato varies depending on each
individual buildings, which would mean some houses would lack or have some of these features
than the others:
Caryatid – A sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place
of a Pilaster, column or a pillar etc. supporting an entablature on her head
Clerestory – Any high windows above eye level for the purpose of bringing outside light,
fresh air, or both into the inner space
Cocina – Kitchen, which was typically built separately from the house
Colonette – A small, thin decorative column supporting a beam (horizontal timber) or
lintel (beam spanning a door or window)
Comedor – Dining room
Comun – Toilet; also called "latrina"
Corbel – A projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it; also "braces"
Cornice – A ledge or generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building
or furniture element
Court, courtyard – A space enclosed by walls and is open to the sky; has azotea or
balconaje
Cuartos – Rooms
Cuatro aguas – Hip roof, which has more corners and angles, making it stronger than
the dos aguas (gable) or high-pitched roof due to stronger aerodynamics (i.e., more wind
resistance); also has the advantage of providing an overhang, which is effective for
protecting the house from rainwater and from direct sunlight
Dapugan – A platform in the kitchen where the kalan or clay stove is placed
Despacho – Office; also "oficina"
Dispensa – Pantry
Dos aguas – Gable or high-pitched roof
Dougong – A simplified and localized Filipino version of the ones in China. Chinese
neighboring cultures evolved different variation and localized versions of this, one such
example aside from Filipino Dougong is the Japanese Tokyō Brackets.
Eave – Bottom edge of a roof
Engaged column – Column in support of the roof above
Entresuelo – Mezzanine; literally meaning "between floors", this is the area where
clients, tenants or estate managers (if the owner was a rich landowner) wait before being
admitted to the oficina (office)
Escalera – Stairway
Escritorio – A large chest of drawers, commonly adorned with inlay work
Estante – Dining room cabinet where chinaware and silverware are displayed
Facade – Front
Finial – A usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity
Fresquera – Storage room for salted food, etc.; placed on the wall of the house facing
outside
Gable – The part of a wall that encloses the end of a pitched roof
Stair
Sala
Gallinera – Literally, "chicken seat"; "usually found outside the oficina of a landowner;
coming from the Spanish word 'gallo' (chicken), this church bench-inspired settee is used
for farmers to place chickens on the cage underneath in exchange for paying cash" (Old
Manila Nostalgia blog)
Gargoyle – A carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof
and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down
masonry walls and eroding the mortar between
Gingerbread trim, running trim – 19th century Victorian style of fancifully cut and pierced
frieze boards, scrolled brackets, sawn balusters, and braced arches, to transform simple
frame cottages into one-of-a-kind homes; usually attached to the eaves to make it more
decorative and to curving iron rods that help support the media agua
Kama – Four-poster bed
Kama ni Ah Tay – A once popular signature four-poster bed design that was carved by a
famous Chinese furniture maker named Eduardo Ah Tay. To have this bed was
considered a symbol of status during the Spanish era. [5]
Kantoneras (brackets) – Either plain calado cut-outs or fully carved embellishments
usually placed where beams and columns intersect especially under the soffit or
overhanging ceiling outside house; also seen to decorate door or window openings,
hallways or simply dividing spaces
Zaguan
Old containers
Painted metal sheet ceiling – Pressed tin or copper ceiling from maybe late Victorian to
early American colonial period, to prevent decay by moisture or worms (or even mouse)
Paminggalan – A cabinet where leftover food and preserves are stored. The doors of the
cabinet have slats so that it can absorb air and room temperature inside. To avoid ants
from coming up and getting to the food, the legs of the cabinet are placed on containers
filled with kerosene or any liquid.
Pasamano – Window ledge
Persiana – Louver window
Piedra china – Chinese stone used to pave the floor of the zaguan
Pilaster – False pillar used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to
articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function
Ventanilla – Literally 'small window'; "sliding panels between the floor and windows" to
allow more air and light; "usually protected by balustrades which can either be wooden
or wrought iron grills"
Volada – "An enclosed overhanging balcony"; "a gallery (along the elaborate system of
windows) which protects the rooms from the heat of the sun"
Yerong pukpok – Gingerbread trim
Zaguan – Ground floor (literally "passageway" in Arabic) to accommodate horse
carriages and carrozas (processional carriages) [4]