Not like the old Philippine Architecture. ahay Kubo or Nipa Hut can still be found along the countryside. It is constructed of indigenous materials that can easily be found in their local surroundings – wood, planks, grass, bamboo and large logs. Normally cubic in shape, this shelter is raised on stilts or posts of one to two meters depending on the area where the said shelter is constructed – it may be on solid ground, on a hillside or mountainside, or in shallow water. Raising the interior from the ground safeguards the shelter's inhabitants from flood, and from snakes and other wild animals.
A typical bahay kubo only has one, large, open, multi-purpose room for dwelling, called bulwagan. It has a cellar, called silong where most household chores are done. This area serves as the area for livestock pens, storage space, workspace and granary. The walls are made of nipa and cogon leaves or sawali or woven bamboo, and there are large windows on all sides, which keep the interior well-ventilated. The windows have tukod or “legs” that hold the swinging shades open during the day, and secure it back in place at night. Another feature of the the bahay kubo is ladder or hagdan which can easily be removed at night or when the owners are out. Likewise, some huts have an open back porch or batalan where household chores are done and where the jars of water are placed.
Characteristics[edit]
Although there is no strict definition of the Bahay Kubo and styles of construction vary throughout the Philippine archipelago,[5] similar conditions in Philippine lowland areas have led to numerous characteristics "typical" of examples of Bahay Kubo.
Three-layered structure[edit]
With few exceptions arising only in modern times, most Bahay Kubo are raised on stilts such that the living area has to be accessed through ladders. This naturally divides the bahay kubo into three areas: the actual living area in the middle, the area beneath it (referred to in Tagalog as the "Silong"), and the roof space ("Bubungan" in Tagalog), which may or may not be separated from the living area by a cieling ("Kisame" in Tagalog).
Roof[edit]
The traditional roof shape of the Bahay Kubo is tall and steeply pitched, ending in long eaves.[2] A tall roof created space above the living area through which warm air could rise, giving the Bahay Kubo a natural cooling effect even during the hot summer season. The steep pitch allowed water to flow down quickly at the height of the monsoon season while the long eaves gave people a limited space to move about around the house's exterior whenever it rained.[2] The steep pitch of the roofs are often used to explain why many Bahay Kubo survived the ash fall from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, when more ’modern’ houses notoriously collapsed from the weight of the ash.[2]
Silong[edit]
Raised up on hardwood stilts which serve as the main posts of the house, Bahay Kubo have a Silong (the Tagalog word also means "shadow") area under the living space for a number of reasons, the most important of which are to create a buffer area for rising waters during floods, and to prevent pests such as rats from getting up to the living area.[2] This section of the house is often used for storage, and sometimes for raising farm animals,[5] and thus may or may not be fenced off.
Living Space[edit]
The main living area of the Bahay Kubo is designed to let in as much fresh air and natural light as possible. Smaller Bahay Kubo will often have bamboo slat floors which allow cool air to flow into the living space from the silong below (in which case the Silong is not usually used for items which produce strong smells), and the particular Bahay Kubo may be built without a kisame (cieling) so that hot air can rise straight into the large area just beneath the roof, and out through strategically placed vents there.
