Modern Philippine Architecture: A Complete Guide

Table Of Content

• Contemporary House
• Q1: What is contemporary house design in the Philippines?
• Get Lucky All Year Round: 9 Ways to Create Good Feng Shui in Your Home
• Modern Single Storey House Plan
• Mateo – Four Bedroom Two story House Plan
• Modern Bungalow House of Traditional Touch with Splendid Interior Concepts
• Modern Two Story Three Bedroom Residence with Interior Design

This style doesn't just follow the global trends—it adds a distinctly Filipino touch to them. His designs, such as the Manila Hilton (now Manila Pavilion), introduced international modernism to the Philippines. He skillfully balanced the sleek, clean lines of modern design with the warmth and charm of Filipino aesthetics. He also explains that he uses materials that are homegrown, easily sourced, long-lasting, affordable, ethical and healthy. A few examples of these would be engineered wood planks, coated aluminium windows that look like wood, large plaster cement boards for ceilings and walls, and solar roof panels for power regeneration. Another notable project of Miñana is the Mango residence in Alabang which was built in 2019.

Contemporary House

It was an offshoot of the Internationalist style and was pioneered by Bengt Edman, Lennart Holm, and Le Corbusier, among others, in the early 1950s. This style was highly influential in the Philippines for government and school buildings as well as for shopping malls from the 1960s through to the 1980s. While not prominent in the Philippines, the style became popular in other socialist countries, including China, whose Contemporary architecture scene is still influenced to a degree by Constructivism. In turn, the Chinese Contemporary architecture has a limited but present influence on Philippine architecture today. A large number of styles fall under the Modern architecture umbrella, and most of these styles also have their prominent regional variants and sub-styles. The Philippines is home to a large number of Modern architecture masterpieces built throughout the entirety of the 20th century.

Q1: What is contemporary house design in the Philippines?

Landscaping and horticulture are now also starting to receive closer attention in the construction and design of contemporary homes. Features such as strategically located trees and planted walls can provide passive cooling to structure, reducing energy bills while detoxifying the air around a home. Green energy sources such as wind and solar generators are seeing increased use in homes, allowing homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint and save maintenance costs over time. Energy and water-saving technologies are also now standard in new homes to help homeowners cut their utility bills without sacrificing their lifestyles. It is the ongoing practice of incorporating historical elements into new types of architecture.

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Modern architecture, also known as Modernist architecture, covers a vast array of architectural styles and movements that emerged from around the late 1880s and ending around the year 2000. With the abundance of forests in the country, a lot of Filipino furniture designers use narra, abaca, bamboo, and other types of wood in their products. Having these pieces in your modern Filipino home would not only give your space the ultimate rustic feel, but also a touch of local artisans’ creative genius. Plus, you can count on a sturdy, durable piece that you can enjoy for many years. Usually, they’re in windows, giving off that provincial feel in the Pinoy house interior design. While you would often see them outdoors as part of exterior facades and landscaping, they’re also used in interior walls, as a way to create an accent.

But amidst this modernity, you can still see traces of the country's rich architectural history—making Philippine architecture a unique blend of the old and the new. “A truly modern Filipino home is a tropical home, not a home designed for other climates. The natural lighting and harnessing of solar, water and other energy for regeneration means the effective orientation of architecture and its many components,” Miñana emphasises. Architecture needs to bring a sense of comfort and well-being into its users’ lives to succeed. Recycled and natural materials are making a significant comeback in Contemporary architecture. Repurposed objects, sustainably-harvested woods, and recycled aggregates are just some of the materials seeing increased use today.

The use of computer modeling vastly speeds up and simplifies the once tedious process of creating and fine-tuning a design. New designs can also be run through simulations to check for the precise angle of the sun, wind factors, and earthquake resistance among others. Early Modern architecture tends to be overly dependent on power-hungry HVAC systems. It may even be difficult to live and work comfortably in a building without the use of artificial light and excessively powerful heating or air-conditioning. This often makes Modern architecture impractically expensive to run and causes them to have an undue impact on the environment.

And speaking of the fabulous architects and designers, well, each of them has a unique fusion of ideas to carving a perfect house for the Filipino families. A gorgeous 4-storeyed house such as this makes the way for everything palatial for your family. Rich choice of materials, colours, and lighting crowns the looks with a sophisticated touch. Instead of going the symmetric style, you can go for asymmetric designs boxed in a well-aligned 4-storeyed structure.

The interior patio, called a madang, is a particularly versatile element that is seen more and more in contemporary Korean homes. This feature can also be seen as an early form of climate-responsive housing that is still seeing new uses today. Ihyou can also be achieved by using incongruous-looking materials, shapes, and layouts but in a way that achieves an overall harmony. The well-known Mikimoto Ginza 2 building in Tokyo for instance, has irregularly-shaped exterior windows that do not exactly match the floors inside. The corners windows are also made in a way that makes the building’s regular corners seem much less apparent.

Q4: What are the characteristics of contemporary architecture in the Philippines?

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The architecture of the Philippines mirrors the country's complex cultural identity. It's a fascinating blend of indigenous design, colonial influences, and modern trends. From the nipa huts of the pre-colonial period to the grand Spanish-era stone houses, evolving into the modern glass and steel structures—we've seen it all. One feature that ties new residential structures together is an emphasis on maximizing available light and air circulation. Many new condominium developments, for instance, diverge from the old-style box shapes and feature angled windows and sections cut out to allow cross-ventilation and more sunlight.

The use of marble, arches, and strongly horizontal elements are also prevalent in this style. When one thinks of old Philippine buildings and houses from the 1930s through the 1950s, this style is what most often comes to mind. Art Deco structures from the American Period through the 1950s still remain prominent across the Philippine urban landscape and many period buildings are still in use today. Art deco buildings in the Philippine context are known for bright colors, clean geometry, and old-world craftsmanship melded with then-modern materials and techniques. Developed around the 1920s and continuing through the 1960s, this style takes the minimalist forms of the International style and uses it to create buildings that could also be considered to be sculpture. Many traditional recommendations will improve airflow and make it easy to implement energy-efficient designs.

Most new houses and residential developments today feature asymmetrical designs that are carefully tweaked to give them a sense of harmony. These designs are often intended to catch attention while still serving the homeowner’s unique needs and making the best possible use of a location. Deconstructivism is an ongoing trend where structures are given the appearance of being broken down. Famously pioneered by Frank Gehry, structures appear distorted, at least in comparison to “regular” box-shaped buildings. This trend has definitely been polarizing architects and critics since buildings in the style became more popular. New materials and techniques have led to a never-before-seen type of expressiveness in the look of buildings, and architects are now more than ever taking on the role of sculptors.

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“The same spatial flow occurs here, except that we positioned the second-floor living and dining rooms separately, creating two wings,” he illustrates. “The hallway connecting these two rooms looks into an interior garden and ground floor vestibule. It’s no longer unusual for homes to have outdoor spaces that are as well appointed as the actual house itself. Regular front and back yards are no longer just for barbeques and doing the occasional messy DIY project. They’re more likely to be designed specifically to help the homeowner relax and comfortably host guests.

Mediterranean-style houses are commonly characterized by wrought-iron balconies, terracotta exteriors, heavy wooden doors, tegola stone roofs, and colorful tiles as accents. While the style is typical in some of the most upscale neighborhoods in the Philippines, it allows for each property to be unique in its own right as it is hardly a cookie-cutter-type house design. Heavily influenced by the region from which the home design was named, Mediterranean-style home designs have gained popularity over the years in upmarket resorts and beach-side properties. It has also been getting quite popular with homebuilders and architects because of the refreshing vibe this house design exudes, especially if it is built in the middle of a busy city. But when the Spaniards arrived in the country, Filipinos saw a transition to bahay na bato, which had colonial influence.

This style is perfect for those who want to bring a touch of the outdoors into their home. Tropical Modern House designs are popular style of architecture in the Philippines. One key element of this design is its use of exposed infrastructure, including pipes and air conditioning ducts. This creates an interesting contrast between the clean lines of the structure and the roughness of the industrial elements. It also allows for more efficient use of space by providing additional storage areas.

Living areas extend seamlessly outdoors, with the front lawn and formal dining space framing either side. A double-height dining hall allows ventilation through operable second-floor windows that draw air out. Jim Caumeron Design’s Through House in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines, is a residential project for a doctor and his two daughters. The design prioritizes a ‘through-ness’ approach, arranging walls like a stack of cards to facilitate cross-ventilation and a range of atmospheric experiences influenced by natural light. Second floor bedrooms each have a balcony to enjoy outdoor view, while the guest bedroom enjoys its own verandah. Sustainable materials like bamboo can be used as a wall divider, lamp, or wall covering for a down-to-earth vibe.