ANCESTRAL HOUSES

ARC 203
BESITULA | DIANO | ELEJER
 Ancestral houses are homes owned
and preserved by the same family for
several generations as part of the
Filipino family culture.

ANCESTRAL HOUSE
ANCESTRAL HOUSE VS. HERITAGE HOUSE
Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Henson-Hizon Heritage House Syquia Mansion

WELL-KNOWN ANCESTRAL
HOUSES IN THE PHILIPPINES
BAHAY NAKPIL - BAUTISTA FLOOR PLANS

PLATERIA
PATIO

COCINA

CUARTO
ZAGUAN
AZOTEA

CUARTO

COMEDOR
CUARTO

CUARTO
CUARTO

CUARTO SALA SALA

ANTE SALA

OFICINA
CUARTO SALA
 ELEVATION
The roof and wooden upper story are
supported by many posts. But it has
features typical of Manila houses
following the destructive earthquake of
1880: in the ground story, the brick walls
are noticeably thin (21 cm.) while the
wooden posts are connected with each
other with several horizontal slats to carry
the bricks. Instead of making the stone
walls thick to resist earthquakes, the
builders shifted their bet to multiple
joints in the wooden framework that
carried the bricks.
PERSPECTIVES
 STYLE

ART NOUVEAU’S INFLUENCE UPON TURN-OF-THE CENTURY FILIPINO ART IS WELL-

KNOWN, BUT NOT THAT OF THE VIENNESE SECESSION, BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY A
FEW EXAMPLES IN THE ISLANDS. MOST OF THE “MANILA HOUSES OF THIS PERIOD WERE
DECORATED WITH CURVACEOUS FLOWERS RENDERED EITHER IN TRACERY OR IN
RELIEF. IN CONTRAST, THE NAKPIL-BAUTISTA HOUSE HINTS AT THE STYLIZATION OF
THE ART DECO OF THE 1920S AND THE REDUCTIONISM OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE
OF THE 1930S WHICH ELIMINATED SURFACE DECORATION.”

BRICK WALLS AROUND THE GROUND FLOOR AND A SECOND STOREY MADE OF WOOD
ZAGUAN
(ENTRY)

Like many Quiapo houses, the house has two main entries: a
large wooden street door and an iron gate leading to the quay
behind. Until the 1930s, the canals were clean and brought to the
city provincial cascos laden with grass, sand, and jars of vinegar.
 CUARTO
(GROUND FLOOR)

The zaguan's floor is also partly made of

Machuca tiles from Mexico, leading to a short
flight of stairs that goes up to the mezzanine
or entresuelo. The rooms here served as the
residence of Gregoria de Jesus-Nakpil, widow
of Andres Bonifacio and organizer of the
women’s chapter of the Katipunan.
Now, these spaces showcase the
family's memorabilia and photographs.
The children’s rooms have been
converted into an activity and reading
area for local kids.
 HAGDAN

Grand staircase of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista The top steps are called caído, where women can let
down the hems of their saya.
SALA

Abstarct tulips of the tracery (callado)

Sala where two orchestras would play.

There are some unforgettable vistas within the house.
Unlike the usual doors of the period, the doors
separating the dining rooms, antesala and sala slide in The public rooms were spacious, for the
sills and can be pushed to the sides. They thus create a doctor who loved to throw parties where two
vista of a series of doorways leading to a wide exterior
orchestras would play.
window bright with light.
REFERENCE
Ancestral House
https://web.archive.org/web/20111130162149/http://www.filipinoplanet.com/filipinoculture.html
Ancestral House vs. Heritage House
https://bethandryan.ca/buying-a-heritage-
house/#:~:text=A%20heritage%20house%20holds%20no,used%20to%20build%20the%20foun
dation.
Elevation and Floor Plans
https://bahaynakpil.org/thehouse/
Interior Perspective
https://bahaynakpil.org/thehouse/
https://www.spot.ph/arts-culture/the-latest-arts-culture/74056/bahay-nakpil-bautista-
history-a125-20180612-lfrm2