Keeping your house airy--and distinctly Filipino

The beauty in Nicanor Tiongson's 'bahay na bato' lies in its

dramatic use of space. There are high ceilings, wide awnings,

sliding panels and 'ventanillas'

IF YOU'VE forgotten your national

identity, the home of Nicanor

Tiongson will remind you of what it is

like to be a Filipino in an urban

context.

The house of the former Cultural

Center of the Philippines artistic

director is a modern proof that the

bahay na bato can withstand all

seasons, literally and figuratively.

The bahay na bato is still relevant in

the cyber age because the climate has

stayed the same over the centuries

and the Filipino decorum remains

gracious and urbane.

Tiongson's bahay na bato is perched dramatically on a ridge in

a subdivision near Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Ivy and

bougainvillaea-covered buttresses not only enhance the

four-storey height but also evoke the romance of a manor,

owned by a lord from the genteel society.

Recycled

Back in the '70s and '80s, Tiongson built his reputation on his

analytical movie reviews, and teaching cultural history and culture.

He found a scenic place in a subdivision close to Diliman City where he taught. A Filipinologist, he wanted a modern version of the bahay na bato. So he brought his floor plan to architect Rosario Encarnacion-Tan who modified it to suit the 400-sq m lot.

It was also right timing that the Quiapo church, built in 1935, was being demolished. Sculptor Jerusalino Araos sourced the rare woods that would last for ages. The sturdy lumber from the church trusses hold up the ceiling. Old doors from the Philippine General Hospital were scaled down to fit his rooms. Posts and wood were recycled. The living room floor is made from dungon which is stronger than narra.

Although Tiongson's abode doesn't have the grandeur of the bahay na bato due to space limitations, it embodies the ancestral home's qualities. It has a sense of density; it is light and airy.

The beauty lies in its dramatic sequence of space.

Encarnacion-Tan adds that main areas fan out hidden pockets of space. For instance, adjacent to the master's bedroom are a terraza where Tiongson checks papers, a private balcony and the music room.

Thus, the space is not constrained. Air passes from one room to another through the doors--indoor, outdoors and through the wide windows.

Sliding panels open to reveal an eco-friendly surrounding, a garden or another interior.

The living room has two wide opening panels that unfold to show the garden on one side and the library on the other.

Courtyard

The high ceiling enables hot air to swell upwards, into the tentlike roof made of galvanized iron patterned after mid-19th century architecture.

Wide awnings over galleries in front of the room deflect the rain and the sun.

The central feature of the bahay na bato is the courtyard which encourages cross ventilation.

Tiongson likens his courtyard to the navel because it opens up like a well of fresh air in the building. Although it's more expensive to build a courtyard, it comes out more practical in the long term.

Tiongson doesn't need air-conditioning--and it's a healthier lifestyle.

Although the patio is small by bahay-na-bato standards, it is charming because of the cobblestones and the accents of Oriental jars.

We wondered why the Mediterranean-style houses in Forbes Park or Dasmariqas Village, despite the big courtyards, are not as cool as his house. Perhaps due to security reasons, many doors and windows are shut.

In Tiongson's house there are ventanillas that let in more air through its iron grills.

''Four walls have no ventilation,'' says Tiongson.

The spiral staircase that leads to the tower adds an element of intrigue, much like a Hitchcock movie. The tower was built to take advantage of the view of the rolling subdivision. There's also a practical reason. Instead of an unsightly water tank, the water is stored in closets with wooden covers, an idea from an Italian trip. During summer, you can climb up the tower and sit there, not knowing there's water beneath you.

Two-storey library

If all the furniture, books and artworks were removed, this house could easily be transplanted in Andalucia, Southern Spain.

The artworks, crafts, memorabilia and the banggerahan, a protusion from the kitchen sink for drying the dishes, make it an Asian home.

Encarnacion-Tan points out that the speciality of the house lies in the owner's personal style.

''No one can decorate it the way Nic would,'' she says. ''Since he's a theater person, he's very visual. He has this passion for looking for the Pinoy in all the arts.''

For one, only a scholar would build a two-storey library for Tiongson's books and videos on Filipiniana literature and the arts.

The library displays a portrait of zarzuela star Atang dela Rama and a memento of his great-grandmother Eugenia Tanchangco Reyes, one of the women of Malolos to whom Rizal dedicated his famous writing.

The national hero was a guest in his forbearers' house which was even featured in an American postcard of the Philippines.

Most interior designers define good taste as choosing objects with knowledge of their background.

Tiongson's furnishing have stories to tell; some of them are personal. One of the most precious pieces is a palitera, a family heirloom from Rosenda Mendoza Tanchangco. He's got other heirloom pieces such as the cookie molds that decorate his coffee table and glasses and decanters from his great-grandfather Ramon Reyes, a gourmet.

An antique iron board from his Malolos ancestral home is refurbished into a coffee table.

Many of the furniture are inspired by local period furniture such as the chairs in the library which got their design from Malolos. The old stained glasses from Malolos have hues that modern glasses can't replicate.

Personal essay

There are modernists such as artworks by Rafael del Casal, a crucible by Virgilio Aviado, Brenda Fajardo's history of the Philippines depicted in tarot cards from the Spanish conquest to the Marcos dictatorship.

Encarnacion-Tan cites the Tiongson's bust by Julie Lluch commemorates his uniqueness and reflects the ''Age of Personal Essays.''

Tiongson says the house can't be an exact replica of the bahay na bato because of the lot size and the fact that it's in a subdivision. What makes it modern is that the rooms have been compartmentalized to meet his needs as scholar.

''The house is not made for entertaining big crowds. The biggest number of guests I've had is 10,'' he says.

During his first eight years, he couldn't really savor it because he had to drive early to work at CCP and come home late at night after evaluating the shows. Now he enjoys his house more often. Between teaching film theory and literature at the University of the Philippines' College of Mass Communications, he can come for lunch or work in an atmosphere where he's fanned by the breeze and he can smell the fragrance of the greenery.