Reviving the Legacy of the Filipino Bahay na bato: The DOMUS 3D Heritage Documentation Project

In the heart of Old Manila and, 600 kilometers away, on the serene island of Bohol stand the fading remnants of a bygone architectural era: the Bahay na bato at kahoy—a hybrid Filipino house type that emerged from centuries of adaptation and colonial influence. The Bahay na bato emerged in the 17th century, reached its peak in the 19th century, and quickly began to disappear in the 1950s shortly after WWII. These structures are the subject of an ambitious heritage documentation initiative known as DOMUS: Documenting Old Manila’s Urban Structures.

Today, the complete DOMUS archive is publicly accessible through the Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme (EWAP). The digital collection can be explored at: EWAP Archive – DOMUS Project

Suarez House, Bohol, Philippines
https://doi.org/10.60491/ewap2030sg032025002

The DOMUS project is a multidisciplinary effort to digitally document and reconstruct eleven endangered Bahay na bato structures in San Nicolas and Binondo, Manila, and in Tagbilaran and Loay, Bohol. The goal was to digitally preserve these significant examples of Filipino-Hispanic architecture before they are lost to time, neglect, or redevelopment.

Through photogrammetry, schematic reconstructions, and architectural drawings, the project recorded both the current state and, where possible, the presumed original appearance of these homes. The result is a robust digital archive that captures an essential part of the Philippines’ cultural and architectural heritage.

Section plan of Gaspar House, San Nicolas, Philippines

https://doi.org/10.60491/ewap2030sg032025010

Bahay na bato (literally "house of stone") is a traditional Filipino house type that developed during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines from the 17th to the 20th century. It represents a fusion of native Austronesian construction techniques, Spanish colonial architecture, and Chinese and Japanese influences—and is, aside from its Baroque churches, the most distinctive and historically significant form of Philippine heritage architecture. This house type reached its peak in the 19th century becoming the quintessential urban home for the Filipino upper and middle classes under Spanish rule. Sadly, many were destroyed or fell into disrepair after World War II. DOMUS captured some of the last remaining examples of this now largely lost building tradition.

The Eleven Structures Documented by DOMUS are:

1. Clarin House, Loay, Bohol (ca. 1841)

The second-oldest house in Bohol, originally with a thatch roof and an intact 19th-century interior. Former residence of the prominent Clarin family.

2. Sunico House, San Nicolas, Manila

Former home of the famous 19th-century bell-maker Hilario Sunico and his wife Sergia Litonjua. One of San Nicolas’s most ornately decorated surviving houses.

3. Alberto House, Binondo, Manila

The last original three-story accessoria in Manila from the Spanish period. It once hosted a well-known noodle shop and was mentioned in the novel Noli Me Tangere by the Philippine’s national hero, Jose Rizal.

4. Gaspar House (Casa Vivencio), San Nicolas, Manila

One of the oldest surviving residence in Manila. Its simplicity belies a deep and layered history.

5. Ngo House, San Nicolas, Manila

A typical 19th-century shophouse, blending commerce and domesticity—key to Manila’s colonial urban life.

6. Rocha House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (1831)

Believed to be Bohol’s oldest house and one of the few with original Spanish-era appearance still intact.

7. Rocha-Suarez House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (ca. 1840s)

Ancestral home of the Rocha and Suarez families, this house reflects elite provincial life during the 1800s.

8. Hontanosas House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (ca. 1840s)

Formerly the kitchen wing of a much larger house, with towering coralline limestone columns—echoes of a lost grandeur.

9. Yap House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (ca. 1840s)

Another example of 19th-century wooden construction in Bohol, now sadly in an advanced stage of dilapidation.

10. Beldia House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (1858)

Reconstructed in the 1970s, this house is the ancestral home of the Butalid, Calceta, and Beldia families.

11. Reyes House, Tagbilaran, Bohol (c. 1880s)

The last surviving example of traditional Boholano architecture in Tagbilaran’s upper town.

While these homes continue to be threatened by neglect, typhoons, and modern re-development, the DOMUS project ensures that their essence is not lost. The project’s success highlights the potential of technology in at least digitally preserving endangered wooden architecture—not just in the Philippines, but globally.

Explore the Archive

To explore the full DOMUS archive, visit:

🔗 https://ewap.brookes.ac.uk