What Is “Earthquake Baroque” Architecture?

Active volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunami, and mudflows make the Philippines one of the most hazardous regions for human habitation in the world. The tectonic squeezing of the several micro-plates comprising the archipelago by two convergent plate margins has forced inhabitants to devise resilient building styles, or perish. The Philippines’ history of repeated invasions has resulted in each new culture’s need to adapt its building style to meet the challenges of the hazardous environment. Architectural styles that worked “at home” did not necessarily work in the Philippines. The 16th century Spanish conquerors reinterpreted the imported “European Baroque” architectural style as the new “Earthquake Baroque” style unique to the Philippines, after watching their ubiquitous religious buildings smash to the ground during earthquakes. But even before the Spanish arrived, the indigenous Filipinos had developed their own architectural adaptation to survive earthquakes and other hazards: the nipa hut.

Early Solutions: Nipa Huts

The simple nipa hut exemplifies indigenous Filipino architecture that is well-adapted to the hazardous environment of the Philippines. Nipa is a palm tree (Nipa fruticans) that grows straight out of the mud or the landward margins of mangrove swamps throughout Southeast Asia. The leaves are used to thatch the hut’s roof, which must be replaced every five or so years. The sidings of the nipa hut are made of woven bamboo or sawed lumber. The traditional dwelling consists of simple rooms generally raised above the ground on tree trunks for protection from flooding or landslides. The space below the house may store rice and firewood and shelter livestock.

The nipa hut, in spite of its unique suitability to local conditions, has never been especially liked by the successive colonial and national governments governing the Philippines. The nipa huts have been called “primitive”, “fire hazards”, and “squatter settlements” and banished or removed whenever possible. (1)  Yet, the greater safety of such buildings, compared with some of the early heavy stone construction, has long been recognized. For example, the eruption of the Taal volcano on August 11, 1749, and the more than one hundred tremors that accompanied it, persuaded the inhabitants of Manila “to vacate the capital for straw and nipa houses in the countryside”, according to disaster anthropologist Greg Bankoff.  Similarly, the major earthquake that struck Zamboanga and Cotabato on February 5, 1889 reportedly did “no serious damage” as most of the houses were “of light material”. (1)

Spanish Colonization of the Philippines--a Nipa Cathedral?

The Philippines were named “Las Philipinas” in honor of King Philip II of Spain. When the Spanish colonized the islands in the 16th century, the Augustinians and other Catholic orders moved to the islands. There they built all kinds of religious buildings—churches, monasteries, convents, and cathedrals--which they used to spread their influence via preaching, the confessional and parochial work.

The first Manila Cathedral, for example, was constructed in 1581 of nipa and bamboo! Unfortunately, it was damaged by a typhoon in 1582 and razed by fire in 1583. Even nipa buildings are not immune to all hazards! Spaniards meanwhile began teaching the Philippine people how to work and lay stone. Manila blossomed with new churches built in “the European Baroque style” popular at the time, whose stylistic elements included height, rigidity, and fragility. This was a bad combination for the tremoring Philippines, as the Spanish soon learned.   

The second Manila Cathedral, completed in 1592, was made of stone. But it toppled in 1600 from an earthquake. Not deterred, in 1584, the Spanish began building a third Manila Cathedral with three naves and seven chapels. Finally completed in 1614 down it came during a severe earthquake in 1645. The rest of Manila during the 1645 earthquake also succumbed, except for the Church of San Agustin (Manila).

San Agustin Church: the Emerging Earthquake Baroque Style

San Agustin (Manila)—called the “Mother of all Churches”—was built by the Spaniard Juan Macias in 1586. It is the only surviving 16th century edifice and the oldest church in the Philippines, and is included in the World Heritage List of buildings along with three other Baroque churches in the Philippines. (4) The design of San Agustin (Manila) followed the plans approved by the Royal Audencia of Mexico and by a Royal Cedula. In other words, its design followed the design of other churches built in earthquake-prone Mexico by the Augustinians. The Augustinians “who came from Spain and those born in Mexico had a great opportunity to observe and study the South American monastic architecture which they later used in the Philippines. They took into consideration the quality of local stone and weather conditions which required them to sacrifice aesthetic requirement for durability.” (2)

The exterior of San Agustin Church is only modestly Baroque and is not very beautiful, according to the Augustinians who thought its hard, static appearance and dark adobe stone lacked grace, elevation, and charm. But its structural resilience in the face of earthquakes has made up for any lackluster in its exterior appearance. Philippine church architecture historian Alicia Coseteng, in “Spanish Churches of the Philippines”, describes San Agustin as “‘having an inverted vaulting foundation, which reacts to seismic effects in much the same manner as the hull of a ship resists the waves’. Although this is difficult to prove, this may be one of the reasons why, amidst the destructive natural calamities that are prevalent in the country, the church is still standing today. (2)

A second structural component of the San Agustin Church that may help explain its resilience to earthquakes is its “lateral bays that act as interior buttressing. This is completely different from all the colonial churches where the wall buttresses flare out at the exterior side of the church walls. Within each compartmentalized bay is a side chapel that Coseteng refers to as cryptocollateral chapel. Seven side chapels line the entire length of each side of the nave.” (2)

Elements of Baroque Architecture

Baroque architecture is characterized by broad naves, dramatic use of light, opulent use of ornamentation, large-scale ceiling paintings, and an external façade with a dramatic central projection. Well-known examples of Baroque architecture include St. Peter’s Square, Rome, begun in 1656, and the palace and gardens of Versailles built between 1646 and the 1708.

The combination of Baroque character and remarkable resistance to earthquakes prompted Alicia Coseteng to use the term “Earthquake Baroque” to describe the churches in the Philippines. The architectural style is so unique in the world that UNESCO has approved four of these churches in the Philippines for listing as World Heritage buildings. (4)

Paoay’s Church: Severe Earthquake Baroque Embodied

The small Philippine town of Paoay boasts the “Parish Church of Saint Augustine”, also called San Agustin (Paoay). Like its sister church in Manila, it was started by the Augustinians, specifically, the Augustinian Friar Antonio Estavillo in 1694. San Agustin (Paoay) is sometimes called “Severe Earthquake Baroque” for reasons obvious to anyone looking upon it. The Paoay Church has buttresses that extend out considerably from the exterior walls and provides a visual experience that is three-dimensional, unlike most of the churches in the country where the inherent beauty of the church is limited only at the façade, according to one observer. (3)

One description of the church follows: “The buttresses are a visual spectacle. One can easily imagine them as giant sentinels poised to protect the church from adversaries. The rhythmic flow of massive form cascading down from the pinnacles to the ground, emphasized by spiral relieves visible on each side of the buttresses, alludes to a [b]aroque character. Yet, the dark receding plaster and exposed coral stone wall, complete with foliage overgrowth, creates a momentary feeling of being in some exotic Javanese temple. 

“The materials used for the walls were a mixture of coral stone and bricks. Large coral stones were used at the lower level of the walls, while bricks, smaller and more manageable to transport, were used at the upper levels. The mortar used for the coral stones and bricks dramatizes the desire of the builders to make sure that the church stood against natural calamities.” The stucco was made by mixing sand and lime with sugarcane juice, which were boiled with mango leaves, leather, and rice straw for two nights.

“The facade of the church, even as it is beginning to lean towards the front, still manages to be as equally impressive as the buttresses. Viewed from the side, the giant buttresses look like huge volutes making the facade appear as a massive pediment rising from the ground…The facade is complemented with a belltower located at its right hand side. Belltowers are a very important element in the overall composition of colonial churches, both for its function and aesthetics. For practical purposes, belltowers were used as a communication device to the townspeople.” (3) The inside of the church is Baroque because of its broad nave and use of light. However, its interior has lost its ornamentation and ceiling paintings with time and limited resources have precluded restoration of the church to its former interior Baroque richness.  

Two More Examples of Earthquake Baroque

The two other Baroque churches in the Philippines that also qualified as World Heritage Buildings are La Asuncion (Sta Maria) (also known as Church of the Assumption) located in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, and Santos Tomas (Miag-ao) located in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

Santos Tomas was built by the Augustinians in 1731 as a simple church and convent in the town of Miag-ao. Originally located on a plateau by the sea, the convent and church were burned by Muslim pirates! The priests then decided to transfer the town to the edge of a hill overlooking the Miag-ao River. The new church was built as a fortress for protection against future invasions. Built of a local yellow-orange sandstone, the fortress-church was completed in 1797 and has withstood all the earthquakes and the typhoons in the area. (5)

The Church of the Assumption rests on the top of a hill overlooking the town, green fields and the blue sea in the horizon. Eighty-two steps lead up to the Baroque church. Two huge columns flank the church façade. The church’s exterior is reddish due to the exposed brickwork. An octagonal bell tower is located nearby. The patron saint of the parish, which was established in 1765, is Señora de la Asuncion and her feast day is celebrated on  August 15, the feast of the Assumption. Enshrined in the church is the Virgin’s statue made of wood in ornate sculptural style, with ivory face and hands. She stands on pedestal of clouds  surrounded by angel’s heads.

Summary

Study of architecture can reveal important elements of the human-environment interface in regions of the world characterized by defined hazardous footprints. In the Philippines, the “Earthquake Baroque” architectural style evolved as a reinterpretation of the “European Baroque” style as a response to the sharp need for resilient buildings. Even before the arrival of the Europeans, the indigenous Filipinos had developed an architectural style—the nipa hut—as their adaptation to the hazardous environment in which they found themselves.

Sources:

1. Greg Bankoff: “Cultures of Disaster: Society and Natural Hazard in the Philippines.” RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, pp. 163-164.

2. “Mother of All Churches: San Agustin Church in Intramuros” in “Philippine Colonial Church Architecture” available at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~gaspar/agustin.html; accessed February 23, 2006.

3. “Earthquake Baroque: Paoay Church in the Ilocos” in “Philippine Colonical Church Architecture” available at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~gaspar/paoay.html; accessed February 23, 2006.

4. “Baroque Churches of the Philippines”, UNESCO World Heritage List of Properties; at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/677/multiple=1&unique_number=677; accessed February 23, 2006.

5. “Santo Tomas” at: http://www.worldheritagephotos.com/asia/pages/PHILO003.htm; accessed February 23, 2006.