As in other Filipino urban houses since the 17th century, 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. Over the brickwork a protective lime mixture was plastered.
The architect was Arcadio Arellano, a major figure of that era.
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.”
The inspiration for the motifs came from a Viennese furniture set that had been given to Doctor Ariston Bautista by the Prietos. It had a low sala table, sofas, high-backed chairs, a desk, vitrines and glass-walled cabinets to display porcelain and crystalware. The pieces have a pronounced verticality: long slender colonettes without capitals, rows of narrow vertical frames encasting beveled glass panes. These are balanced by subtly curving armrests and by the emphatic corners of a table. For accent, a few tiny pieces of mother-of-pearl, cut like flowers, punctuate the rich dark wood.
These motifs are repeated throughout the house. Thus flattened, elongated curves echo in the frames of the ceilings, in the abstract tulips of the tracery (callados) of the room dividers, and in the highly stylized lyres of the ventanilla grilles. Another motif, small squares on long vertical bars, appears in the simple row of recessed squares that decorate the wooden walls, in the wooden stair railings and in the window grilles. In the latter, the small squares are bunched in threes and thus suggest abstract flowers on equally abstract stems.
THE ROOMS
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.
Upstairs there are four long suites of several bedrooms. One of them served as the shop for diamonds and the Nakpil gold pieces which were drafted in the atelier on the ground floor by the river. The public rooms were spacious, for the doctor who loved to throw parties where two orchestras would play. Excluding the kitchen and azotea, the upper story measured 22.45 meters by 15.90 meters.
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 sills and can be pushed to the sides. They thus create a vista of a series of doorways leading to a wide exterior window bright with light.
The Nakpil-Bautista house survives to this day. Despite a few alterations, it preserves much of its structure. Unfortunately, the furniture has long been divided among the heirs.
THE ARCHITECT
ARCADIO ARELLANO
(1872 – 1920)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcadio_Arellano
Family
Born in Tondo, Manila, the third of fifteen children.
Father: Luis Arellano, native of Bulacan, Bulacan;
Mother: Bartola de Guzman;
One of his uncles was Deodato Arellano, a propagandist and the first president of the Katipunan.
Married Amalia Ocampo, daughter of Martin Ocampo, who was the owner of the publications El Renacimiento and Muling Pagsilang.
Had nine children: Luis, Araceli, Natividad, Irma, Friné, Arturo, Raul, Otilio, and Elsa
Education
Received elementary education from schools in Tondo
Received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1892
Took further courses in business and maestro de obras (construction foreman) from the Escuela de Artes y Oficios where he graduated in 1895
Patriotic service
Served in the engineering corps and attained the rank of captain during the second stage of the Revolution
In 1898 supervised the repairs to the Malolos Convent which was used by the Revolutionary government during the Revolution
American regime
Under the Schurmann Commission supervised the assessments in Intramuros.
Was Governor W. H. Taft’s private consulting architect.
Under Act 2494 in 1915 prepared the plans and specifications for the construction of a monument for the heroes of 1896.
Architectural works
Was considered a pioneer during his time.
Departed from American and European designs, instead incorporated Filipino native plants and motifs.
Built famous edifices and the residential buildings of the elite.
Residential Buildings
Gregorio Araneta’s home on R. Hidalgo Street
Ariston Bautista’s residence on Barbosa Street
Gonzalo Tuazon’s home
Commercial and Industrial Buildings
“El 82”
The former Hotel de Francia
Carmelo & Bauermann building
Gota de Leche on Lepanto Street
Casino Español on Taft Avenue
Others
Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution
Legarda crypt at North Cemetery