Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)

The bahay kubo, also called the nipa hut, is the traditional rural house of the lowland Philippines. It is a light timber and bamboo house raised on posts, with a tall, steep thatched roof. It is widely regarded as an icon of Philippine culture and was the basis for the later colonial-era bahay na bato.

The roof

The roof (bubong) rests on a frame of bamboo or timber called the balangkas. Its main features are:

• Thatch. Coverings are typically nipa palm leaves, cogon grass or anahaw leaves. Nipa was the most common, and palm leaves were often smoked to improve water resistance.
• Steep pitch. A tall roof with a peak (angkub) sheds monsoon rain quickly.
• Long eaves (sibi), sometimes extended further (pasibi) to shade a porch.
• Bamboo "tiles". Some roofs used kalaka, halved bamboo culms laid alternately face up and face down like clay tiles, each running the full length of the slope.

Climate performance

The tall roof space lets hot air rise away from the living floor, and some houses have no ceiling so heat escapes through vents beneath the ridge. The raised floor helps with floods and pests and lets air move under the house. The light frame flexes in strong winds and can be rebuilt quickly after storms or earthquakes. The steep pitch is often cited as one reason many bahay kubo survived the ashfall from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, when heavier flat-roofed houses collapsed under the load.

Evolution

In the 19th century, wealthier families often replaced nipa thatch with Spanish-style curved clay tiles (teja de curva). The bahay na bato kept the bahay kubo's basic form but used a stone or brick lower storey; its roofs were high-pitched gables or hips (cuatro aguas), the latter valued for better wind resistance. Galvanised iron sheet appeared on these houses in the later 19th century.