Sunday, May 20, 2012

Adaptive Reuse of Silay's Ancestral Houses

Silay City is full of heritage houses but most of them are still residential homes, lived in by the descendants of the original owners or bought by others who continue to live in them. There are few however that have been converted to museums or offices.  This action is called adaptive reuse, referring to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for.

Among the first of those ancestral houses for adaptive reuse was that of Maria Ledesma Golez which was bought by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation or RCBC in 1992. I remember attending birthday parties in this house, going up the stairs at the left anterior part of the building.  In fact, I have some memory of the living quarters upstairs and I still have a picture of myself at the age of 5 or 6 years at their balcony.  The first floor used to be a soda fountain where they sold really good siopao.  RCBC remodeled the interiors of the first floor into their Silay branch while the second floor is used as a storage area.  The exteriors have been preserved well.

The next two ancestral houses were bought by the Silay City government and converted into offices. These are the Angel Araneta Ledesma Ancestral House which is used as the Arts and Culture Office of the city and the Armin Jalandoni Ancestral House which is now the Sangguniang Panglungsod building. These are both found in Plaridel Street, where I and my cousins would stroll on weekend afternoons.  This street has been  renamed to Generoso Gamboa Street.  

Another heritage structure that has been converted is the Lope Severino Building which is now owned by two separate individuals. The left wing of the building was bought by an Indian businessman while the right wing was bought by the Baldevia family. Both owners converted their properties for commercial use.  The second floor of the Baldevia side is a pension house with function rooms available for rent while the other side is rented by a religious group.

A few old buildings that were dilapidated or structurally unsafe were completely rebuilt like the Cine Silay now known as the Jison Building and the North Elementary School Gabaldon building.  In the past Silay's main street was lined with beautiful buildings.  They were used as commercial areas in the first level and residential areas in the second.  Many of these buildings are still there, having withstood the test of time with new owners and a new life.  But there were a few which were burned to the ground in the late 60's or early 70's and nobody will remember them...like the other Severino house fronting that of the Lope Severino building, the Hofileña building besides it (now with a new building rented by Mang Inasal), the house of the Lecaros family where Rising Drugstore used to be and one that I vaguely remember, the building besides The Bernardino Jalandoni house which their family also owned.  

I hope that when architects are hired to plan for new buildings in Silay, they will always consider the aesthetics of a heritage city in mind. They can create modern day structures without sacrificing the old world charm of Silay.

17 comments:

  1. What a wise initiative!
    Who knows the "old world" charm of Silay may attract more tourists and eventually lead the city to greatness! :)

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  2. It's good that many structures in Silay were put into adaptive reuse instead of being torn down and replaced with modern structures.

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  3. Another place worth exploring--- nice article about Silay..^^__^^

    Eigroj Stain

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  4. i agree with you, ma'am maritel. if people are going to build new buildings, hopefully they'd consider designing the new structures that would complement the existing structures so that the modernity would not totally cloud the old silay.

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  5. Aesthetically speaking, these edifice are beautifully structured.. and has historical value to it.

    But it's better that's its being used rather than left to rot or abandoned. Good that Silay City has maintained a few of its heritage in tact.

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  6. I initially don't have any interest in ancestral houses, but when I visited Jaro, Iloilo and took a tour around, this perspective changed. Old houses and buildings are actually beautiful, who would have thought.

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  7. This shows that people in Silay value their heritage.

    I wish people from other parts of our country would follow their example.

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  8. I'll be here in the next few months! excited to see those ancestral houses! :)

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    1. When you get to my side of the country give us a knock :)

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  9. sure is this place looks gorgeous! ive learned something today. like how it brings back old memories as well. xx

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  10. I am glad that they have preserved these beautiful ancestral houses. Would love to see them myself.:)

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  11. good thing they preserved it. the place looks superb!
    nakakamiss ung gnyan sa manila

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  12. Old houses like that must be preserved because it's the town/city's heritage. Our ancestral house in Pasay City is still standing and we didn't allow the government to tear it down and be replaced by a supermarket.

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  13. The government have preserved these beautiful ancestral houses because of the value and for tourist spots purposes. I would love to visit these houses one of these days.

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    Replies
    1. yes, come and visit and be transported in time :)

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  14. just heard the news about how strong old buildings are and how their architects give time making it stand the challenges of time... especially earthquakes... Yahweh bless.

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  15. punta kayu d2 sa silay...
    MAGANDA D2..d masasayang pera nya d2 at pagod..
    taga d2 kasi ako,,
    =)

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