AN ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH ON

GABALDON ARCHITECTURE:

ITS HISTORY AND NOTABLE WORKS

A Research Assignment

in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for

AR153-1: History of Architecture 4

By:

Llena, Pauline, G.

2019164414/B67
History

During the American colonial period, schoolhouses or more commonly referred to

as public schools were established as part of the “pacification” strategy to Americanize
the public education system of the Philippines. These schoolhouses were considered to
be the equivalent to the architectural contribution of the Spanish regime through
churches to the country.

Consequently, in the year 1907, Nueva Ecijañon Assemblyman, Isauro Gabaldon

authored and commissioned the Republic Act No. 1801, also known as the Gabaldon
Act of 1907, which appropriated one (1) million pesos for the construction of public
school buildings between 1907 to 1915. The law stipulated the construction of public
schools in barrios with guaranteed daily attendance of not less than 60 students.

These buildings were designed by William E. Parsons, a famed American

architect who was known for his elevation of vernacular architecture by integrating
modern construction methodologies such as the galvanized iron roofing and reinforced
concrete. He has built multiple notable buildings across the Philippine archipelago
including the Philippine General Hospital Main Building and the Paco Railway Station as
examples. The schoolhouses he designed were inspired from the combination of the
traditional bahay kubo, bahay na bato, and American architecture.

The Gabaldon schoolhouses took the form and function of bahay kubo and
bahay na bato as it is observed by Parsons as “dwellings suitable and adapted to the
climate of the country which means that their habitability can be optimized for long term
use”. Funds for each school varied from two (2) thousand pesos to 4 (four) thousand
pesos unless its municipality contributed an additional sum of not less than 50% of the
total amount granted by the act. Municipalities are authorized to appropriate its own
funds by receiving voluntary contributions in manual labor, kind, or cash for the
construction of the buildings.

A standardized design was followed in construction of the schoolhouses with

permission for barangays to add its own spin to the structure. Parsons set the standard
size of seven by nine meters (7 m × 9 m) for the school buildings regardless of the
number of classrooms to be made so as to provide swift construction for the structure.
The Gabaldons were generally H-shaped or U-shaped in plan, raised 1.2 meters on a
platform made of either wood or concrete and designed with large windows, high
ceilings, capiz-shelled panels, a central porch, and wide stairs. The overall design and
orientation of the Gabaldons permit the optimal ventilation and acoustical requirements
ideal and conducive for learning spaces in a tropical country.

51 Gabaldons were created in 1911 alone and by 1916, over 405 more were
constructed. The construction of the schoolhouses continued until the mid-1940s which
totaled to over 3,000 buildings built across the country. However, as of 2016, it is
reported that only 1,446 of the schoolhouses remain in good condition.

Notable Works of Gabaldon Architecture

Figure 1. Camarines Sur National High Schoo facade. Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camarines_Sur_National_High_School_front.jpg

The Camarines Sur National High School is the first secondary public school in
the province of Camarines Sur in Region V (Bicol) and is considered to be one of the
largest surviving Gabaldon schoolhouses in the country. It was founded in 1902 and
was later transferred to a bigger building as what is shown on the picture above. It
eventually became a garrison used by the Japanese in 1915 and was almost completely
dilapidated by 1949. Efforts has been made to restore the building to how it looks like
currently, although it is not known how much of the original structure has been
reconstructed. It is a two-storey structure, symmetrical in plan with all the standard
characteristics of a Gabaldon schoolhouse such as large awning windows with capiz-
shelled panels and wooden frames, identical side staircases, and corrugated iron roof
sheathing.
 Figure 2. Pampanga National High
School Facade. Retrieved from
https://nolisoli.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2019/02/gabaldon-
660x494.jpg

Pampanga National
High School was established
by the Americans in 1902. The
Gabaldon schoolhouse (old
building) was completed in
1910 and served as the
school’s main building until
1935 before it was transferred
to its present site which
followed the Standard Plan No.
20 of Gabaldon schoolhouses.
It is a one-storey Gabaldon in a U-shape plan. Additionally, it features classrooms
connected by a corridor, rooms with two swing-out doors, awning and sliding wooden-
framed windows with capiz-shelled panels, corrugated iron roof sheathing, and high
wooden ceilings; all of which are
distinct features of the
architecture.
Figure 3. Gabaldon Building in ASIST
Bangued Campus. Retrieved from
https://abra.gov.ph/2017/12/08/the-historical-
gabaldon-building/

The Abra State Institute of

Sciences and Technology
(ASIST) is a school established
by Amos Allen, an American
educator in 1908. During the
World War II in 1942 to 1945, it
was used as a garrison by the
Japanese Army operating in the
area. The Gabaldon Building is one of the school buildings built during the years of
American colonial rule. Much like the previous schoolhouses, it is a one-storey U-
shaped building raised on concrete foundation and features a wide main staircase, a
corridor that connects the classrooms, two swing-out doors, and awning windows with
capiz-shelled panels and wooden frames.
 Figure 4. Gabaldon Building in San Rafael Elementary School, Bulacan. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gabaldon_Building,_1909_(Libis,_San_Rafael,_Bulacan_Elementary_
School)

The Gabaldon Building in San Rafael Elementary School, Bulacan was

established in 1909 and much like the other Gabaldon schoolhouses was used by the
Japanese during the World War II. Unlike the Pampanga National High School and the
Gabaldon Building in ASIST Bangued Campus, this schoolhouse strongly exhibits the
features of a bahay kubo instead of a reinforced concrete structure. However, as a
Gabaldon itself, it is also a one-storey building raised on concrete with a high-ceiling
corridor, awning windows with capiz-shelled panels and wooden frames, wide
staircases, rooms with two swing-out doors, and corrugated iron roof sheathing.
 Figure 5. Tinago Central School. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/155220767909305/photos/a.1283563598408344/3813464455418233/

Tinago Central School, located in Naga City, features a Gabaldon building built in
the year 1940. It serves as the administration office building of the school. The
difference of this Gabaldon from other schoolhouses is its lack of capiz-shelled panel
windows; instead, it installed wooden jalousies as its windows. Nonetheless, it is an
elevated U-shaped plan, symmetrical one-storey building with a central porch, wide
staircases, and classrooms connected by a corridor.
References

Araneta, G. (2006). Those Gabaldons. Retrieved from http://gabaldon.ivanhenares.com/

Combis, S. & Monforte, J. (2019). Documenting the Gabaldon Buildings in the Division
of Camarines Sur. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11675.41768. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335619959_Documenting_the_Gabald
on_Buildings_in_the_Division_of_Camarines_Sur

Heritage Cebu. (n.d.). Pampanga National High School and the History of Gabaldon
Buildings. Retrieved from
https://unknowncebu.wordpress.com/2020/12/03/history-of-the-gabaldon-
building/

Lopez, E. C. (2019). Those School Buildings We Grew Up With Are Called Gabaldons.
Retrieved from https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/what-are-the-gabaldon-
school-buildings-a00290-20190208-lfrm

Mueco, G. (n.d.) Gabaldon Building Research. Retrieved from

https://www.coursehero.com/file/44924369/Gabaldon-Building-Researchdocx/

Opido, P. (2015). The Gabaldon Legacy. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/document/257493908/The-Gabaldon-Legacy

Province of Abra. (n.d.). THE Historical Gabaldon Building. Retrieved from

abra.gov.ph/2017/12/08/the-historical-gabaldon-building/

San Rafael Elementary School. (n.d.). Gabaldon Building, 1909 (Libis, San Rafael,
Bulacan Elementary School). Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gabaldon_Building,_1909_(Libis,_
San_Rafael,_Bulacan_Elementary_School)