Building Houses for Persons with Disabilities in the Philippines

By Sarah Button

Rooftops Canada Intern 

I am working with the National Savings and Homes Cooperative, Rooftops Canada’s partner in Cebu City, Philippines. Part of my job as Housing Project Officer for Persons with Disabilities is to design an accessible housing project. Because of the climate and culture, houses in the Philippines are quite different from houses in Canada. Designing here presents an exciting challenge. 
 

For inspiration, I looked to the traditional houses known as “Balay Kubo” found throughout the archipelago. They differ between regions, but there are also many commonalities. Traditional design elements include steeply pitched roofs that shed rain quickly, openings in the floors and walls to provide ventilation, and buildings raised on stilts. Most use local materials such as thatch roofs made from palm leaves and walls made of woven leaves or bamboo. 
 

These houses have a pleasing organic quality so they blend seamlessly into their environment. However, the Philippines is prone to typhoons and earthquakes, and durability of housing is an important in any new development. Spanish colonialists began the move towards more durable building materials by using coral stone and local hardwoods. Today, houses are built using reinforced concrete, concrete blocks and corrugated metal roofing.
 

In designing a modern housing project for persons with disabilities, I'm taking into account some of these historical designs and adapting them so they are universally accessible. Universal design stipulates that a structure must be usable by everyone, regardless of their age or ability. The new designs incorporate ceiling-level ventilation between rooms, and the plan of the house remains similar to the traditional dwellings.

The roof forms and community plan are also drawn from the visual effect of the traditional communities, and are based on a weaving pattern found throughout the Visayan Islands. However, the new homes will all be entered at ground level for easy wheelchair access, and will provide larger-than-usual windows and better daylight for the visually impaired.
 

Hopefully, these designs will show that housing can be both universally accessible and culturally responsive, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of the Philippine “Balay Kubo.”