THE DAY YOU VISITED TAHANANG PILIPINO You arrive Ninoy Aquino International Airport by 8am and quickly take a taxi to a friend’s place at Pasay. This friend is glad to see you when you arrive. You put your luggage away, take a quick shower, change into a casual wear and go out with your friend to Tahanang Pilipino, the Coconut Palace. Your friend tells you that seventy percent of all materials used in Tahanang Pilipino is from coconut. You are surprised. At this time, you recall that someone in the plane said that getting into Tahanang Pilipino makes you feel like a King or Queen. You are anxious to see this palace. Anxious to tour the building. So is your friend who is visiting Tahanang Pilipino a second time, and who is hoping to enjoy the tour even more as he watches you take in all the Coconut Palace has to offer. You finally reach the palace. Even before you get to the gate, you utter a wow that drags for some four seconds. Your friend chuckles as the car drives past the gate. You both step down and take a panoramic view of this big compound that is slightly larger than a standard soccer field. The lovely view feeds your eyes with different species of what must be two hundred coconut trees—some tall, some short—all growing from a blanket of green grasses decorated in several areas with bands of beautiful flowers. You walk towards the main building, your eyes fixating themselves on the tall coconut pillars by the entrance. They have a smooth compelling blend of rural and aristocratic appeal that you can’t help appreciate. Just as you walk by the pool the palace surrounds, a man that looks to be in his late seventies meets you. He says his name is Francisco Mañosa, the architect who designed Tahanang Pilipino. You are thrilled to meet him. He begins to talk to you about the coconut—how it has been called the Tree of Life by the Filipinos, how it is extremely abundant here, the reason why the Philippines is called the country of coconuts. Tahanang Pilipino was built to showcase the versatility of this Tree of Life that means so much to Filipinos. “We have used coconut trunks instead of concrete as columns to support the building. The plan of the palace is directly taken from the shape of a coconut when served. You see the brown rooftop? Two thousand coconut trees were used to construct that, all of them over seventy years old.” He pauses, looks at you for a split second and then looks back at the roof and continues: “The roof itself was made with coconut board and the thick struts supporting the roof are made from coconut trunks. You see?” You nod your head gently, understanding. He also reveals that the roof is shaped like a traditional Filipino headdress called salakot, which is a cultural symbol of Filipino identity. “Did you look at the gate properly while coming in?” he says. Not very well, you reply. You had been looking at many other things all around you. But you noticed it was a beautiful gate with some lovely patterns. “Those patterns you saw on the gate are inlays of over four thousand pieces of coconut shells. Come, let me show you something similar upstairs, too.” You all go upstairs and he takes you to the dining hall. There is a table inside that’s almost half the length of a standard basket ball court. Its surface is beautifully decorated with what must be thousands of coconut shell pieces. “This table right here, has over forty thousand pieces of coconut shells inlaid on its surface.” You marvel as you slide your fingers on the surface of the dining table. Such work! Then he takes you through the seven suites which he says are named after a specific region in the country. You enter Zamboanga: this one is the American actor George Hamilton’s favourite, he says. You explore Iloilo and your friend whispers to you that this was the favourite room of the American actress and model Brooke Shields. You enter the other rooms and in each room, as before, you see art and craft peculiar to the people of the region each is named after. You observe with amazement how the carpets and furnishings are all made from the different parts of the coconut tree. You feel like eating one of the coconut chandeliers hanging from the ceiling! Then, Francisco Manosa winks for you to follow him. He has one more thing to show you. A clock that is two metres in length. You have never seen a clock this big. At least not at close range. You go closer and feel the body of the clock. You turn to look at Francisco and your friend who is smiling. “Everything you can see on that clock is from the Tree of Life. The body, the numbers, the dials…whatever you see.” Just then, you hear the clock chime. You turn back, take a long look at the number 12 on the clock to which all the dials point. You heave a long, heavy sigh. Not one of sadness or relief but one of immense satisfaction. You can’t believe the chime sounded like a loud strike on a coconut shell. As you step out of Tahanang Pilipino, you leave this amazing building adorably named Coconut Palace, knowing without a doubt that it was completely worth every second of your visit. -------- Original article with links and pictures: samuelokopi/engaging-architecture/the-day-you-visited-tahanang-pilipino/ Subscribe to my free newsletter here for rich weekly updates: forms.aweber/form/19/1806706719.htm
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:56:18 +0000