HSTARC2: MANILA STRUCTURE (Quiapo Church) Reblogged

HSTARC2: MANILA STRUCTURE

“Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene”

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, also known as St. John, the Baptist Parish, is a church structure located at the district of Quiapo, Manila.

It is locally and popularly known as “Quiapo Church”, the Roman Catholic Church that houses the statue of the Black Nazarene (Poong Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno), a well venerated wooden image statue of a black colored Jesus Christ carrying the cross, which is said to have given miracles to its various devotees.

Every Fridays, the church is crowded with parishioners and devotees which flock together to celebrate. However, it is every January 9 that the real celebration and parade is conducted, it is well known to be the feast of the Black Nazarene or simply “Quiapo Day”.

The current cream color of the church was painted after the original Mexican Baroque styled structure that was burned down in 1928. The church had undergone a lot of rebuilding and reconstruction due to calamities such as great fires and powerful earthquakes.

                                                                                                                                                                 

  

Site Information:

Quiapo, Manila is considered to be the “heart of Manila” since it is very well centered on the on map location of the city. The place may be referred and also known as “old downtown”. The origins of Quiapo were a series of intersecting rivers, canals and marshes where water lilies grows abundantly, whose name goes by “Kiapo”.
 

Quiapo soon became a center of commerce and transaction during the Spanish times. Which later on continued to be as it was even today. Makets, theaters, trade stores, crafts, “ukay-ukay”, etc. was found in its streets and vicinity.

The famous Plaza Miranda is also located here on which various kinds of people gather, the rich, the mid class and the poor. Market or trades are seen evidently along its districts and streets.

The location of The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene is directly in front of Plaza Miranda. It is said that during the Spanish times, these was said to have been a strategic placement. Seeing the plaza, where people gather signifies the locals and community here while the church signifies the religious power and the people who preach along with it. So the plaza being placed directly near the church means that the religious are governing over the locals and the people.

          As of today, when you say the place “Quiapo” it would mean a place of spiritual devotees and busy business of cheap and affordable goodies and things to buy.

                                                                                                                                                                     

History:

                When the district of Quiapo was founded August 29, 1586 by Governor General Santiago de Vera, the Franciscan missionaries built too the first church of Quiapo. It was made using the materials bamboo and nipa. San Pedro Bautista, a Franciscan missionary, was the head founder of the church along with the other many churches he founded here. The structure was caught and fire and burned. Later on it was rebuilt to be a stone structure in a Mexian Baroque style. However, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake and was also burnt down. The church was left in ruins and only the scarred walls and belfry were left behind. The church was again rebuilt under  the raising of funds. It survived the World War II despite the destruction of the other structures near it. And Quiapo church today was a result of the continuous rebuilding and molding of the church to contain the ever growing devotees of the church and the Black Nazarene.

                                                                                                                                                                 

  

Known People in the History of the Quiapo Church building rebuilding process:

•            San Pedro Bautista the Franciscan missionary that founded the Quiapo Church here in the Philippines.

•            Fathers Eusebio de Leon and Manuel Roxas supervised the rebuilding of the third church which was completed in 1899

•            Dona Encarnacion Nakpil de Orense raised the funds for the reconstruction of the left ruins of the burnt down Quiapo church.  

Juan Nakpil, National Artist

•            Juan Nakpil, an architect, was the one that handled the rebuilding of the Quiapo church. He was well known to make several notable buildings. He is also renowned as a “National Artist for Architecture”. He was responsible for erecting a dome and a second belfry to the church. 

 

•            Msgr. Jose Abriol, together with Architect Jose Ma. Zaragoza and Engr. Eduardo Santiago were the people responsible for the remolding and reconstructing of the church to handle the growing capacity of the parishioners and devotees.

                                                                                                                                                                    

Purpose and Function:

                The Quiapo church was built to be a place where Roman Catholics can pray, it was really known as St John, the Baptist church, on which the guidance of the church is under St John the Baptist. However, when the Black Nazarene was brought to the church. The Previous was over shadowed and was less revered in the church. Now, Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene was blessed and is now purposed to house the Black Nazarene or also called Senor.

                                                                                                                                                                 


Plans, Analysis and Details:

                The façade of Quiapo church shows symmetry and balance though proportionality of the building structure. It shows equality on both sides of the church. The two belfries, that stands four storeys high, are quite interesting to look at and it adds both Christian faith authority, magnificence and beauty to the structure. It’s designs is that of a combination of Renaissance style bell towers and pagodas.  The Papal seal is also present at the upper part of the church façade, it signifies that it was elevated to be a minor basilica by the Vatican. The first storey of the church is divided to vertical panels. The second storey has a flat expanded wall that exhibits an alternation of rounded pillars. The main entrance can be found at the center of the panels of the first storey, other entrances are found on the sides and the far back part of the church. Upon entering the main entrance of the church, you would be faced with a tall arch shaped door with a clear view of the hall on which on the far end you can see the magnificent altar at the center. On the sides of the church are a series of windows designed with stained glass, it is also in arch shaped in style. The design of the church floor plan follows that of a usual church, as that of Romanesque and Gothic style. You can evidently see the cross shaped pattern of the interior of the church. The transepts of Quiapo Church are not that much extended but still is catching. Further inside the altar, the dome that would be seen above is is also a marvel to look at. It is edged with four golden significant carvings at the lower part and windows in a rounding path at the mid part and upper part of the dome. The addition of the grand dome somehow shows and gives a light shining to the altar, it gives a more grace bounding effect on the church.
 

                                                                                                                                                                    

Trivia:

•           The reconstruction, from the time it was burned down in 1928, of Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene took three decades to complete.

•           The Quiapo church is surrounded by the presence of life size life statues of the twelve apostles which is said to give spiritual guidance and protection to the church and the devotees.

•           The Quiapo church still lived on and was reconstructed due to destruction four times til present. It was burnt by fires during 1791 and 1928 and was hit by a strong earthquake during 1645 and 1863. Luckily it was not destroyed during the Second World War. It would have been its fifth time (maybe) of reconstruction if it was.

•           The current Quiapo church structure is remodeled to support more people even without its columns inside.

                                                                                                                                                   
             

Reason why I chose the building:

                Going through the lessons we have tackled so far in HSTARC2 subject, the Baroque style, Gothic style and Renaissance, I felt a strong attraction to buildings that are inclined to the religious Christian style of architecture. Maybe because many, if not most of them structure are churches. Being a religious myself, I had the urge to pick a church that I found influential not only to our country but also to myself. Having the area of Manila to look for a church, a lot of ideas came to mind. Baclaran Church, Binondo Church and San Agustin church was amongst them churches that popped out of my mind. They are quite famous and good to explore and study about. Another would be Malate Church, which I found to be the nearest interesting church to the place I am staying at here at Taft. However, as I started to browse more amongst the churches, the two churches which can be found in Quiapo took a great deal of interest in me. San Agustin church, a gothic styled church, and the Black Nazarene Church, Quiapo Church. My parents, who I may say are quite the devotees and always visiting Quiapo Church every now and then to pray and celebrate mass, gave me a drawn attention to the church. I never really gave much attention to the structure of Quiapo Church, even though I casually attend and celebrated mass there. Quiapo is such a, how should I call it, a busy place to be. I never really noticed and got the chance to appreciate the beauty of Quiapo church without the disturbance and irritated feeling caused by its surroundings, if you know what I mean. So going back to the question why I picked the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene to be my structure? May I can say that it is mainly for the reasons that I want to focus, analyze and take time to appreciate the church more than I have before. After all, it’s the house of the Black Nazarene which is said do wonders and miracles to its devotees like us. 

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo)

                                                                                                                                                    

         

Romanesque Architecture (Reblogged) - HSTARC2

 Whenever i hear the word Romanesque in the history of architecture, I would always be thinking of structures by the Romans of course. Maybe because it’s in the word itself? However, it’s not really about that. It’s not really Romans, but only a part of this topic is.

Loarre's Romasque Castle

Romanesque architecture is really quite something to look at. From the massive structures, the design and arches its buildings has, you'll see the toughness and power of this part of the history of architecture. Combining the Byzantine and Roman styles, the buildings made for this were massive, elegant in the artistry but also in simplicity by symmetry.

Lisbon Church, Portugal

This period was mainly developed throughout Europe and spread mainly because of religion, pilgrimage. Some of the buildings of these period was the Castles and keeps for the royalties and the rich, however, it was greatly outnumbered by the churches built at those times.

What I am fond about the Romanesque architecture was that it made use the design for the massive structures but still has the artistry and beauty inside of it. It was tough and even today the churches are still standing. However, the fact that they used thick walls as a support left the lower part of the structure with no windows or openings aside from the entrance itself. So there was no light to enter it. Only the upper parts of the buildings have windows, which most of the time were also small. It left the structure to be a massive dark structure inside. 

What also caught my attention was the false windows design on the thick walls of the buildings. The Lombard Romanesque was quite interesting to look at.

Lombard Bands

          I guess the designs of the structures in this period mainly depend on the location and tradition of the place the structure was being made. It’s clearly notable in the different churches in Europe. There was always this confusion on which Romanesque is and which Gothic is. Now, I can define it clearly from what I learned in the characteristics of a Romanesque structure. Overall, I can say that Romanesque is quite interesting but not that practical to use. But I think I served its purpose well during those times, so all is good.

Gothic Architecture (Reblogged) - HSTARC2

  
When you say "Gothic", I can’t help but think of a lot of things. Say I think about people who are emo and goths. Bringing in the color of black in their style, theres a strong sense of negative emotions in them. Me, being a casual reader of comics, I can’t help but also think of Gotham City, a city of crimes.. and of course Batman. Haha!

Gothic Church, Barcelona

If we take a closer look at what the real meaning of “Gothic" is, it would say that it was a term used to people who are crude and barbaric. Ironically, Gothic Architecture later became the term for the style the churches used during those times. So did that mean that religion was crude and barbaric such as the ones they rebuke? Or maybe it’s just the name, or there’s something more to it.

          For a brief history, The Gothic Architecture style flourished during the medieval times on which religion and feudalism was on a high. And by that I mean that most of the structures were churches and keep or castles. And it is evident and we can say that Gothic was the upgraded style for Romanesque architecture.

 

Pointed Arches and Rib Vaulting

          Regarding the features it had, most of them were the upgraded parts of Romanesque. The addition of pointed arches was quite an iconic symbol for Gothic. We can see that from these pointed arches, we can easily identify Gothic from Romanesque and other styles. The pointedness of the arches complemented the idea that the structures they are making are going up/vertical.

          Another would be the ribbed vault which is much more complicated from the previous ones.

  

          Another thing that amazed me from this time is that even at that time, these architecture showed that they are thinking and they are applying physics to their structures. It can be seen in the flying buttresses made. Not only did it solve the problem for the thick walls and no windows problem for the old buttress but it also added much support to the structure itself.

Flying Buttresses and Pinnacle Emphasis

          The pinnacle is also an additional factor that I noticed. It was not only made for design, but also because of the pinnacle, it adds a vertical downward force or what you should call it to the weight going down the flying buttresses.

          And that is some amazing calculating and imagination feat displayed. The fact that religion had a somewhat own style or identity of architecture, showed how much power, popularity and respect it had. 

Renaissance Architecture (Reblogged) - HSTARC2

For a quick definition of the name of this architectural period, "Renaissance" is derived from a the term or word "la rinascita" which means is rebirth. From the word itself, it is evident that it brought back to life what was lost and what used to be.

In this case, what was brought back to life or given rebirth to are the Greek and Roman architecture of the older ages. It was shown in the structure the stylish but efficient structure revivals. There was further development of the structures in the area of the renaissance and this period. The proportion and symmetry was also a factor to this period of the history of architecture, which was shown through the use of Greek and Roman pillars.

Aside from these, it was also considerable factor to show and use that only simple geometry in the building of the structures. Simplicity was shown at its best and according to the principles of what was being revived or rebirth.

Renaissance is usually divided into three periods.

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

• ·         "Early Renaissance" or "Quattrocentro",

 "Early Renaissance" or "Quattrocentro" did not much develop the architectural part of the period, but rather it was the starting point of it. Orders, ideas and concepts were found in this part. It was the start of the rebirth.

• ·         "High Renaissance”
  "High Renaissance" now applied and used the classical concepts and ideas from the previous.

• ·         "Mannerism" 

 "Mannerism" somewhat perfected the concepts and now proceeded to the experimenting of how the concepts and ideas and previous form can further be developed, in an architectural way.

So, What caught my attention in this period of architectural development was the proper and simple show of the orderliness of the structures being made. It was simple but magnificent. Another was the building of the domes which was usually seen in large structure and basilicas. It was used in large structures which gave it a big statement.

Dome inside St Peter's Basilica

 Anyway, for me Rennaissance was just building rebuilding the buildings from the concepts of the past. Thats the way I see it and how it is I guess.

BaRoquecoco Architecture (Reblogged) - HSTARC2

When you say paintings and structures that gives the image of  light,shading, shadows, extravagances, drama, playfulness,  emotion, feelings, decorative, flourishing designs, wealth, power and richness. Then this architectural period is quite interesting to learn upon.

  

          Baroque and Rococo fall upon the same architectural period, Baroque as the early part while Rococo being the later and late part of Baroque architecture.

• Baroque

 Baroque initially was made to exemplify the wealth and power that the churches possess at that era. From there on it was developed to be an architectural style. What happened after the early part of this era was that the style gave up their symmetry and focused more on the fluent designs and ornate ones. 

• Rococo

 Rococo was the late baroque which was inspired by the shell like curves. In short, their styles got a lot of curves, it became curvy. Furthermore from all the curves, arts and designs all though out the structure was also added. The buildings were like a big blank canvass that was painted and decorated in curves and artistry in every aspect.  

Chiaroscuro: Play of Light

What I like most about this era is their emphasis on the colors by the use of dark and light contrast. "Chiaroscuro" is the term used for that definition. 

The curves and arts displayed in the period was quite a development, not really in architecture but more of art? (that’s how I see it). But never the less, it was still a development. This part of the history of architecture for me is like just one big playful time of art and curves. 

Industrial Revolution (Architecture) - HSTARC2

Industrial Revolution is quite an interesting topic and as much of a word to look at, why? Let us divide it in its root word which is Industry/Industrial and Revolution. When we say industrial it’s almost an instant that we think of work, machineries and factories. On the other hand, when we say revolution it would be about people or event related to making a change. From that we can see that this topic is about a turn and change which led to the development in terms of people, work, factory and machines. To the fast paced improvement, to modern development, to the journey towards the future!

Industrial revolution started at the early 17^th century, but it was not until the late 18^th century that the real development was evident which furthered until the 19^th century and it gave way to the future onwards. So what was that change that was so evident and helped developed what we have today? It is, ladies and gentlemen, the shift of manual labor to mechanized works, machineries, and factories.

 The fast paced change that happened in the industrial revolution gave way to a lot of different opportunities, materials and technology. The shift from manual labor dramatically changed the production rates of almost all things. It was almost as if when one thing was discovered to be of use in building, it was again used to further the development. And then again another was discovered. It was remarkable and everybody was in hype into the building process. The discovery of using coal, the use of materials such as metal and iron (refined), the in-depth usage of steam for power are just some of the great addition of this era.

Child Labor

          However, though it may seem all that great to development. It came with a price. Since society was so indulged in the pace, they focused so much into the making and development of things. They sacrificed a factor that mainly caught my attention. This is the people who do the labor, even children and women were made to work regardless of their age on which some even died. And since cities were on a high, a lot of people went to go to the cities which gave way to diseases and overpopulation. Another thing was that people who were rich kept getting the goods and money and of course the poor, well you know what happens. But yeah, it was needed… I guess.

Eiffel Tower, Metal Structure

I can imagine how architecture was greatly boosted up by this industrial revolution. Materials were given new and productive choices, mainly the metal was a utmost great addition. The workload is done in less time since the machineries and technology are there. The refined road, railways and canals solved the time consummation of delivery of materials. Definitely this was a time of joy, excitement and prosperity for the builders.

          If not for the industrial revolution, we might have been stuck and still be doing manual labors up to now, I cannot even start to imagine how much technology would cut off in our current time line and be gone if the industrial revolution had not sparked, had not happen.

American Colonial and Pre-Colonial Architecture - HSTARC2

Whenever I hear or see the word America, I would refer to it as big! As this topic is wide and a lot to tackle on since it is divided into different time periods and the styles vary. To it is the beginnings and differences in pre-colonial and the influenced colonial America.

To start of the American Architecture, let us take a look and tackle on the Pre-Colonial first. Meaning the architectural style here were the ones before the colonizers came, obviously.

Machu Picchu

• Inca Architecture

Making use of the finely made stones, the Incans cut it precisely and make use of it as walls for their structures. They made use of rectangular shapes more often but it was also found out that they also used polygonal irregular shaped stones.

Mayan Ruins

• Mayan Architecture

The style of the Mayans were making use of the carefully cut veneer stones. The lower façade is plain and rectangular in shape infused with a doorway while the upper part is richly decorated with geometrical figure and stone mosaics.

Next we go to the Colonial stage where in the people had arrived and new styles were here.

• New England Colonial

Set in the time of 1600s – 1740s, the first British settlers made use of the usual style they made at home. Simple timber-framed houses were evident featuring little exterior ornament and are wood framed with shingles.

 

• Colonial Cape Cod

            Set in the time of 1600s – 1950s, this style was mainly from the colonial New England. It featured a simple house, one story with a single chimney located at its center. It is symmetrical in appearance and the door located at its center.

• Spanish Colonial

            Set in the time of 1600s – 1900s, the Spanish in the North American territory made use of rocks, adobe and bricks as material to build a low simple home. It featured the use of rocks to make thick walls, a flat roof and is only a story high. Later on, the improved style of the Spanish colonial made use of wood, got an interior courtyard and made use of a second story.

 

• German Colonial

            Set in the time of 1600s – 1800s, the German settlers made use of local materials to rebuild the styles they used in their home lands. It featured thick walls made from sand stone, flared eaves and reinforced stone arches in doors and windows.

• Dutch Colonial

            Set in the time of 1625s – mid 1800s, Dutch settlers used bricks and stones to build their homes near the Hudson River. It features Dutch style doors, gambrel roofs, matching chimneys on each side and of course the bricks and stones for the main structure.

 

• Georgian Colonial House Styles

            Set in the time of 1690s – 1830s, it featured spacious and comfortable houses. It is symmetrical and had a pair of chimneys. The windows, five in count, across its façade is also evident.

• French Colonial

            Set in the time of 1700s – 1860s, they build houses specially made for hot wet climate area. It featured thin wooden columns, wide galleries, French doors and had no interior hallways.

 

• Federal House Style

            Set in the time of 1780s – 1840s, it featured windows arranged symmetrically around a center doorway, shutters, Palladian windows, oval rooms and arches.

• Colonial Revival

            Set in the time of 1876s – 1955s, it made use of the patriotism as an inspiration and returned to the classical style. It became a standard style in 20^th century. It features a symmetrical façade, is rectangular in shape, two to three stories high and are in brick or wood siding with a gable roof.

• Builders Colonial or Neo Colonial

            Set in the time from 1965s – present. These styles are used for the modern made homes inspired by the previous styles that had bygone. It is not really colonial since it wasn’t made during those times but it still borrowed the ideas and feats of the previous colonial styles of the past. It features a mixture of historical styles and adaption along with the modern style and use of architecture.