Gabaldon Schoolbuildings of the Philippines: A Legacy of over 100 years
When I came across an article about Gabaldon schoolbuildings to be restored, I could not let the opportunity to write about it pass by. Why? A big part of my life was spent on these buildings. I could still remember how we, as graders in Cebu Normal Laboratory School, used to clean those huge Capiz windows because visitors were coming, and scrubbed the already shiny planks of the wooden floor with our coconut husks, with 6 of us lining up holding on to each other, scrubbing the floor together in rhythm, that way we could finish cleaning the wide floor right away. Sounds familiar? Did you also experience it? It was fun. I also recalled that whenever school vaccination time came, my classmates all lined up to get vaccinated for chicken pox or whatever, a few of us would ran away and hid under the school building. There was enough room for us to crawl underneath the Gabaldon building. Then the school nurse would come and pull us out of there because as always she knows where we are hiding - no escape from the needle and the following day's feverish temperature due to the life-saving medicine's side effect. The huge classrooms, the long wooden corridors, the huge windows of Capiz shells, the high ceilings, and when it rained hard, all pupils would gather at the huge doors at the end of the passageway, all shivering because of the cold, waiting for our parents to fetch us.That was the Gabaldon I knew back then, as it is now, still to be enjoyed and used by Filipino schoolchildren up to this day, more than a hundred years when they were first built.
Gabaldon School Building
Gabaldon Schoolbuildings
One can see these public school buildings all over the Philippines, including in the cities and provinces. I was born in the early 60s and I know too well, that those of my age and those who were born earlier than us, all have been schooled in a Gabaldon schoolbuilding. There were memories, too, and lots of them, made in these buildings that became part of our educational journey through life.
Inside a Gabaldon Building - huge windows made of Capiz shells, big rooms
Cleaning wooden floors using coconut husk - traditional way of cleaning, still being done today in the Philippines
Restoring old Capiz windows
History of the Gabaldon
The Gabaldon School Buildings, or simply the Gabaldons, were built during the American colonial period. They were built between 1907 and 1946. 51 were completed by 1911 and a total of 1,852 by 1916. Today there are 2,045 Gabaldon schoolhouses still existing.
The name "Gabaldon schools" is derived from the name of a former Nueva Ecija congressman, Isauro Gabaldon (1875- 1942) who introduced a law in 1907, the Gabaldon Act of 1907, that appropriated funds of a million pesos for the construction of more than 3,000 school buildings nationwide. He was sent to Spain by his parents for primary education and further studies in Cuenca and Madrid, then a law degree from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1900.
Isauro Gabaldon from whom the Gabaldon schoolbuildings were named after.
William Parsons, the architect of the Gabaldon Schoolhouses
American Architect William E. Parsons designed standard plans for the Gabaldon Schoolbuildings when he was a consulting architect to the U.S. government from 1905-1914. He graduated from Columbia University, Yale University, and Ecole des Beauxs-Arts in Paris, France, and arrived in Manila in 1905. He considered his Philippine posting "as an architect's dream".
The Gabaldon Schoolbuildings were inspired by the bahay kubo and bahay na bato which are traditional houses of the Philippines. The school buildings need to be appropriate for the tropical climate with maximum ventilation and natural light.
Bahay Kubo
Bahay na Bato
Bahay Kubo and Bahay na Bato above - traditional houses of the Philippines where the inspiration for the Gabaldon schoolbuildings came from, note the high ceilings and huge windows
Distinct Features of the Gabaldon Building
📍 built in a standard size of 7 by 9 meters(23ft x 30ft) regardless of the number of classrooms so that they could be constructed swiftly,
📍 one - or two - storey structure and especially for a single storey schoolhouse, it is H - or U - shaped,
📍 elevated ground floor, with wooden flooring made of wood planks,
📍 rooms have swing-out doors and large awning windows with Capiz - shelled panels and wooden frames,
📍 a corridor connecting classrooms,
📍 corrugated iron roofing,
📍 a central porch and wide stairs for single storey schoolhouse,
📍 traceries or cut-outs (espehong calado - below) allow more air circulation,
📍 high ceilings and wide roof overhangs ensure maximum ventilation, natural light, and;
📍 its open plan and flexibility of use is made by dividing panels between classrooms that separate or open up the entire space.
A 2-storey Gabaldon Schoolbuilding
Traceries or cut - outs allow for more ventilation
Old Gabaldon Building
Arches
In times past - Philippines
One of Parson's trademark styles was the generous use of arches. He was chiefly responsible for designing many of the public buildings in Manila, such as The Philippine General Hospital, Manila Hotel, Philippine Normal School, and the Manila Army and Navy Club.
Why is the Gabaldon important?
📌 It is more than a public building. It was not until the construction of the Gabaldons that our formal education system reached the most remote areas of the country.
📌 It symbolized the first foundation of the Philippine public school system where every Filipino was given the opportunity to have access to proper education.
According to former Secretary of Education Leonor Magtolis Briones:
"These Gabaldon school buildings are historical structures where generations of Filipinos first experienced the light of knowledge and wisdom. We must preserve these structures and even promote them as a reminder of our nation's rich history."
Thus paved the way for the Gabaldon Law in the Philippines:
The Gabaldon School Buildngs Conservation Act aims to preserve and promote the historical and cultural significance of Gabaldon school buildings in the Philippines, prohibiting their modification or destruction while providing funding and assistance for their conservation.
Have you noticed H.E. buildings like these in public school campuses?
This was where we first learned how to sew, cook, make crafts and many more.
Fully restored Gabaldon H.E. Building
Gabaldon is uniquely Filipino. Though not our original design, but the inspiration and spirit is Filipino. Where else in the world can you find a country with the same basic structural design for all its public schoolbuildings for the entire country? Maybe there are, but can you imagine the generations and generations of Filipinos who have learnt their basic skills inside these structures. They cannot rot ,and only be lost to memory. The Gabaldon Law is a welcome move.
Gabaldon Heritage Week December 13-23 of every year
Sources:
- from Google across the web
- Vera Files: Saving the Gabaldon Schoolhouses by R.C. Labrido
To God be the glory!
/EAB💗
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