AResearchProposal

Submittedto
TheSchoolofArchitectureIndustrialDesignandtheBuiltEnvironment
MapuaInstituteofTechnology
Inpartialfulfilmentoftherequirementfor
AR134:ArchitecturalResearchMethods

Submittedby
RochelleAnneDomingoArcega
on
June30,2016

Consideration of socio-cultural factors in repurposing historic

houses in Philippines
Background
In the 2013 Heritage Conservation Summit led by Heritage Conservation Society and the City
Government of Quezon City, the importance of heritage conservation was given emphasis. The
best practices of adaptive reuse, an important aspect of heritage preservation, in the Philippines
was also discussed. The demolition of Jai Alai building in Manila on June 2000 started the
movement of conservationists in protecting heritage structures.

Over the past few years, preservation of ancestral or historic houses has also began. There are a
few Filipino ancestral houses, listed or not listed as heritage, that were converted into spaces such
as private museum and office. Although adaptive reuse is considered as saving an old buildings
life through giving it a new purpose, the new function it has to perform should still be relative to its
environment and behavior of the surrounding people.

This research proposal discusses why socio-cultural factors are needed to be considered when
repurposing historic houses, and the importance of its consideration. This research proposal
covers old houses that are listed or not listed as heritage.

ReviewofRelatedLiterature

Characteristics of historic houses in the Philippines:

Historic houses in the Philippines are houses owned and conserved by a family for generations.
This is a Filipino culture among families. Sometimes, due to the historical and architectural
significance of these historic houses, some of them are converted into museums displaying the old
furniture of the house and other possessions owned by the family that used to live in the house.

The Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) determines
whether an old house is historic by following a guideline. Some of the qualifications to be

considered historic house include; possess demonstrable historical significance, and be at least
fifty (50) years old and seventy (70) percent authentic (NHCP Guidelines on the Identification,
classification, and recognition of historic sites and structures in the Philippines, 2011).

There are also some old houses that are historic but not listed as heritage houses. These houses
are historic because of the materials that were used, and architectural styles that were
incorporated. Some of them were also built decades ago but not more than 50 years old.

Socio-cultural factors and its influence in Architecture:

One of the main goals of an architect in designing houses is to consider the needs and aspirations
of the users. The socio-cultural satisfaction of these users is a part of this goal. If the house is not
designed in accordance with the users socio-cultural satisfaction, the architect failed in designing
the house (Adedayo, 2010).

Socio-cultural behavior and the inhabitants way of life have an effect on the design of the dwelling
unit and the settlement (Oren, 1996). Plans of houses are usually planned based on the behavior
of its users, and their schedule for the day. The socio-cultural factors that influence the lay-outing of
some houses as discussed by Dikmen (2005) are the following:
1) Family structure and size
2) Safety
3) Privacy
4) Religion
The size of the family determines how many rooms there should be, the sizes of each room, and
the like. Safety is important in determining if fences are applicable or needed badly. Privacy of each
user within the house is significant; their personal, social and public privacy. Religion plays an
important role, too. It helps determine the positioning of each spaces.

Analysis:

If the socio-cultural behavior of each person is put on a bigger scale, for example in a
neighborhood, identifying what adaptive reuse solution to a certain historic house will be easy. The
people in the neighborhood tend to have different socio-cultural behavior but sometimes they have
a common ground. Studying the socio-cultural satisfaction of each person will reveal that some
people have the same activity for the day, and even behavior. With this, the architect will be able to
determine what structure is needed to be constructed, or what new function a certain historic house
be repurposed to, in that neighborhood.

Also, the new function of a historic house should be compatible with the old structure. Lessons and
values from the past help enhance the quality of modern built environment. This process allows a
cultures identity to be reflected in its architecture and overall built environment (Hakim, 2007).

Research questions
How can socio-cultural factors affect the repurposing of a historic house? And the decision of what
new function it should serve?
Sub-questions:
1) What are socio-cultural factors and its influence in architecture?
2) What are the characteristics of historic houses in the Philippines?
3) What are the qualifications needed to repurpose a historic house/structure?

ResearchObjectives
The aim of this project is to:
a) Know the characteristics of historic houses in the Philippines and underlying reasons why
they need to be preserved.
b) Determine the socio-cultural factors that may influence the repurposing of old houses
c) Investigate possible adaptive reuse solution for old houses, considering socio-cultural
factors.

Methodology
Methods to be used:
The methods to be used in this research proposal will be a combination of three methods under
Descriptive method. Descriptive Survey method and Descriptive Normative method will be used to
address the first question: 1) What are socio-cultural factors and its influence in architecture?
Descriptive Normative method will be used to address the second and third questions respectively:
2) What are the characteristics of historic houses in the Philippines? And 3) What are the
qualifications needed to repurpose a historic house/structure? For the main research proposal
question: How can socio-cultural factors affect the repurposing of a historic house? And the
decision of what new function it should serve? Combination of Descriptive Survey method and
Descriptive Evaluative method will be used. Descriptive Survey method will answer what sociocultural behavior the people has in the environment the houses are in. It will also answer whether
the repurposed houses are still relative to its surrounding environment and people through
observing. Descriptive Evaluative method will be used to evaluate the data that will be gathered
and to judge if socio-cultural factors will have an influence in repurposing historic houses.

Gathering of data:
Data gathering presentation includes two type of data; Primary (or Raw) data and Secondary data.
Primary data gathered are first hand data such as photos, distributed survey forms, questionnaire
forms, first-hand observation, and the like. The primary data for this research proposal will be
gathered through interviewing people that are living near or have access to historic houses, giving
them survey and questionnaire forms to answer, and first-hand or personal observations of the
historic houses during site visits. The aim of the primary data gathering is to know the current state
or situation of historic houses. Secondary data are data provided by the national government that
come in several forms such as graphs and plans. Secondary data will be gathered through the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines for information about the characteristics of
historic houses, and through the Congress of the Philippines for existing laws regarding historic
preservation.

Tools to be used:

The tools to be used for the data gathering will be; camera for photograph and video
documentation and interviewing people, notepad for writing down information, and laptop for data
encoding and presentations.

Instruments to be used:
The instruments to be used for the data gathering will be survey or questionnaire forms, and MS
Powerpoint for presentations if needed. The survey of questionnaire forms will be answered either
online or in-person.

Research Significance (or Rationale or Expected outcomes)

This research proposal will have a significant part in the re-evaluation of the factors that are
needed to be considered when repurposing a structure. This research goes back to one of the
basic considerations in construction which is people and their surrounding environment. This factor
is still important in repurposing a structure.
This research will also be beneficial to the society, especially to the built environment. The
continuing movement of preserving historic buildings proves the need of a better criteria of
repurposing structures. Thus, applying the factor studied thoroughly in this research will result to a
better and improved evaluation of repurposing historic houses.

Timetable (Research Project Timeline)

Task
Research topic/title proposal
Research questions and objectives formulation
Literature survey
Methodology
Analysis
Research paper finishing
Submission

Duration
April 30 May 11
May 14 May 19
May 21 June 02
June 02 June 14
June 16 June 21
June 21 June 30
June 30, 2016

Bibliography
Torabi, Zohreh, and Sarah Brahman. "Effective Factors in Shaping the Identity of Architecture."
IDOSI Publications. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 June 2016.

Folaranmi, Adedayo. "HOUSING DESIGN AND ITS SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACT ON

THESOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED ESTATES IN MINNA, NIGERSTATE, NIGERIA."
Academia. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 June 2016.
Flores, Wilson Lee. "Ivan Henares and Tats Manahan: Heritage Conservation Can Boost the Real
Estate Business and Tourism." PhilStar Global. The Philippine Star, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 June
2016.
"Guidelines on the Identification, Classification, and Recognition of Historic Sites and Structures in
the Philippines 2011." National Historical Commission of the Philippines. NHCP, 2011. Web. 30
June 2016.
Abbaszadeh, Shahab, Rahinah Ibrahim, Mohamed Nasir Baharuddin, and Azizah Salim.
"Identifying Persian Traditional Socio-cultural Behaviors for the Application in the Design of Modern
High-Rise Residences." (2009): n. pag. Web. 30 June 2016.