Diwa ng Lunan: Understanding Filipino Architecture In this world, there are places that give people strong mental images, a memory or created one, which make them unique and different from other spaces. The spirit of place, or diwa ng Lunan, is a belief that each place has its own identity, character and uniqueness that differ from others. It has its own meanings that its inhabitants give value to. There are different factors that may have brought on the individuality to these places – the architectural style used, the site, the use of local materials, the climate, the cultural aspects affecting the place and the values that the people hold on to. Filipino Architecture is the reflection of the history and heritage of the country, which the author thinks is what diwa ng Lunan is about: the memories people create in a place that make it different. Having a rich past, all the occurrences in our history have contributed to the uniqueness that Filipino architecture has established to the minds of the Filipinos. The most prominent historic constructions in the archipelago are influenced by the Spanish, Chinese and Japanese culture. The Philippine architecture is like a narration of the country’s past, even before the colonization happened. The pre-colonial structures our forefathers built, the nipa huts, are made of materials found in nature. In present days, although replaced with stone houses, we always see nipa huts as something that defines the Filipino culture. They remind us of where and how the first Filipinos, our ancestors, used to live. During the three hundred years of Spaniard colonization in our country, our architecture had been influenced by Spanish culture. The “Bahay na Bato” style emerged for the large houses, built out of stone and wood combining Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences. Parish churches, mostly made from local materials like coral and volcanic rock, were also built at that time. Seeing and using some of these structures like the churches that are still standing at present give us the image of what our school or the books taught us about that period. They will always remind us about the way Spaniards treat the Filipinos and how living was under their reign. The Filipino architecture goes on, through the American colonial period, the Japanese until the present. Although many different cultures have immersed our own, and many architectural styles have influenced ours, one thing that unifies them is the spirit, the thought that we have a rich history. Our architecture would always remind us of the sacrifices our ancestors made and the great things our heroes did for our country’s freedom. Just like Filipino architecture, diwa ng lunan is not about the structure alone, but about the memories it leaves in the minds of people.