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Location: Paoay, Atok, BenguetClassification: ResidentialBuilding Materials: Locally sourced timber, refurbished timber, reinforced concrete, corrugated GI sheet roof, glass, steelStatus: Completed
Situated within Atok’s terraced vegetable gardens, the project rejects the invasive cut-and-fill method, instead employing a stilt-supported structural system that preserves the existing topography and allows for traditional use beneath the dwelling, typically used for drying and storing harvested produce, or as an ancillary workspace. This space is also used for ritual preparation during family gatherings.
The Atok Barnhouse represents a hybrid of vernacular form and contemporary materiality.
Inspired by the Ibaloi Baley and the Ifugao Fal-ey, the design reinterprets the ancestral silhouette into a modern barn typology, utilizing materials and proportions that respond to the region’s unique highland climate. This form also subtly acknowledges the region's American legacy; the Haight family's introduction of vegetable farming to Benguet reintroduces a barn-like structure similar to the family’s ancestral home.
Smoked and burnt timber
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Beyond its form, the house serves as a cultural bridge: it provides a high-functioning, modern residence while celebrating the people here's hybrid identity.
By prioritizing connection to the land and the past and cultural continuity, the Atok Barnhouse illustrates how we in the Cordilleras and the rest of the country can design, one that is practical and deeply rooted in the locality.
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