page_title: Daku Balay
hierarchical_section_title: Daku Balay
caption_attribution_description: English: Daku Balay
context_page_description: Daku Balay is the ancestral home of Don Generoso Villanueva, situated on Burgos Street, Bacolod, Philippines.
  The home of Generoso M. Villanueva, a prominent sugar planter, and his wife Paz took three years to build from 1933-1936. It was the first art deco structure to be built in Bacolod. Designed solely by the owner and built by Cebu engineer Salvador Cinco, the three-story, poured-concrete steel reinforced building with graceful curved balconies, parapets, and porthole steel-cased windows looks like the Titanic on land. It was known among the locals as the Boat House. Among family, though, it was simply called Daku Balay.
  One family story about Daku Balay was the family patriarch built it to fulfill a vow he had made to someday build the tallest house in the city so he could look down on the house of a business and political rival. The majestic rise of the 5,000-square-meter Daku Balay, with a five-level roof deck of over 600sm was the tallest building in the city until 1959 when the Philippine National Bank was built. It was the first building on Negros Island to have an elevator, manufactured by Inclinator, Philadelphia, USA.
context_section_description: Daku Balay ("Big House") is the ancestral home of Don Generoso Villanueva, situated on Burgos Street, Bacolod, Philippines.
           
  The home of Generoso M. Villanueva, a prominent sugar planter, and his wife Paz took three years to build from 1933-1936.  It was the first art deco  structure to be built in Bacolod.  Designed solely by the owner and built by Cebu engineer Salvador Cinco, the three-story, poured-concrete steel reinforced building with graceful curved balconies, parapets, and porthole steel-cased windows looks like the Titanic on land. It was known among the locals as the Boat House. Among family, though, it was simply called Daku Balay (the big house).
  One family story about Daku Balay was the family patriarch built it to fulfill a vow he had made to someday build the tallest house in the city so he could look down on the house of a business and political rival.  The majestic rise of the 5,000-square-meter Daku Balay, with a five-level roof deck of over 600sm was the tallest building in the city until 1959 when the Philippine National Bank was built. It was the first building on Negros Island to have an elevator, manufactured by Inclinator, Philadelphia, USA.
  The sheer size and volume of concrete that make up Daku Balay may be impressive for a residential abode. But more impressive are the details in the exterior and interior of the house that the Villanueva patriarch personally chose and designed.  He hired the best local artisans from Negros and neighboring islands to execute and install his vision. The intricate stonework of the hallway floors and venetian finish of the concrete walls were laid by pattern and colors, separated by copper sidings.  Visitors are greeted at the front entrance by three perfectly interlinked spheres depicting the olympic universality of man, and the melding of the past, present and future. At the back entrance, guests who are dropped off from motorcars during rain are greeted by two grinning snake heads whose body gracefully curve up to form the sides of the foyer. The wood floors of the living room, chosen by color and natural grain from at least seven different Philippine hardwoods, are laid out in classical art deco patterns and symbols, as are the solid molave hardwood doors to all the rooms, each one carved with delicate art deco design and quilted carvings. The sweeping staircase to the third floor is dramatic and carefully measured for the last step to end in "oro" at each landing (oro, plata, mata count for steps is a Hispanic/Filipino feng-shui practice).
  The handpainted glass with native Philippine scenes and modernist European figures adorn the rooms and bathrooms.  On the second floor foyer, a steel oval viewing deck like on a cruise ship allows a peek at visitors arriving on the ground floor on their way to the formal living room or sala.  On the wall next to the viewing "ship deck/hole" is an elaborate vista in bas relief depicting the patriarch's idealized world of a successful and bountiful land as a reward for the hardworking robust-looking farmer depicted on his favorite beast of burden, the carabao, surrounded by healthy looking women carrying the harvest leading to a cornucopia from the land. Relaxation from hard work is also included in this intricate vista depicted by a native man playing a harana (serenade) on the guitar.
  The jewel of the home is on the top floor, where Don Generoso laid out in intricate details his love for animals by casting them permanently on the floor and walls throughout the 6-meter ceilinged recreation room. Originally the Billiard Room, the patriarch entertained friends and family in this sun-filled chamber which opens to its own deck with tall steel-cased windows that allowed the breeze to flow freely and cool the room. The articulated metal sculpture of the Spider and the Fly (giving this room its nickname "the spider and fly room") on the highest peak of the ceiling is in its original state today and provides the highlight of Don Generoso's whimsical dedication to depict folk tales in his modern abode.
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caption: Daku Balay carport (Photo by:Elora Lapore)
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