Balay tropical is an ongoing photo essay, which started in 2015, extensively narrates and investigates the vernacular tropical architecture and its nuances in Negros island in the central region of the Philippines.
The goal is not to create an objective system by which to classify architecture but to open an aesthetic inquiry to raise public consciousness regarding materiality, ephemerality, contextually rooted in the everyday lives. How do Negrenses respond to the land, domesticity, tropical climate, social and economic conditions and how are these used as tools to create an architecture that is catered to the needs of the persons it serves, be it a family, a business or an individual. Contrary to the buildings created by architects that dictate the way we live, these buildings are created mostly by people using their own knowledge and intuition.
Although the project specifically focuses on architecture in Negros island, it does not serve to merely represent it, but to act as a platform for discussion tow
