Gabaldon Buildings

Gabaldon Buildings

 

Bayambang has a few Gabaldon buildings scattered in three educational institutions: the two surviving ones at Bayambang Central School (currently in varying states of disrepair), the main building of Bayambang National High School (thankfully restored), and the main building and elementary school building of Pangasinan State University-Bayambang Campus (preserved except for the cementing of the floor of the main building).

 

According to local school teacher Carmencita Pacis, "Bayambang Central School is a product of Act No. 1801 framed by Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija. In 1914, seven years after the Gabaldon Act of 1907 was signed into law, the first Gabaldon building in Bayambang was built which came to be known as Bayambang Elementary School (thereby making it the pioneer school in Bayambang). ... The first of the five Gabaldons was a three-classroom structure constructed in March 1914 at the southeastern part of the approximately three-hectare territory. ... In 1922, the second building, an elevated bungalow-type structure was finished...the Home Economics building."

 

Designed by American architect William Parsons, a typical Gabaldon is characterized by the simple lines of Roman arches and columns, high-ceilinged hallways, wide staircases, an often decorated clerestory, and large capiz shell windows. Most Gabaldons are a bit upraised, creating a silong (a space beneath an upraised floor). All these features undoubtedly are considerations made in response to the tropical weather, especially to address ventilation, rain and flooding issues. The result is an interesting fusion of American and Filipino architectures.

 

Spaciousness of the surroundings is a key part of the architecture. A sense of stateliness is established in the positioning of an edifice in relation to the others nearby, as the viewer sees it slowly emerging from his or her line of sight upon entry, thanks to the vantage point of being at the center of a wide open field.

 

Such an aesthetic behind Gabaldon buildings, to paraphrase Gemma Cruz-Araneta’s own observation, results in an environment conducive to learning as the wide space instills an equally expansive mind in learners and serves as an inspiration and source of pride among students, teachers and the community at large.

 

References: "Those Gabaldons" by Gemma Cruz Araneta, http://gabaldon.ivanhenares.com/2006/08/those-gabaldons.html; https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/what-are-the-gabaldon-school-buildings-a00290-20190208-lfrm