Daku Balay

Daku Balay ("Big House") is the ancestral home of Don Generoso Villanueva, situated on Burgos Street, Bacolod, Philippines.

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.

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.

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.