QUEZON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: AN ADAPTIVE REUSE OF A JAIL INTO A MUSEUM

This architectural research has given a prime focus on the adaptive reuse of the 110-year-old building of Quezon Provincial Jail. The researcher considered the current state of historical buildings in the locality including the said facility, the age of the building, its surrounding environment, and the future plans of the government for this historic structure. Through the consultation on the historical records of Quezon Provincial Tourism Office, the researcher has learned that the old Quezon Provincial Jail was constructed in 1909, during the American Colonial Period and functioned since then as a provincial jail. During the World War II in 1940’s, the Japanese Occupation used the jail to imprison the Filipinos who are against the Japanese Government (PRECUP for Immovable Cultural Property, NCCA, 2019). In 2017, a top official of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said inmate occupancy of the provincial jail has risen by 40% due to the government relentless war on drugs (Belen, 2017). Last year, the offices and the inmates were all transferred to the new detention facility in Brgy. Talipan, Pagbilao. The abandoned jail now functions as a parking lot for motorcycles and military vehicles. The old historical structure calls for an adaptive reuse. There is a need to rehabilitate and improve the old jail for it to function efficiently as a new structure without destroying its architectural character and significance. This historical building that served the province for more than a century can be turned into a museum with café and function hall that would house items of cultural and historical significance. Through its adaptive reuse, the old jail can be useful again to the community, a structure with a new function that showcases our own historical and cultural values. Some key terms were defined to provide clarity to the study: Adaptive Reuse – utilization of buildings, other built-structures, and sites of value for purposes other than for which they were originally intended, in order to conserve the site, its engineering integrity and authenticity of design. Building Preservation – The process of applying measures to maintain and sustain the existing materials, integrity, and form of a building, including its structure and building artifacts. Building Rehabilitation – The returning of a building to a useful state by repair, alteration, and modification. Conservation – all the processes and measures of maintaining the cultural significance of a cultural property, including but not limited to preservation, restoration, reconstruction, protection, adaptation or any combination thereof. Conservation is part of development.