The Bahay Kubo is the native house of the Philippines and is also considered as its national shelter. Made of indigenous building materials like bamboo and nipa, this pre-Hispanic architecture was constructed to perfectly adapt to the tropical climate of the Philippines and to be easily repaired or rebuilt once damaged by typhoon, flood or earthquake which frequented the country. Its name is said to have originated from the Spanish word, cubo, which means cube, because of the bahay kubo 's rectangular/cubic shape.