More than providing the basic minimum adequate spaces in which man can live, it is the goal of the Ministry of Human Settlements to express, design and build these minimum adequate spaces in what might be called appropriate architecture. The paper is a discussion on what an “appropriate architecture” should be – the extensive use of indigenous building materials and the adoption of Filipino architectural motifs on housing designs – how this may be actually applied, and why such application is best for both economic and socio-cultural reasons.