San Sebastian Basilica, Manila
![blogsingle](https://cdn.nimbu.io/s/vyfx0d4/channelentries/hi0231r/files/P1000025a.jpg)
The church at the center of the university run by the Order of Augustinian Recollects
Completed in 1891, it is an example of the revival of Gothic architecture in the Philippines.
It is the only steel-only church or basilica in Asia. It has also been implausibly reputed
to be the first prefabricated building in the world, and perhaps the only prefabricated
steel church in the world.
The prefabricated steel sections that would compose San Sebastian Church were
manufactured in Binche, Belgium. According to the historian Ambeth Ocampo, the
knockdown steel parts were ordered from the Societe Anonyme des Entreprises
de Travaux Publiques in Brussels. In all, 52 tons of prefabricated steel sections were
transported in eight separate shipments from Belgium to the Philippines, the first
shipment arriving in 1888. Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church,
the first column of which was erected on september 11, 1890. The walls were filled
with mixed sand, gravel and cement. The stained glass windows were imported from
the Henri Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm, while local artisans assisted
in applying the finishing touches of the steel church.
There is the strong persisting belief that Gustave Eiffel was involved in the design of the
church, however his personal notebooks only note the design of a church for the
Philippines 13 years before the San Sebastian church was constructed.