The Bahay Kubo, Balay, or Nipa Hut, is a type of stilt house indigenous to most of the lowland cultures of the Philippines. It often serves as an icon of broader Filipino culture, or, more specifically, Filipino rural culture "Although there is no strict definition of the Bahay Kubo and styles of construction vary throughout the Philippine archipelago, similar conditions in Philippine lowland areas have led to numerous characteristics "typical" of examples of Bahay Kubo."