The official residence and workplace of the Vice President of the Philippines, in Manila, is a curious attraction. The building is called Coconut Palace, or Tahanang Pilipino, because of the extensive use of coconut lumber and various parts of the coconut tree in its construction. The roof is made from coconut wood shingles, while the columns are inverted coconut trunks, with their distinctive bulge at the root end forming the capitals. Coconut wood parquetry covers the floors, carpets are made of coconut fiber and wallpaper from the fibrous sheath. The massive chandelier made from 101 coconut shells is worth seeing, and so is the dining table of 40,000 tiny pieces of inlaid coconut shells.

Photo credit: www.manosa.com