THAILAND. CAMBODIA AND VIETNAMARCHITECTURE

History of Architecture 3

Prepared by: Archt. Clarissa L. Avendaño

1ST sem AY 2009 – 2010, rev. 2012-2013

STUPA TYPES

1. DOME STUPA– Visual element is dome

– Sanchi is the prototype

– Early stupas in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. Variant forms are seen in Tibet and Japan

http://www.approachguides.com/ebook-previews/AG-seasia-bangkok-prev.pdf

STUPA TYPES

2. TERRACE STUPA

– Dome is diminished and raised upon a podium formed by a truncated, stepped pyramid.

– Common in Tibet, Nepal, Burma, Central and Southeast Asia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/7357217324/

Gyantse Kumbum Chorten, TIBET Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, BURMA

STUPA TYPES

• Multi-layered, tower like structure.

• Two main forms:

• Brick of masonry which indicates the layers by a series of relatively inconspicuous cornices or windows with a finial on its summit.

• Timber which expresses its storeys by a series of articulated roofs with a finial on its summit.

• Exemplified by Bodhgaya and by masonry towers of China and in Japan

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/bodgaya.htm

3. TOWER STUPA (PAGODA)

http://iammodernman.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/japan/

SOUTHEAST ASIA

MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA• Burma (Myanmar)• Thailand• Indochina

• Cambodia • Laos• Vietnam

• Peninsular Malaysia

MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA• Brunei• East Malaysia• East Timor• Indonesia• Philippines• Christmas Island• Singapore

ARCHITECTURE IN THAILAND

History of Architecture 31st Sem AY 2010-2011, rev 2012

Ar. Clarissa L. Avendaño

Ruins of Wat Mahathat in Ayuthaya

Ayuthaya was Thailand's capital from 1350 to 1767.

• Formerly known as SIAM 

• Located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia.

• Boundaries:

• Burma and Laos - north

• Laos and Cambodia – east

• Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia – south

• Andaman Sea – west

• Indonesia, India – southwest

• Vietnam – North to south

Kingdom of Thailand

• Influenced by the culture and religions of INDIA, starting with the Kingdom of Funan around the 1st c. to the Khmer Empire

• Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai was founded in 1238.

• Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th c. in the lower Chao Phraya River 

• Ayutthaya became one of the most vibrant trading centers in Asia. European traders arrived in the 16th c., beginning with the Portuguese, followed by the French, Dutch and English.

• The only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized

http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=47

http://www.bloggersbase.com/travel/buddhas-majestic-bodh-gaya/

Samui, Thailand

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/outoftown/thailand/kosamui/bigbuddha/index.htm

BODHI TREE

Ayutthaya Historical Parkhttp://video.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/thailand-guide/

PREDOMINANTLY BUDDHIST

ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES

1. Temples and Monasteries

2. Palaces

3. Houses/Dwelling Units

• Group of religious buildings and other features (such as trees and lakes), surrounded by a wall, and with at least one gate.

• Consist of two parts:

1. Phuttha-wat – temple complex

2. Sangha-wat – Living quarters of the monks

Thai Buddhist temple

• Walls - often white washed, usually encloses a rectangular area. The wall demarcates the temple compound, called putthawat, or the sacred enclosure.

• Ideally the main entrance faces east.

Wat Phra Singh, the largest temple in Chiang Mai, northwestern Thailand. (Luca I. Tettoni/Corbis)

WAT• Thai Buddhist

temple or monastery.

• Complex - collection of buildings, shrines, and monuments within a courtyard that is enclosed by a wall.

1. PHUTTHA-WAT – dedicated to Buddha

a. Chedi or Stupa - Reliquary Tower

b. Prang - Khmer temple

c. Ubosot or Bot - Ordination Hall

d. Viharn - shrine hall that contains the principal Buddha images; it is the assembly hall where monks and believers congregate.

e. Mondop  square or cruciform based building or shrine, sometimes with a spired roof within a Thai Buddhist temple or temple complex.

f. Ho trai -  Temple Library or Scriptures Depository houses the sacred Tipiṭaka scriptures.

g. Sala - open pavilion providing shade and a place to rest.

h. Sala kan prian – a large, open hall where lay people can hear sermons or receive religious education.

i. Ho rakang - bell tower is used for waking the monks and to announce the morning and evening ceremonies.

j. Phra rabien - a peristyle is sometimes built around the sacred inner area as a cloister

Thai Buddhist temple

Most of the best known temples are in Bangkok, and these reflect the highly ornate "Rattanakosin" style of the Chakri dynasty (late 18th century to the present day).

www.ekohchang.com/TempleGlossary.htm

WAT (TEMPLE)

The main elements of the temple are as follows:

1. Bot/Ubosot2. The Reclining Buddha 3. Main Stupas

4. Phra Mondop 5. The Gallery 6. Hermit's Ground

• Domed edifice, under which relics of the Buddha or revered religious teachers are buried.

d. CHEDI /PRANG (Stupa/Pagoda)

• Types of Chedi:

1. Bell – shaped style Chedi2. Square Chedi3. Indented Chedi4. Suwanna Chedi, Prang5. Suwanna Stepped Chedi

Thai civilization’s chief modification to the Khmer prang was to make it more delicate, thinner, and vertical in emphasis.

PRANG (Pagoda)

1. Bell-shaped style

Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakorn Pathom, Bangkok• Tallest Chedi in Thailand. with a

base diameter of around 233 m. and a height of more than 120 m.

http://www.thailandbuddy.com/travel/province/nakhon-pathom/index.html

2. Square Chedi

• Northern Thailand balances a smaller dome on a high square base, each side has a niche carved with Buddha images.

• Sits on a terrace or platform, often with an enclosed walkway for devotees to make ritual circumambulation.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2462165440010442789nbAVaIWat Jed Yod, Chiang Mai

3. Indented Chedi

• Small dome balanced on a square base with indented corners.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Thonburi, Bangkok.

4. Suwanna Chedi - Prang

• Ayutthayan or Khmer style of reliquary, found all over central Thailand from the Khmers..

• Shaped like a corn cob standing on top of a square or cruciform building, with an entrance on one side.

Phra Prang Sam Yod, Lopburi.

http://www.thailandbytrain.com/Lopburi.html

5. Suwanna Stepped Chedi

• Found in Northern Thailand

.

http://www.thailandbuddy.com/travel/province/Lamphun-Province.html

• Square stepped base, with 5 tiers above, each of the four faces containing 3 Buddha images

Phrathat Haripunchai, Lamphun

Wat Chamathevi, Lamphun

Chedi Liem, Chiang Mai

• Consecrated ordination hall of a Wat, where new monks take their vows.

• Has six boundary stones (Bai Sema) that define the limits of its sanctuary.

• Usually open only to the monks.

• Faces east and usually houses an altar and one or several Buddha images.

a. BOT/UBOSOT

Ubosot at Wat Doi Suthep/Wat Phra Boromathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai

http://www.chiangmai-traveltips.com/wat-doi-suthep.htm

b. PHRA RABIENG

• Cloister like-galleries around the Bot/Ubosot

• Along the walls of the Phra Rabieng are Buddha images and some times religious furniture.

http://www.asiaexplorers.com/thailand/northern-thai-temple-architecture.htm

Mural Paintings depicting Ramakien epic (Thai version of the Hindu epic, Ramayana)

c. VIHARN

• Sermon hall and is usually the busiest building in a Wat and open to everyone.

• Holds an altar and one or several Buddha images.

• Inside the viharn is a Buddha image either seated or standing.

• Located at the far end of the hall and face east, for that is the direction that Buddha achieved Enlightenment.

• Composed of three superimposed tiers, with the lowest tier over the porch.

• Number of tiers range from one to four, with three being the most common and each tier may comprise of two or three sections.

• Lowest section is close to the ground, and spreads out like a mother hen spreading her wings to protect her chick.

ROOF

travel.webshots.com/photo/1095438012048103203...

PAN LOM

• Bargeboard that covers the end of the gable, preventing the tiles from falling off.

• Decorated like a downward sloping body of the naga, with its head rearing up.

• The naga's scales which project up is called the bai raka.

CHOFAS “Sky Cluster”

• Horn or bird-like finials

seen on the roof ridges

of temples.

• Often decorated with

little bells that tinkle in

the wind.

• Design is in the form of a

stylised garuda, which is

meant to be grabbing the

tail of the naga that flows

down both sides of the

bargeboard, pan lom.

Gable

• Front gable of the viharn is usually highly decorated.

• May also be divided into rectangular panels.

http://www.featurepics.com/online/Thai-Ornament-Image374620.aspx

ORNAMENTATION

HU CHANG “Elephant ears”

• Eave-brackets along the outer wall of the viharn.

• Triangular piece of wood that is often highly ornamented.

• Design can be in the form of intertwining naga, the monkey king Hanuman, or the mystical bird kinnari or other mystical beast.

NAGA - Nak Sadung and Makara

• Representation of a mystical serpent that according to the holy scripts sheltered the Buddha while he was meditating.

• Temple – found on the edge of the roof or especially in Lanna (North of Thailand) temples, flanks the staircase that ascends to the Viharn or Bot.

• Sculptures - it is depicted sheltering the head of the Buddha with its own.

SUM • Also called sum khong,

• Elaborate decorative arch over and framing the doorway.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/focusthai/4820490300/

• Pair of lions guarding the entrance of a viharn.

• Chiang Mai - often made in the Burmese style.

• Myanmar - named chinthe

SINGHA

HTI • Bejeweled sacred umbrella

that sits at the topmost part of the chedi,

• Burmese influence to the design.

• CHAT - Gilded parasols also adorn the four corners of the walkway surrounding the chedi.

CHAT• Burmese-style sacred

filigree parasol that are usually installed at the corners of the railings enclosing the chedi.

• Parasols are usually gilded.

e. MONDOP (Mandapa)

• Square, open-sided pavilion with a multi-tiered pyramidal roof rising to a peak.

• Baldachin structure that has in some temples been erected above the library with the sacred Buddhist scripts.

(Library or Manuscript repository)

• Handwritten Buddhist manuscripts are stored.

• Usually very small, same style as the viharn and ubosot, but lavishly decorated building.

• Central Plains - often sits on columns in a pond.

• Northern Part - built raised up from the ground, to keep it away from termites and damp.

f. HO TRAI

http://www.thaiworldview.com/wat/jpg/wat050.jpg

g. CREMATORIUM

• Recognizable because it has a tall chimney.

h. HO RAKHANG (Bell Tower) • The bell is struck to call

the monks to devotions, to announce time (it is struck for noon, after which monks are not allowed to eat) or to announce the stopping of work for the day.

• In some big temples and monasteries, there may also be a gong tower, or a combination of bell and gong.

i. SALA GAN PARIAN

• Open-sided pavilion or preaching hall.

• Bangkok-style structure that is only found occassionally in Northern Thailand.

• Some Viharns are built in this style.

Thai Buddhist temple

2. SANHAWAT• Contained within the wall surrounding the temple

complex.

• Living quarters of the monks

1. KUTI (Living quarters)

May also contain the following:

2. HO RAKANG (Bell tower)

3. SALA KAN PRIAN (Preaching or Sermon hall)

• Kitchen building where food can be prepared by lay people, and sanitary buildings

KUTI

• Originally a small structure, built on stilts, designed to house a monk, with its proper size (4.013 x 2.343 m).

• Apartment building with small rooms for the monks - Modern

http://www.archicentral.com/tag/thailand/

WAT PA MAHA CHEDI KAEW and its associated building including the crematorium, Sisaket province

Use of 1 million glass recycled bottles. Mixture of green Heineken and brown local Chang beer collected since 1984.

PALACES

The Grand Palace Chakri Maha Prasat Hall• Built by king Chulalongkorn (RAMA V)• Used for the reception of foreign ambassadors. • Blend of European and Thai architecture

Wat Phra Kaew “Heaven and Earth”

Built as the royal temple within the Grand Palace, same as the Ayutthaya tradition. The temple has no residing Buddhist monks, but was meant as the spiritual center of the kingdom and the site for major royal ceremonies.

1. Ubosot2. Emerald Budha3. Main Stupa4. Phra Mondop5. Royal

Pantheon6. Gallery

7. Srcipture Hall8. Ankor Wat Model9. Viharn10.Ho Phra Nak11. Stupa 12.Prang

King Chungalongkorn's PalaceVinmanmek Palace (Cloud Mansion)

• Believed to be the world largest building made entirely of golden teak.

• Originally constructed on Srichang Island in the Gulf

of Siam by King Rama V ( King Chulalongkorn) but In 1901, was moved to its present site.

Royal Palace at Bang Pa-In• Dates from the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), when

most of the buildings standing today were constructed between 1872 - 1889.

THAI HOUSES

www.koleksyon.com/.../thai_architecture.asp

ROYAL HOUSES

• Similar in design to those of commoners except that they were generally closer to the ground and had more decorative features.

• Tamnak Daeng or “Red House”built by King Rama I as a residence for one of his queens, originally in Ayutthaya style but acquired more Rattanakosin elements during several moves.

• King Rama V presented the house to the museum as a reminder of an architectural style then becoming rare.

KALAE (Galae)

• Decorative carved element as a top roof ending.

• Mostly carved from teakwood widely used in North Thailand, the former kingdom of Lanna.

• Horns of the water buffalo.

Residence of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother “Mae Fah Luang”, Doi Tung, Chiang Rai/North Thailand

:www.thai-eyes.com

www.koleksyon.com/.../thai_architecture.asp

• Elevated on stout round posts• Steep roofs with curved bargeboards • Paneled walls leaning slightly inward• Various components are prefabricated to enable easy dismantling

and reassembly.• House consists of a single unit with an outside veranda, while

those accommodating larger families might have several separate units arranged around a central platform.

Central plains houses

INDOCHINA

• "China" and "India", refers to the location of the territory between China (southwest) and India (east) .

• Cambodia, Laos and three Vietnam regions (Tonkin, Cochinchina and Annam)

• Former name of region of Southeast Asia under the French Colony

CAMBODIA

PRE-COLONIAL KINGDOMS

• Funan - 1st thru 6th c.

• Chenla – 6th to 8th c.

• Water (Lower) Chenla – 706 to 802

• Angkor/Kambujia – 9th to 15th c.

• Phonom Penh/Lovek – 1432 to 1863

• French Protectorate – 1863 to 1887

The Devaraja Cult

• 802, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself GOD-KING of Cambodia. He did so through a Hindu ritual involving worship of Shiva, king of the gods.

• A royal cult developed, involved an annual festival during which a statue of Shiva was paraded thru the capital city.

• The ceremony not only proclaimed the devaraja but Cambodia’ permanent separation from Java.

Ritually sanctifying a symbol of the devaraja.

http://www.5starcambodia.com/Maps-of-Cambodia.htm

ANGKOR THOM •

1. Bayon   - Temple built for King Jayavarman VII in the 12th c.  • distinctive because of its many

towers where the same face is carved on all sides, over 200 faces

2. Elephant Terrace and Leper King Terrace  - a large open ceremonial areas that faces the Royal Square, a large reception area for pavilions where visiting royalty could be entertained in style.  The terrace walls contain scores of carved elephants, garudas (mythical man-bird figures), five-headed horse, and other figures. 

ANGKOR THOM 

3. Phimeanakas - a relatively small 10th c. royal palace in the shape of a mountain

4. Bapuon - is a massive mountain-temple

• Built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th c.

• He made the temple as a center of government and capital city.

• Center of Hindu religion. This temple dedicated to Vishnu, the Buddha

• Built with the classic style of Khmer architecture.

• Estimated time for the construction of the Angkor temple was about 30 years.

• Built as a temple or as a tomb.

ANGKOR WAT

The world's largest religious monument and an architectural masterpiece in classical Khmer style. The five central towers, represent the peaks of the mythological Mount Meru, and the entire temple is a microcosm of the Hindu universe.

http://www.holiday-in-angkor-wat.com/angkor-wat-temple.html

• Occupies a rectangular area of about 208 hectares (500 acres) defined by a laterite wall.

• Moat with a long sandstone causeway crossing it and serving as the main access to the monument. The moat is 200 m. wide with a perimeter of 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles).

Angkor Wat

1. Built according to carefully ordered principles and base on geometric plan with orientation to the cardinal points. Emphasis was on the east-west axis, which associated the temple with the rising and setting of the sun.

2. Layouts of temple and monasteries are all symmetrical around a central axis called ‘centralization’. • provides mirrored images, profiles around a central

dominant architectural feature such as the central tower on the grand scale or the main porticos on the axial route.

3. Temple Mountain • Khmers adapted the Indian concept of a temple-mountain

draws its symbolism from Hindu mythology.

• Earthly facsimile of MOUNT MERU, the scared abode of the gods. The temple as a microcosm of a central mountain was an essential concept that had profound influence on Khmer art.

Overall, the form captures the qualities both of horizontal expanse and vertical expression in a single composition ,

4. Causeway and Naga Bridge - combination of a causeway and a moat provide a dramatic backdrop for naga or serpent balustrade that appeared in Khmer architecture since 9th c. The naga bridges link the world of man to that of the gods on the summit of the hill. Having crossed over, the pilgrim ascends the final and grandest staircase.

NAGA -  were a reptilian race of beings who possessed a large empire or kingdom in the Pacific Ocean region.. The Naga King's daughter married an Indian Brahmana named Kaundinya, and from their union sprang the Cambodian people.

5. Gopura or gateway - main architecture feature of the wall that surrounds a Khmer temple. Originated from the Pallava, India. Placed on the principal axes which stands out in contrast to the simple laterite walls.

6. MAIN TOWER - predominant architectural feature of Angkor.

• Form is derived from the south Indian temple .

• Base stands firm on a platform with symmetrical doorways on each façade. Doorways either open or are false, depending on the use of the tower.

• Tower begins to taper slowly at the base, but more pronounced towards the top creating a round effect.

• Crowned with a lotus, which possibly served as the base for a glided metal spire .

6. MAIN TOWER - predominant architectural feature of Angkor.

• Constructed with cantilevered stones following the principles of vault corbelled construction with the exposed outer surface being elaborately carved

The Five TowersAngkor Wat’s third and highest platform supports five enormous towers (symbolic of Mount Meru at the center, the residence of the gods), one on each of the four corners and one in the center; this arrangement is called a quincunx.

Construction Materials

While many of the earliest temples at Angkor are made of bricks and mortar masonry, they were replaced due to Indian influence with stone.

1. Sandstone - primary stone used for temple construction. Came from hills of Phnom Kulen (20 km northeast of Angkor); after it was quarried, it was floated down the Siem Reap River to Angkor.

2. Laterite - typically red hued due to its high iron oxide content and sourced from throughout the area. Used as enclosure walls and platforms.

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS• No mortar, consistent with

Indian Hindu temple precedent.

• Corbelling. Structures consist exclusively of trabeated forms (straight horizontal and vertical lines), such as the post and lintel.

• Khmer architecture never employs the true arch, which utilizes a keystone - No the arch, vault, and dome

• Corbelling techniques provide the only form of “vaulting” – a corbelled arch is constructed by offsetting successive courses of stone comprising two opposing walls so that they project towards the archway’s center until the courses meet and close the gap.

APSARA dancers at the Angkor Wat temple.

http://www.holiday-in-angkor-wat.com/angkor-wat-temple.html

BAS-RELIEF FRIEZES - inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, historical events of the King and Hindu Mythology.