Technological Institute of the Philippines

938 Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City

AR 333A / History of Architecture 3

ARCHITECTURE OF THAILAND
Assignment No. 6

Maria Elaiza Ann R. Taguse Ar. Lawrence Dolores II

Student Instructor

AR31FA3 August 06, 2015

Section Date
 Table of Contents References

I. Influences 3
Salvan, George
II. Architectural Character 4

III. Examples 6
Buddhist Architecture Glossary
IV. Terminology 8

V. Significance of the Study 11

Ching, Francis D.K.
 INFLUENCES

GEOGRAPHICAL GEOLOGICAL CLIMATIC

Tropical
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HISTORICAL SOCIAL RELIGIOUS

Independence 94 % Buddhism
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 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Dvararati Period
 Central Thailand (6th—10th century)
 Characterized by Burman Buddhist forms
 No other architectural remains except for
fragments of foundations which give some idea of
plans but not the style of buildings, constructed of
brick and stone, the plinths, with mouldings
similar to those of Bud- dhist structures have
granite bases with mortise holes for pillars which
must have supported timber super- structures
Mon-Khmer Period
 Center and Eastern Thailand (10th-13th century)
 Angkor style of architecture
 Also mirrored earlier building traditions of the
mons and Talaings of Southern Burma, who
brough with them architecture echoes of pagan
 The Khmers introduced the use of stone, in
place of the traditional brick or rubble bonded with
vegetable glue
THAI Period Bangkok Style
 (13th-17th century)  (18-19th century)
 In all phases of Siamese building, the part played  The New Capital was designed to emulate the
by sculpture, and in interiors, by mural painting de- stroyed City of Ayudhya
is im- portant  Many religious buildings and palaces were erected
in which Traditional forms were overlaid with
ornamen- tation of Chinese character, introduced
Three Subdivisions of Style to Siam by refugees
 Surfaces were often finished with porcelain tiles
 Sometimes the walls are white stuccoed brick
1. Sukhothai Style
which contrasts with the brightly-coloured glazed
 Harmoniously eclectic, employing Indian
tiles of the multi-levelled overlapping Timber
Mon Dravidian, Monpagan, Sinhalese and
Khmer motifs roofs
 Buddhist Temple couples normally erected  Gables and barge-boards are decorated with
on a terrace Angkor- Hindu iconography; ‘negas’ Vishnu, on a
 Had a central sanctuary, which sheltered ‘garuda’ ( a mythical bird) siva on a bull, etc
a colossal Buddha statue screed by a high  Doors and window shutters are of carved wood,
wall
lac- quered in black and gold, or painted or
 The wall had a narrow arched aperture inlaid with mother-of-pearl depicting themes of
through which the image was viewed
and worshipped guardian divini- ties, enchanted forests ferns,
 Over the sanctuary rose a tapering tower flowers and still life
 The only usually rectangular surrounding
stupas carried similar elongated finials
2. Ayudhya Style
 The stupa was generally circular in plan,
ring-based and bell-shaped
3. Chiengmai manner of the North, Cosmopolitan
influences were less conspicuous, although
here too, the custom of copying venerated
monuments from abroad as “reminders” of
the need for religious observance was the
origin of some of the purest architecture
 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
brightly coloured glazed tiles
gables and barge-boards
decorated with iconography
multi-levelled overlapping
timber roofs
walls white stuccoed brick
es of the Buddhist countries
and of the various groups with which it has
mingle and associated for two millenia
 At various stages down the years, the cultures of
Bur- ma, China, Khmer, India and Sri Lanka, can
all be seen to have had an important and distinctive
influence on architecture in Thailand
 Most noticeable in Thai architecture are the
swooping multi-tiered rooflines, the distinctly
ornamental deco- rations, the stunning interior
murals, the vivid colors and the lovingly crafted
and gold-adorned Buddha images

Thai
 The basic thai houseHouse
of the past, rarely seen today,
was simple structure of bamboo and thatch, raised
off the ground for protection against floods and
wild animals
doors, windows whutters  Most family life took place on a veranda-like
platform outside the one or two rooms that served
are of carved wood
as sleeping quarters.
THRONE ROOM, ROYAL PALACE  This model evolved into more complex structures
BANGKOK, THAILAND of wood, varying both in form and decoration to
suit conditions in different regions but always
retaining their essential simplicity
 EXAMPLES

 Royal houses and mansions are typically a

mixture ofRoyal Architecture
Thai wat, traditional Thai house
style and western architecture.
 Teak wood is the main structural material of
such buildings, giving them their distinctive
rich red color. The doors and windows

WAT PHRA SRI SARAPET

Ayudhya, Thailand  The 'red house' at the National Museum in
Bang- kok is a typical royal house and a good
example of Thai royal architecture.
 Royal wats can be identified by usually have
or- nate pediments and frames, which are
sometimes decorated in gilt bronze.
 Like the Thai wat, the roof of the royal
building will have a chofar and normally the
roof tiles are made of finest teak wood.
 The prefixes of Rat, Raja or Racha in their
names. There are only 186 such wats under
royal patron- age in the whole of the country.

WAT PHRA KAew

 EXAMPLES

The Grand Palace

 Phra Maha Mantian consists of 3 main

buildings namely:
1. The Audience Hall of Amarin Winitchai-
where the ceremonies of the Court
usually take place
2. Paisal Taksin Hall where the coronation of
a monarch takes place with its coronation
chair and the octagonal seat wherethe
monarch receives the people's invitation
to rule
3. Descending from here we come to the
ante- chamber to the Chakrapat Phiman
building
 Dusit Maha Prasat Hall
 Here we have an
audience hall with
a throne of mother-
of- pearl
surmounted by the
usual ninetiered
white canopy, the
mark of a duly
crowned king. At
the back of this
audience hall is yet
a living quarter. All
are built
in pure Siamese architecture of perfect
pro- portions
 Boron Phiman Mansion Phra Thinang Borom
Phiman
 Built in the western style in 1903 by King
Rama V for the Heir Apparent, the future
King Rama VI, this mansion was also used
at various times as a royal residence by
King Rama VII (1925-1935), King Rama
VIII (1935- 1946), and the present King
Rama IX
TERMINOLOGY
AEDICULE
Ornamental pilastered niche to
house a sacred image
AISLE
Side passage running parallel to the
nave of a temple and separated
from it by columns
ANDA
Burial mound at the centre of a
stupa, usually in the form of a solid
dome or generally bell-shaped
APADANA
Columned hypostyle hall, usually
square in plan, with a portico to one
or more sides
APSE
Semi circular domed or vaulted
space, especially at one end of a
basilica space
APSIDAL
In the shape of an apse
ARCA-GRIHA
Image-chamber in a Buddhist shrine
BOT
Another word for Ubosot, the
ordination hall in a Buddhist temple
BYAUK
In Myanmar, a temple with a
colourfully painted interior
CANDI
Indo-Indonesian royal sepulchre
and generally equivalent of “Stupa”;
used generally to refer to any
ancient Hindu or Buddhist temple
or shrine in Indonesia (and
sometimes non-religious structures
too)
CANDI BENTAR
(Indonesian) Roofless gateway,
usually to an East Javanese or
Balinese temple
CELLA
The sanctuary of a temple, usually
CHADYA CHEDI
Awning, eave Thai term essentially equivalent to
stupa
CHAITYA / CAITYA
CHOFA
Generally any sacred space, but
usually means a shrine or prayer Ornamentation on the top/end of a
hall which has a stupa at one end roof of a temple, often in the shape
of a mythical creature, or bird or fish
CHAITYA-GRIHA
CHORTEN
A temple assembly hall that houses
a stupa Tibetan term for a stupa
CHANKAMA / CHANKYAMA CLERESTORY
A promenade for walking A windowed upper level, providing
meditation light for a double-storey interior
CHATRAVALI / CREPIDOMA
CHATTRAVALI
Steps forming the platform of a
Tiers (disks) forming the chattri on temple
top of a stupa – above the dome
DAGOBA
(anda) leading up to the railing/
platform (harmika)
containing the cult statue CHATTRI
An umbrella-shaped dome or pavilion,
sometimes acting as a turret on the roof of a
stupa
CHATURMUKHA
 The Sinhalese (i.e. Sri
A four-sided temple Lanka) word for Stupa

DHAMMA-YON /
DHAMMASALA

The hall in a temple

where the Dhamma
(i.e. Buddhist teaching,
lit. “doctrine”) is
preached
 TERMINOLOGY
FINIAL
The object or decoration marking the
top of something (like the top of a
dome or tower) or the end of
something like a roof edge or gable
GANDHAKUTI
Literally a “perfumed chamber” –
used to mean shrines placed around
a stupa
GU
supported
A cave, at Bagan in Myanmar used by
extension to mean any temple that
has an interior you can enter
HARMIKA
Square railings at the top of a stupa,
betewen the anda and the
chattravali, which originally
represented a platform/ enclosure
with a fence
HO RAKANG / HOR RAKANG
The bell tower in a Thai temple
HO TRAI
In a Thai temple, the library or
HTI
A sacred parasol on the upper part
of a finial (qv)
IMAGE HALL
In a Buddhist monastery, the image
hall is the one which contains the
(main) statue of the Buddha
IWAN
Vaulted hall with a roof
by numerous columns more or less
JALI
Lattice of filigree patterned screen
KRATON
Court of early Indonesian rulers, a
term for a palace in Indonesia
scriptures depository
MAHAL KUTI
Summer-house or pavilion a small structure, built on stilts,
designed to house a monk. Its proper
MEDHI
size is defined in the Sanghathisep,
Drum forming the base of a stupa Rule 6, to be 12 by 7 Keub (or 4.013
by 2.343 meters )
MONDOP
PRASADA
(Thai) A free-standing square or
cruciform building within a Thai
Multi-storey structure
temple complex, used to house
relics, scriptures, or act as a shrine;
the word is related to Mandapa, qv
PRASADA-VIMANA
MULAPRASADA
Palace in a sacred environment
Main block of a temple, containing
a shrine
PAYA / HPAYA
SALA
Burmese word for pagoda, literally
An open pavilion used as a meeting
meaning “lord”, hence often found
in famous place names, e.g. place or shelter, usually a term used
KUTAGARA often a porch-like structure leading into
the temple
Pavilion on the terrace of a palace
MANDAPA
Sanskrit word for a pillared
outdoor hall or pavilion for public
rituals; in Hindu temples the
mandapa is
 Shwedigon Paya, and within
for these structures in Thai
names of pagodas, e.g. Bupaya
temples although also used for
Pagoda
roadside pavilions
PHAMSANA

Stepped pyramidal type of roof SALA KAN PRIAN

with
rectilinear profile A large hall where lay people
PRADAKSHINA-PATHA can hear sermons in a Thai
temple
Circumambulatory path or
passage around a shrine
TERMINOLOGY
SAMVARANA STUPA
Pyramidical hall roof with tiers of bell
Originally a pre-Buddhist burial
-shaped mouldings
mound; this word is now used for
the pre-eminent type of Buddhist
monument, which is at least a
freestanding mound, usually with a
circular drum (medhi) forming the
SANGHARAMA base for a massive solid dome
(anda) topped by a turret (chattri);
Abode of a Buddhist order, i.e. a the bell or dome shaped mound
monastery covers the relics or holy objects; as
the stupa architecturally becomes
more complicated, so the word
“Stupa” is applied in general to
SANGHAWAT monuments and whole temples,
interchangable in referring to many
The living quarters of monks in a Thai sites with words such as Pagoda,
temple compound Wat, Candi
TAHOTO
SERDAB Many-jewelled pagoda, Japanese
variant of pagoda with a stupa
Subterranean room emerging from the roof
TORANA
STAMBHA
Ceremonial gateways in the fence
surrounding a stupa, of which there
Pillar or post
are usually four, often richly
decorated
UBOSOT VIHARA
(Thai) Ordination hall of a Thai Residential quarters of a Buddhist
Temple, also known as Bot monastery, or by extension a
monastery generally
VASTUSHASTRA / VASTU
VIMANA
SHATRA
Storeyed building with receding
Traditional Indian doctrines of
terraces, used in the south as main
architecture and town planning in
element of sanctuaery, equivalent to
wide cirulation by the 6th century
northern Mulaprasada
AD – “vastu sastras” refer to any
ancient Sanskrit manuals in these
topics
WAT / VAT
VEDIKA Buddhist temple or monastery
particularly in Thailand, usually
Railing, especially of a sacred
including buildings open to (and for
enclosure
the use of) lay people
WIHAN
VERANDAH
A second assembly hall, similar to the
Roofed colonnade attached to one bot but usually larger
or more sides of a building
ZEDI / ZEIDI
A Burmese term for a stupa
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

“...architecture
Thailand, the land of the free. After stating that architecture will always will always be an
be an image after something else, I might have overlooked Thailand, where little, image after
if not ze- ro, influence has been established from a few, if not zero, invaders. something
else...”
If there is any original architecture in southeast Asia, Thailand must have it.

Bamboo houses raised off the ground, steep roofs, overlapping roofs. Alright, I think
I’ve heard that before. But since I’m sticking to my belief that Thailand architecture is original,
I’d like to believe that people, although in different parts of the world, think alike. Let’s just
leave it to coinci- dence.