LAOS

▪ OFFICIALLY THE LAO PEOPLE’S

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
▪ THE ONLY LANDLOCKED COUNTRY IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA
BORDERED BY:
▪ MYANMAR AND CHINA– NORTHWEST
▪ VIETNAM – EAST
▪ CAMBODIA – EAST AND SOUTHEAST
▪ THAILAND– SOUTHWEST
▪ CAPITAL IS VIENTIANE
GEOGRAPHY
▪ THE ONLY LANDLOCKED COUNTRY IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA
▪ MOUNTAIN RANGES, HIGHLANDS, PLATEAUX,
AND RIVERS CUT THROUGH AROUND 70% OF
ITS GEOGRAPHIC AREA

CLIMATE
▪ HAS A TROPICAL CLIMATE
GEOGRAPHY
VIENTIANE
▪ LAOS’ LAID-BACK CAPITAL
▪ MIXES FRENCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
WITH BUDDHIST TEMPLES

LUANG PRABANG RANGE

▪ IS A MOUNTAIN RANGE THAT RUNS THROUGH
NORTHERN LAOS AND NORTHERN THAILAND.
THE MAJORITY OF THE RANGE LIES IN
SAINYABULI PROVINCE, AS WELL AS NAN AND
UTTARADIT PROVINCES IN THAILAND, WITH
TINY PORTIONS IN PHITSANULOK AND LOEI
PROVINCES.
GEOGRAPHY
XIENG KHOUANG
▪ XIENG KHOUANG IS A PROVINCE IN
NORTHEAST LAOS THAT SPANS A HIGH FLAT
PLATEAU.
▪ FOR MANY YEARS – UP UNTIL 1975 – IT WAS A
BATTLEGROUND. AS A RESULT, TOURISTS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO STICK TO GUIDED TOURS
AND RECOGNIZED PATHWAYS IN THE EVENT OF
AN UNEXPLODED BOMB.
▪ THE REGION IS KNOWN AS THE "PLAIN OF
JARS" BECAUSE HUNDREDS OF MASSIVE
GRANITE FRAGMENTS ARE SCATTERED
THROUGHOUT THE PLATEAU — AND NO ONE
UNDERSTANDS WHY THEY ARE THERE.
PLAIN OF JARS, XIENG KHOUANG
© Jakub Hałun / WikiCommons
RELIGION
MOST PROMINENT RELIGION
▪ THERAVADA BUDDHISM (66%)
▪ WAS INTRODUCED IN 18TH CENTURY BY MON
BUDDHIST MONKS

OTHER RELIGION
▪ FOLK RELIGIONS (30.7%)
▪ CHRISTIANITY (1.5%)
▪ ISLAM (0.1%)
▪ JEWISH (0.1%)
▪ HINDUISM (0.2%)
▪ OTHER/NOT STATED (1.6%)
ARCHITECTURE
MOST PROMINENT BUILDINGS
▪ WAT – BUDDHIST TEMPLES
▪ THAT – BUDDHIST STUPA

▪ MIX OF FRENCH COLONIAL, BUDDHIST

(TEMPLES), TRADITIONAL LAO AND MODERN
ARCHITECTURE, WITH SOME INFLUENCES
FROM THAILAND AND OTHER COUNTRIES
LAO HOUSES
▪ IN RURAL AREAS, BUILT OF WOOD
AND RAISED OFF THE GROUND ON
STILTS
▪ IN URBAN AREAS, MODERN STYLE
HOUSES ARE MORE COMMON
ARCHITECTURE
THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF LUANG PRABANG IS
REPRESENTED BY TRADITIONAL WOODEN DWELLINGS BUILT ON POSTS HIGH
ABOVE THE GROUND.
TRADITIONAL WOODEN BUILDINGS:
HIGH ON HARDWOOD POSTS USING PREFABRICATED LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS
SUCH AS WOVEN BAMBOO OR WOOD.
▪ HOUSES WERE MAINLY RECTANGULAR IN DESIGN,
▪ A BASIC RIDGED ROOF COVERED IN THATCH OR BAMBOO, AND
▪ A SEPARATE KITCHEN ON ONE SIDE
▪ THE USE OF HIGH GABLES AND NATURAL MATERIALS IMPROVED VENTILATION
▪ LONG PROJECTING EAVES PROTECTED AGAINST HEAVY SEASONAL RAIN.
▪ THE AREA BENEATH THE ELEVATED FLOOR SERVED AS A SAFE HAVEN AS WELL
AS A VALUABLE WORK AND STORAGE AREA.
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE IN
LAOS
▪ THE STYLES OF THESE LAOTIAN SANCTUARIES ARE
DETERMINED BY THEIR LOCATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY AND
THE LAYOUT OF THE ROOFS:
▪ THE VIHANS (SANCTUARIES) WITH CIRCULAR NAVES,
PRACTICALLY ALL OF WHICH ARE LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF
LUANG PRABANG, ARE IN THIS PROVINCE'S STYLE.
▪ THE THREE MAIN STYLES CAN BE DISTINGUISHED IN THE CASE
OF THE OTHERS:
ARCHITECTURAL
STYLES

▪ VIENTIANE STYLE
▪ LUANG PRABANG STYLE
▪ WATS of XIENG KHOUANG STYLE
VIENTIANE-STYLE
▪ FEATURES A LARGE VERANDA WITH
HEAVY COLUMNS
▪ AN ORNAMENTED OVERHANGING ROOF
▪ CARVED WOOD PORTICOS AND A
CARVED WOOD SHADE ALONG THE TOP
OF THE VERANDA
▪ OFTEN WITH HALF-BIRD, HALF HUMAN
KINNARI AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF
STYLIZED FOLIAGE
▪ VIENTIANE'S DESIGN IS MORE TAPERED;
THE ROLE OF THE ROOF IN THE
BUILDING IS LESS ESSENTIAL HERE, AND
THE OPENINGS ARE HIGHER.
VIENTIANE-STYLE Wat Si Saket in its paved courtyard, Vientiane Laos
Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0

WAT SI SAKET
▪ BUDDHIST WAT IN
VIENTIANE, LAOS
▪ WAT SI SAKET HAS A
CLOISTER WALL
ADORNED WITH OVER
2,000 CERAMIC AND
SILVER BUDDHA
FIGURES.
LUANG PRABANG
– STYLE
▪ TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE IN LUANG PRABANG
IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF NORTHERN SIAM'S
LANNA STYLE.
▪ IT HAS A ROOF THAT IS QUITE POINTED AND
STEEP AT THE TOP AND GRADUALLY WIDENS
AND BECOMES ALMOST HORIZONTAL AT THE
BOTTOM, ALMOST TOUCHING THE GROUND ON
OCCASION.
▪ THE LAO DESCRIBE THESE ROOFS AS
RESEMBLING THE WINGS OF A HEN
SHELTERING HER CHICKS.
▪ THE ENTRANCES AND OUTSIDE WALLS OF
MANY WATS ARE COATED WITH GOLD LEAF.
LUANG PRABANG
– STYLE
WAT XIENG THONG
▪ THE WAT IS A ROYAL TEMPLE
ESTABLISHED ON THE BANKS OF THE
MEKONG RIVER IN 1559 BY KING
SETTHATHIRATH. IT IS ONE OF THE FEW
TEMPLES THAT SURVIVED THE BLACK
FLAG ARMY INVASION IN 1887.
XIENG KHUANG
STYLE
▪ THE XIENG KHUANG ARCHITECTURE OF NORTHERN
LAOS, OF WHICH THERE ARE FEW EXAMPLES LEFT.
▪ FEATURES A MULTI-LEVEL PLATFORM AND A LOW,
BROAD ROOF THAT IS TYPICALLY NOT TIERED.
▪ PROVINCIAL VERSION IF LUANG PRABANG STYLE

CHARACTERISTICS:
▪ THE ROOFS ARE PRACTICALLY ALL THE WAY DOWN
TO THE GROUND
▪ AND THE CROSS SECTIONS ARE ALMOST PERFECT
PENTAGONS.
 XIENG KHUANG
STYLE
WAT PHIA WAT
▪ BUILT IN 1322 TO HOUSE THE
FIRST BUDDHIST STATUE
TRANSFERRED FROM BURMA
TO VXIENG KHOUANG

Muang Khoun
© 2021 Tricia A. Mitchell./triciaannemitchell.com
TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE IN
LAOS
WAT (TEMPLES)
WATS ARE DISTINGUISHED BY:
▪ HIGH TILED ROOFS
▪ FRESCOES AND MOSAIC EMBELLISHMENTS
IN THE WALLS DEPICTING BUDDHA'S LIFE
EVENTS.
▪ WATS ARE FREQUENTLY CLUSTERS OF
STRUCTURES, WITH THE UPOSATHA
(ORDINATION HALL) BEING THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT. THESE ARE GENERALLY
BUILT ON A TIERED PLATFORM OF BRICK
COATED IN STUCCO.
TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE IN
LAOS

THAT (STUPA)
ALONG WITH THE STEEPLE-LIKE SPIRE THAT MANY
STUPAS HAVE, LAO-STYLE THATS (STUPAS) FEATURE A
CHARACTERISTIC CURVILINEAR, FOUR-CORNERED FORM
THOUGHT TO SYMBOLIZE THE UNFURLING OF A LOTUS
BLOOM. THE MODEL FOR THIS STYLE IS PHA THAT LUANG
IN VIENTIANE.
 Buddhist monks walking past the Pha That
Luang temple, Vientiane, Laos.
© arhendrix/Fotolia

PHA THAT LUANG

▪ GREAT STUPA
▪ NATIONAL SYMBOL OF LAOS
▪ GOLD COVERED LARGE BUDDHIST
STUPA, ONLY THE PINNACLE IS MADE OF
ACTUAL GOLD, THE REST OF THE STUPA
IS PAINTED GOLD
▪ LOCATE IN VIENTIANE, LAOS
TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
IN LAOS
THE HIGH PEAKED ROOFS ARE LAYERED IN ODD
NUMBERS TO ACCORD WITH BUDDHIST BELIEFS
SUCH AS THE THREE ASPECTS OF EXISTENCE
AND THE SEVEN COMPONENTS OF
ENLIGHTENMENT.

ROOFS FREQUENTLY HAVE:

▪ A REPEATING FLAME DESIGN WITH LONG
FINGER-LIKE HOOKS IN THE CORNERS,
WHICH ARE THOUGHT TO CAPTURE EVIL
SPIRITS THAT FALL ON THE STRUCTURE FROM
ABOVE.
 ▪SMALL NAGAS (SERPENTS THAT PROTECTED
BUDDHA) PLACED IN A DOUBLE-STEP FORM
ARE THOUGHT TO DEPICT MT. MERU ON THE
UMBRELLA-LIKE SPIRES IN THE MIDDLE ROOF
RIDGE.

THE NAGA AT THE PHA THAT LUANG TEMPLE

Photo: Phillip Maiwald, CC BY-SA 3.0
CHOFA
▪ IS A LAO AND THAI ARCHITECTURAL
ORNAMENTAL DECORATION THAT
GRACES THE TOP OF WAT AND PALACE
ROOFS IN MOST SOUTHEAST ASIAN
NATIONS INCLUDING THAILAND,
CAMBODIA, LAOS, AND MYANMAR.
▪ IT HAS THE APPEARANCE OF A TALL,
SKINNY BIRD WITH HORNS.
▪ THE CHOFA IS OFTEN SAID TO DEPICT
THE MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE
GARUDA, WHO IS HALF BIRD AND
HALF MAN AND SERVES AS THE
Luang Prabang Haw Pha Bang Royal Palace
VEHICLE OF THE HINDU GOD VISHNU
Museum Roof and Chofah
© David Coleman/havecamerawilltravel.com
CHINA
WORLD’S THIRD LARGEST
COUNTRY WITH AN AREA OF 9.6
MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS
GEOGRAPHY
EAST AND SOUTH
▪ CONSISTS OF FERTILE LOWLANDS AND
FOOTHILLS,
▪ LOCATION OF CHINA’S AGRICULTURAL
OUTPUT AND HUMAN POPULATION
WEST AND NORTH
▪ SUNKEN BASINS, ROLLING PLATEAU,
TOWERING MASSIFS
▪ CONTAINS PART OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU,
THE HIGHEST TABLELAND ON EARTH
▪ HAS MUCH LOWER AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL
AND POPULATION
RELIGION MOST PROMINENT RELIGION
▪ CHINESE FOLK RELIGION
▪ BUDDHISM
▪ TAOISM
▪ PROTESTANTISM
▪ ISLAM
▪ CATHOLICISM

CONFUCIANISM – NOT A RELIGION BUT AN

ETHICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEM
ARCHITECTURE
THE STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES OF CHINESE
ARCHITECTURE HAVE REMAINED VIRTUALLY
UNALTERED FROM THE STYLE'S SOLIDIFICATION
IN THE EARLY IMPERIAL PERIOD, WITH THE
PRIMARY MODIFICATIONS BEING SIMPLY THE
ORNAMENTAL DECORATIONS.
ARCHITECTURE
SINCE THE TANG DYNASTY, CHINESE
ARCHITECTURE HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT
IMPACT ON THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES OF:

▪ JAPAN
▪ KOREA
▪ MONGOLIA
▪ VIETNAM

LESSER IMPACT ON THE ARCHITECTURAL

STYLES OF SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH ASIA:
ARCHITECTURAL
FEATURES

▪ BILATERAL SYMMETRY
▪ USE OF ENCLOSED SPACES
▪ DIRECTIONAL HEIRARCHIES
▪ HORIZONTAL EMPHASIS
▪ ALLUSION TO VARIOUS COSMOLOGICAL,
MYTHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER SYMBOLISM
MENSHEN
▪ DOOR GODS ARE DEPICTED ON
ENTRANCES TO FEND OFF EVIL
AND PROMOTE THE FLOW OF
GOOD FORTUNE.
MATERIALS
WOOD
▪ PRIMARY BUILDING MATERIAL
▪ ASSOCIATED WITH THE DWELLINGS OF THE
DEAD
▪ PREFERRED OVER STONE BECAUSE CHINESE
PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT LIFE IS CONNECTED
TO NATURE AND THAT HUMANS SHOULD
INTERACT WITH ANIMATED THINGS
PAGODA OF FOGONG
TEMPLE
▪ BUDDHIST TEMPLE BUILT
DURING LIAO DYNASTY
▪ LOCATED IN YING COUNTY IN
SHANXI
▪ THE OLDEST ENTIRELY WOODEN
PAGODA THAT HAS SURVIVED
UNDAMAGED
MATERIALS
BRICK AND STONE
▪ USED DURING TANG DYNASTY ONWARDS
▪ IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN USED IN EARLIER
DYNASTIC UNDERGROUND TOMB
ARCHITECTURE
SONGYUE
PAGODA
▪ BUILT IN 523
▪ OLDEST EXISTING PAGODA
IN CHINA
▪ BUILT OF YELOWISH BRICK
HELD TOGETHER WITH CLAY
MORTAR
▪ TWELVE-SIDED, 40M HIGH
MATERIALS
RAMMED EARTH CONSTRUCTION
▪ USED IN OLD PARTS OF GREAT WALL OF CHINA
(ALTHOUGH THE BRICK AND STONE GREAT WALL
VISIBLE TODAY IS A MING PERIOD, 1368-1644,
RENOVATION.
▪ THE OLDEST WALLS AND PLATFORMS IN CHINA WERE
MADE OF RAMMED EARTH
STRUCTURE
FOUNDATIONS
▪ MAJORITY OF STRUCTURES ARE TYPICALLY BUILT ON
ELEVATED PLATFORMS AS THEIR FOUNDATION
LOWER-CLASS STRUCTURES
▪ MADE OF RAMMED EARTH THAT IS EITHER UNPAVED OR
PAVED WITH BRICK OR CERAMICS
▪ VERTICAL STRUCTURAL BEAMS ARE DRIVEN STRAIGHT
INTO THE GROUND
UPPER CLASS STRUCTURES
▪ OFTEN FEATURE HIGH ELEVATED STONE PAVED RAMMED
EARTH OR STONE FOUNDATIONS WITH ORNATELY CARVED
MASSIVE STONE PEDALS
STRUCTURE
STRUCTURAL BEAMS
▪ USE OF HUGE STRUCTURAL TIMBERS AS THE
PRINCIPAL SUPPORT FOR A BUILDING’S ROOF
▪ LARGE TRIMMED LOGS OF WOOD ARE USED FOR
BEAMS AND COLUMNS

STRUCTURAL CONNECTIONS
▪ TIMBER FRAMES ARE NORMALLY BUILT USING
ONLY JOINERY AND DOWELLING, WITH NO GLUE
OR NAILS USED.
▪ THE ABSENCE OF GLUE OR NAILS IN JOINERY, THE
USE OF NON-RIGID SUPPORT AND THE USE OF
WOOD AS STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ALLOW
STRUCTURE TO SLIDE, BEND, AND HINGE
WITHOUT CAUSING SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL
DAMAGE
DOUGONG
▪ ONE OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL
ASPECTS IN TRADITIONAL
CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
▪ IS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT OF
INTERLOCKING WOODEN
BRACKETS
STRUCTURE
WALLS
▪ CURTAIN WALLS OR DOOR PANELS ARE COMMONLY USED TO
DIVIDE ROOMS OR ENCLOSE A STRUCTURE

THE USE OF LOAD-BEARING WALLS IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL

OR RELIGIOUS CONSTRUCTION GREW WITH BRICK AND STONE
BEING REGULARLY UTILIZED WHEN THE AVAILABILITY OF
TREES FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES DECREASED.
STRUCTURE
ROOFS
▪ USE OF GABLED ROOFS. FLAT ROOFS ARE
UNUSUAL
▪ EITHER ERECTED ON CROSS-BEAMS OR
DIRECTLY REST ON VERTICAL STRUCTURAL
BEAMS
▪ ROOFS SUPORTING BEAMS IN HIGHER-CLASS
CONSTRUCTION ARE SUPPORTED BY
DUOGONG
STRUCTURE
THREE BASIC ROOF TYPES:
1. STRAIGHT INCLINED – ROOF WITH A SINGLE INCLINE,
MOST ECONOMICAL, AND MOST POPULAR IN OLDER
BUILDINGS
2. MULTI-INCLINED – ROOFS HAVING TWO OR MORE
INCLINATION PORTIONS, MOSTLY SEEN IN HIGHER-CLASS
STRUCTURES RANGING FROM AFFLUENT COMMONERS’
HOMES TO PALACES
3. SWEEPING – HAVE A SWEEPING CURVE THAT INCREASES AT
THE ROOF’S CORNERS. OFTEN SEEN IN TEMPLES, PALACES,
AND RICH RESIDENCES. ROOF RIDGES ARE TYPICALLY
LAVISHLY ADORNED WITH CERAMIC FIGURES
STRUCTURE
ROOF APEX
▪ THE ROOF APEX OF A LARGE HALL IS TYPICALLY CAPPED WITH
A RIDGE OF TILES AND STATUARY FOR BOTH ORNAMENTAL
AND STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS.
▪ THESE RIDGES ARE FREQUENTLY ORNATELY ORNAMENTED,
PARTICULARLY IN RELIGIOUS OR PALACE CONSTRUCTIONS.
▪ IN SOME PARTS OF CHINA, THE RIDGES ARE OCCASIONALLY
EXPANDED OR INTEGRATED INTO THE BUILDING'S WALLS TO
PRODUCE MATOUQIANG (HORSE-HEAD WALLS), WHICH ACT AS
A FIRE DETERRENT FROM STRAY EMBERS.
MATOUQIANG
▪ HORSE HEAD WALL WITH TILES AND
BRICKS
▪ USED FOR SEPARATION OF
INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE COURTYARD
STRUCTURE
ROOF TOP DECORATIONS
▪ THE COLORS OF THE EAVES, ROOFING MATERIALS, AND
ROOF TOP ORNAMENTS ALL HAVE SYMBOLIC MEANINGS.

• GOLD / YELLOW – EARTH, USED FOR IMPERIAL ROOFS.

GENERALLY USED BY THE EMPEROR.
• GREEN – DEPICT BAMBOO SHAFTS, SYMBOLIZES YOUTH
AND LONGEVITY
• BLUE AND BLACK – WATER
• WHITE AND GRAY – METAL
• RED – FIRE, HOPE, AND SATISFACTION
STRUCTURES
 FORBIDDEN CITY
▪ BUILT FROM 1406 TO 1420
▪ PALACE COMPLEX IN DONGCHENG
DISTRICT, BEIJING, CHINA CONSISTING
OF 980 BUILDINGS (8,886 ROOMS)
▪ FOR 500 YEARS, HOME OF CHINESE
EMPERORS AND THEIR FAMILY, AS
WELL AS THE CEREMONIAL AND Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong),
POLITICAL CORE OF THE CHINESE Forbidden City, Beijing.
GOVERNMENT © Yang Heng Wong/Shutterstock.com

▪ 1987 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

 TEMPLE OF
HEAVEN
▪ IMPERIAL RELIGIOUS COMPLEX
IN THE SOUTHERN AREA OF
BEIJING
▪ WAS VISITED BY EMPERORS OF
MING AND QING DYNASTIES
FOR YEALY PRAYERS TO
HEAVEN FOR BOUNTIFUL CROP
▪ 1998 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
SITE

The Imperial Vault of Heaven at

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China
© Philip Larson/flickr.com
MAUSOLEUM OF THE
FIRST QIN EMPEROR
▪ MAUSOLEUM OF EMPEROR
QINSHUHUANG, WHO FOUNDED
THE FIRST UNITED EMPIRE IN
CHINESE HISTORY
▪ BUILT IN 246 BC Terracotta warriors from the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China Qin
Shihuang, c. 221-206 B.C.E., Qin Dynasty, painted terracotta, Terracotta
▪ WITH A HEIGHT OF 51.3 METERS Warriors and Horses Museum, Shaanxi, China
Photo: Will Clayton, CC BY 2.0
DOUBLE-WALLED ENCLOSURE
ORIENTED NORTH-SOUTH
▪ THE FIRST QIN EMPEROR'S
MAUSOLEUM IS KNOWN FOR ITS
LIFE-SIZE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR
FIGURES.
THE GREAT WALL
OF CHINA
▪ THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA HAS
INCOMPARABLE SYMBOLIC
SIGNIFICANCE IN CHINESE
HISTORY. ITS PURPOSE WAS NOT
ONLY TO PROTECT CHINA FROM
OUTSIDE AGGRESSION, BUT
ALSO TO PRESERVE CHINESE
CULTURE FROM FOREIGN
BARBARIANS' CUSTOMS.