GROUP 1

THE ARCHITECTURE
OF
MYANMAR
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3

(BURMA)
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

MYANMAR
-FORMERLY KNOWN AS BURMA
-LARGEST COUNTRY IN MAINLAND
SOUTHEAST ASIA

-SECOND LARGEST COUNTRY IN

SOUTHEAST ASIA

BORDERED BY:
·BANGLADESH AND INDIA-
NORTHWEST
·CHINA- NORTHEAST
·LAOS AND THAILAND- EAST AND
SOUTHEAST
·ANDAMAN SEA AND BAY OF
BENGAL- SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation of

more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh,
China, Laos and Thailand. Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the
country's largest city, is home to bustling markets,
numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded
Shwedagon Pagoda, which contains Buddhist relics and
dates to the 6th century.

GEOGRAPHY
TWO CLASSIFICATIONS:

LOWET MYANMAR- COMPRISED OF COASTAL AREAS WITH

THICK TROPICAL FORESTS

UPPER MYANMAR- MAKE UP THE INTERIOR PARTS OF THE TERRAIN

COUNTRY CENTRAL LOWLANDS RINGED BY
STEEP, RUGGED HIGHLANDS
ALMOST HALF OF MYANMAR IS COVERED IN FORESTS
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

RELIGION

MOST PROMINENT RELIGION

-BUDDHISM (87.9 %)
Buddhism is one of the world's largest
religions and originated 2,500 years ago in
India. Buddhists believe that the human life
is one of suffering, and that meditation,
spiritual and physical labor, and good
behavior are the ways to achieve
enlightenment, or nirvana.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)
OTHER RELIGION
·CHRISTINITY (6.2%)
Christians are monotheistic, i.e., they believe there's
only one God, and he created the heavens and the
earth. This divine Godhead consists of three parts:
the father (God himself), the son (Jesus Christ) and
the Holy Spirit.
·ISLAM (4.3%)
Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are
monotheistic and worship one, all-knowing God,
who in Arabic is known as Allah. Followers of Islam
aim to live a life of complete submission to Allah.
-ANIMISM (0.8%)
Animism—the belief that all natural phenomena,
including human beings, animals, and plants,
but also rocks, lakes, mountains, weather, and so
on, share one vital quality—the soul or spirit that
energizes them—is at the core of most Arctic
belief systems.
·HINDU (0.5%)
Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the
continuous cycle of life, death, and
reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of
cause and effect). One of the key thoughts of
Hinduism is “atman,” or the belief in soul. This
philosophy holds that living creatures have a
soul, and they're all part of the supreme soul.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)
MOST PROMINENT BUILDINGS:

ARCHITECTURAL BUDDHIST PAGODAS

pagoda, a towerlike, multistory, solid or hollow

STYLE structure made of stone, brick, or wood, usually

associated with a Buddhist temple complex and
therefore usually found in East and Southeast
Asia, where Buddhism was long the prevailing
REFLECT THE INFLUENCE OF NEIGHBORING
religion.
WESTERN COUNTRIES

Myanmar is situated in Southeast Asia and is SHWEDAGON PAGODA

bordered on the north and north-east by China,
on the east and south-east by Laos and Thailand,
on the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay
of Bengal and on the WEST BY BANGLADESH
AND INDIA.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

·STUPAS AND TEMPLES

·BRITISH COLONIAL BUILDINGS

YANGON IS ONE OF THE FINEST PLACES FOR
VIEWING COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE, AS IT HAS THE
HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF COLONIAL BUILDINGS
IN THE WORLD. MYANMAR BECAME A COLONY OF
BRITAIN IN 1824 AFTER THE FIRST ANGLO-BURMESE
WAR, AND REMAINED UNTIL 1948. AFTER
INDEPENDENCE, THE COUNTRY HAD BEEN RUN BY A
MILITARY REGIME WHERE NO INFRASTRUCTURE
IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE, LEAVING COLONIAL
STRUCTURES STANDING.

·MODERN RENOVATIONS AND STRUCTURES STRAND HOTEL

THE COUUNTRY’S TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IS
PRIMARILY USED FOR WORSHIP, PILGRIMAGE,
STORAGE OF BUDDHIST RELICS, POLITIONAL ACTIVIS,
AND TOURISM.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

ARCHITECTURAL
FEATURES

STUCCO STUCCO AT ANCIENT

PAGODA, BAGAN
·INTRODUCES DURING THE BAGAN
PERIOD
·MOST REMARKABLE ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN OF THE ECTERIOR
DECORATION OF RELIGIOUS
MONUMENTS
·STUCCO IS A WET-APPLIED MATERIAL
OGRE STUCCO AT
MADE OF AN AGGREGATE, A BINDER ANCIENT
AND WATER THAT HARDENS WHEN IT PAGODA, BAGAN
DRIES RENOVATED STUCCO AT TAYOK
PYE TEMPLE
STUCCO AT ANCIENT PAGODA, BAGAN
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)
WOOD CARVING

ARCHITECTURAL ·TRADITIONAL ART

FEATURES ·USUALLY INTRICATE AND DIMENSIONAL
·OLDEST WOOD CARVING DATE TO THE 11TH
CENTURY IN NAGAYON, BAGAN

SHWE IN BIN KYAUNG CARVED ROOFTOP STUCCO AT ANCIENT PAGODA, BAGAN

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

ARCHITECTURAL
FEATURES

USE OF GOLD

·GOLD CLADDING IS A COMMON

FEATURE OF TRADITIONAL BURMESE
ARCHITECTURE PARTICULARLY
GLIDED OR GOLD- PLATED
EXTERIORS
GOLD FEATURES CAN BE FOUND: BUPAYA PAGODA
SHWEDAGON PAGODA

KYAIKTOYA PAGODA
SWHEZIGON PAGODA LAWKANANDA PAGODA
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

HISTORY AND
INFLUENCES
·EARLY INDIAN
INFLUENCE
·BAGAN PERIOD
·COLONIAL ERA
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

EARLY INDIAN INFLUENCES

PYU ANCIENT CITIES PYU STUPAS

LOCATED IN THE IRRAWADDY RIVER BASIN IN WERE THE FIRSTINDIAN FOUNDATIONS IN
MYANMAR MYANMAR
BUILT FROM 200 BC TO 100 CE AND WERE
THIS CITY GROUP IS MADE UP OF ARCHAELOGICAL SOMETIMES USED FOR BURIAL
EVIDENCE FROM THREE CITIES: HALIN, BEIKTHANO, EARLY STUPAS, TEMPLES, AND PAGODAS ARE
AND SRI LANKA, INCLUDING: TOPPED WITH HTIS AND FINIAS OR SPIRES,
BRICK CITY WALLS, MOATS, AND CLAY SYMBOLIZING THERAVADA BUDDHIST
EMBARKMENTS TRANSCENDENCE

DURING PYU PERIOD

CYLINDRICAL STUPAS WITH FOUR ARCHWAYS-
OFTEN WITH A HTI (UMBRELLA) ON TOP WERE
BUILT.
HTI
·BURMESE WORD
MEANING
UMBRELLA
·FINIAL ORNAMENT
THAT TOPS ALMOST
ALL BURMESE
PAGODA
AUSPICIOS SYMBOL

(L)THE HTI OF KUTHODAW PAGODA

IN MANDALAY
(R) THE HTI OF BOTATAUNG PAGODA
BAWBAWGYI STUPA

·LOCATED IN
THAYEKHITTAYA
PYAY
·BUILT IN 4TH
CENTURY AD
·BRICK STRUCTURE
PAYAGYI STUPA

·LOCATED IN THAYE
KHITTAYA, PYAY
·MATERIALS:
CARVED-STONE
FLOOR TILES,
CONCRETE WALLS,
TIN ROOF
SHWENANDAW MONASTERY

·ALSO SHWE KYAUNG-PYI

·GOLDEN PALACE MONASTRY
·BUDDHIST MONASTERY LOCATED
NEAR MANDALAY HILL IN MYANMAR
·KNOWN FOR ITS TEAK CARVINGS OF
BUDDHIST MYTHS, WHICH ADORN ITS
WALLS AND ROOFS
·TRADITIONAL BURMESE
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
·IS THE SINGLE REMAINING MAJOR
ORIGINAL STRUCTURE OF THE ROYAL
PALACE

FRONT VIEW OF THE

SHWENANDAW MONASTERY
INTERIOR WOOD CARVING
GATE ALTAR IN SHWENANDAW
MONASTERY MANDALAY

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

BAGAN
·COMPOSED OF 10 000 RED BRICK STUPAS,
PAGODAS, AND MONATERIES
BAGAN PERIOD ·BECAME CENTER OF BUDDHIST
ARCHITECTURE BY MID-12TH CENTURY
·STUCCO WAS WIDELY USED IN BAGAN
·STUCCO FEATURES INCLUDE GARLANDS,
DURING BAGAN PERIOD FLAMES OR RAYS OF THE SUN, PEACOCK TAIL
·THE PYU- STYLE STUPAS WERE FEATHERS AND MYTHICAL CREATURE
TRANSFORMED INTO:
·MONUMENTS RESEMBLING ALMS BOWLS OR
GOURD SHAPED DOMES
·UNBAKED BRICKS
·TAPERED AND RISING ROOFS
·BUDDHA NICHES
·POLYLOBED ARCHES
·ORNAMENTAL DOORWAYS
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

ANANDA TEMPLE

·FINISHED IN1090
·ONE OF THE FIRST TEMPLE ERECTED IN
BAGAN
·WAS INFLUENCED BY INDIAN
ARCHITECTURE
·ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES, BRICK
VAULTED HALLS, BUDDHA STATUES,
TAPERED ROOFS, AND THE ABSENCE OF
TERRACES
·ONE OF THE FIRST USES OF PYATTHAT
(TIERED ROOF), WHICH INDICATES THE
PRESENCE OF THRONE WITHIN
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

PYATTHAT

·MULTISTAGED ROOF WITH AN ODD

NUMBER OF TIERS FROM THREE TO
SEVEN
·FREQUENTLY USED IN BURMESE
BUDDHIST ROYAL ARCHITECTURE
(KYAUNGS, PALACE BUILDINGS,
PAGODAS) AND TOWETS ABOVE BUDDHA
IMAGES OR SACRED SITED (ROYA;
THRONES AND CITY GATES)

·PYATTHAT OVER
THE SOUTH GATE
IN THE WEST CITY
WALL, MANDALAY
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

NOTABLE
ARCHITECTURAL
SITE IN BAGAN
BUPAYA PAGODA

·SMALL PAGODA WHICH HAS A BULBOUS

AHAPED DOME
·IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE SHRINES
·DESTROYED IN 1975 EARTHQUAKE AND
RECONSTRUCTED USING MODERN MATERIALS
‘BU’- PUMPKIN OR GOURD
‘PAYA’- PAGODA
ORIGINAL PAGODA AS SEEN IN 1868
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

NOTABLE
ARCHITECTURAL
SITE IN BAGAN

DHAMMAYANGYI TEMPLE

LARGEST OF ALL THE TEMPLES IN

BAGAN
BUILT IN A PLAN SIMILAR TO
ANANDA TEMPLE
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

NOTABLE
ARCHITECTURAL
SITE IN BAGAN
SHWEZIGON PAGODA
PROTOTYPE OF BURMESE PAGODAS
IT HAS A CIRCULAR GOLD LEAF-GILDED STUPA
SURROUNDED BY SMALLER TEMPLES AND
SHRINES
BELIEVED TO ENSHRINE A BONE AND TOOTH
OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA
THE PAGODA IS IN THE FORM OF A CONE
FORMED BY FIVE SQUARE TERRACES WITH A
CENTRAL SOLID CORE

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

COLONIAL ERA

BY THE END OF 1800s

BURMA HAD BECOME A PART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, USHERING IN A PERIOD OF
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
YANGON
BECAME A MULTI-ETHNIC CAPITAL
PROMINENT BUILDINGS
YANGON CITY HALL
THE CUSTOMS HOUSE
THE HIGH COURT BUILDING
THE INLAND WATER TRANSPORT AUTHORITY BUILDING
THE MINISTERS’ BUILDING
THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

PROMINENT BUILDINGS
DURING COLONIAL ERA

MINISTERS’ BUILDING
KNOWN TODAY AS THE SECRETARIAT OR
SECRETARIAT YANGON
HOME AND ADMINISTRATIVE SEAT OF
BRITISH BURMA
VICTORIAN-STYLE BUILDING MADE OR
RED AND YELLOW BRICK
U-SHAPED IN PLAN

SECRETARIAT BUILDING IN 1900s

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MYANMAR (BURMA)

PROMINENT BUILDINGS
DURING COLONIAL ERA

YANGON CITY HALL

CONSIDERED A FINE EXAMPLE OF

SYNCRETIC BURMESE
ARCHITECTURE
FEATURED TRADITIONAL TIERED
ROOFS CALLA PYATTHAT
 GROUP 1

ARCHITECTURE OF

BURMA AND MYANMAR

ADIGUE, KIMBERLIE
CATAPANG, AEDYN KEITH T.
DIOYO, LATRELL BRYANT
HUBILLA, MISYLEE
LAT, AXL SEBASTIAN
MAMIS, DENVER GIL
ONCE, MARY AUDREY
SANMOCTE, KYLA

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3