ARCHITECTURE OF CAMBODIA

KHMER ARCHITECTURE, WHICH DEVELOPED FROM INDIAN INFLUENCES, DEVELOPED ITS OWN UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS,
SOME OF WHICH WERE CREATED INDEPENDENTLY AND OTHERS OF WHICH WERE INCORPORATED FROM NEARBY CULTURAL
TRADITIONS, RESULTING IN A NEW ARTISTIC STYLE IN ASIAN ARCHITECTURE SPECIFIC TO THE ANGKORIAN TRADITION. AS A
RESULT, IT BECAME CLEARLY DISTINGUISHABLE FROM THAT OF THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT. ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF
DIVINE AND REGAL FIGURES WITH FACIAL FEATURES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE LOCAL KHMER POPULACE, SUCH AS ROUNDER
FACES, THICKER BROWS, AND OTHER PHYSICAL TRAITS, ARE PARTICULARLY STRIKING EXAMPLES OF HOW KHMER
ARCHITECTURE EVOLVED INTO A DISTINCTIVE STYLE.

THE SAMBOR PREI KUK STYLE (610–650), PREI KHMENG STYLE (635–700), AND KOMPONG PREAH STYLE (700–800) WERE THE
THREE ARCHITECTURAL ERAS. FROM THE NINTH THROUGH THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY SAW THE HEIGHT OF ANCIENT KHMER
ARCHITECTURE, SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE. THE MAIN FOCUS DURING THIS TIME WAS ON
ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE.

THE ARCHITECTURE BUILT BY THE KHMERS DURING THE ANGKOR PERIOD OF THE KHMER EMPIRE, WHICH LASTED
ROUGHLY FROM THE SECOND HALF OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY CE TO THE FIRST HALF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY CE, IS
REFERRED TO AS KHMER ARCHITECTURE OR ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE.
GEOGRAPHICAL

THE LOW-LYING CENTRAL PLAIN, THE LOWER

MEKONG RIVER FLOODPLAINS, AND THE MOUNTAINOUS GEOLOGICAL
BASSAC RIVER PLAIN ARE CAMBODIA'S PRINCIPAL
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. THE COUNTRY'S SOUTH AND
SOUTHWEST MAKE UP A 443 KM LONG COAST IN THE GULF
OF THAILAND, WHILE THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS REACH INTO
VIETNAM. PHNOM AURAL, WHICH RISES 1,810 METERS (5,938
FEET) ABOVE SEA LEVEL, IS THE TALLEST PEAK IN THE AREA.
THE MEKONG RIVER, WHICH IS THE LONGEST IN CAMBODIA
AND IS LARGELY CALM AND NAVIGABLE DURING THE ENTIRE
YEAR, CUTS ACROSS THE LANDMASS. THE TONLÉ SAP
LAKE'S SEASONALITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED BY THE
MEKONG'S WATERS AS THEY SPREAD OUT INTO THE
NEIGHBORING MARSHES OF CENTRAL CAMBODIA.

THE LOW-LYING CENTRAL PLAIN, WHICH COMPRISES THE

TONLÉ SAP BASIN, THE LOWER MEKONG RIVER
FLOODPLAINS, AND THE BASSAC RIVER PLAIN, ARE THE
PRINCIPAL GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF CAMBODIA. TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT HAS INFLUENCED
THE NORTH, EAST, SOUTH, AND WEST ARE MOUNTAIN THE ARCHITECTURAL MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES USED BY
RANGES. SOUTHEAST OF THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS BORDER KHMER ARCHITECTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY, WHICH HAS
VIETNAM. HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE
COUNTRY. HERE ARE A FEW INSTANCES OF THE
GEOLOGICAL EFFECTS THAT MAY BE SEEN IN CAMBODIAN
ARCHITECTURE: SANDSTONE DOMINATES THE UPLAND SOIL
CHARACTERISTICS AND MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF THE
COUNTRY'S BASEMENT GEOLOGY, COVERING A
CONSIDERABLE PORTION OF THE COUNTRY'S LANDSCAPE.
FOR HISTORICAL SCULPTURES, SANDSTONE WAS
FREQUENTLY EMPLOYED. SOME OLDER STRUCTURES WERE
ALSO MADE MOSTLY OF LATERITE, SANDSTONE, WOOD, AND
BRICK.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE SEQUENCES, SANDSTONE, BLACK

SHALE, BRECCIA, AND LIMESTONE CAN BE FOUND. THE
PERMIAN IS PREDOMINANTLY DISTINGUISHED BY
LIMESTONES, WITH SIGNIFICANT BATTAMBANG
OCCURRENCES. CORAL AND BRACHIOPOD FOSSILS ARE
DISCOVERED IN ABUNDANCE IN PERMIAN LIMESTONE ROCKS
AT SISOPHON IN THE WEST AND KAMPOT IN THE SOUTH.
CLIMATIC

MONSOONS, ALSO REFERRED TO AS TROPICAL WET

AND DRY, ARE THE PRIMARY CLIMATIC FEATURE OF
CAMBODIA. AS A RESULT, VENTILATION, SHADE, AND RELIGION
AIRFLOW HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED IN ARCHITECTURAL
ELEMENTS. BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE HAVE ALSO
BEEN INFLUENCED BY FLOODPLAINS AND WETLANDS; FOR
EXAMPLE, HOMES BUILT ON STILTS TO PREVENT FLOODING
AND ROADS AND BRIDGES BUILT TO HANDLE SHIFTING
WATER LEVELS DURING THE RAINY SEASON. NUMEROUS
TEMPLES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS, INCLUDING THE
WELL-KNOWN ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE COMPLEX, HAVE BEEN
INSPIRED BY PLATEAUS AND HILLS IN THEIR PLACEMENT
AND ARCHITECTURE.

IN THIS CONTEXT, BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE REFERS TO

MODIFYING A DESIGN TO WITHSTAND THE REGION'S
EXTREME TEMPERATURES AS WELL AS OTHER
GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS PERSISTENT RAIN.
CAMBODIA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF BIOCLIMATIC BUILDING.
ANCIENT TEMPLE COMPLEXES INCLUDED SOPHISTICATED
HYDRAULIC COOLING SYSTEMS, AND COVERED OPEN-AIR
PATHWAYS ENCOURAGED NATURAL VENTILATION. THE
TYPICAL KHMER HOME IS FREQUENTLY RAISED OFF THE
GROUND TO CREATE COVERED PLACES FOR SOCIAL
GATHERINGS UNDERNEATH, GUARD AGAINST FLOODING, RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES HAVE PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE
AND BE MORE FLIMSY AND LESS LONG-LASTING THAN THEIR IN SHAPING CAMBODIA'S ARCHITECTURE, PARTICULARLY IN
LARGE RELIGIOUS FOREBEARS. THE CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS
STRUCTURES. THESE INCLUDE HINDU-BUDDHIST
ARCHITECTURE, THERAVADA BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE,
AND ANIMIST INFLUENCES. HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM HAVE
BEEN MAJOR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN CAMBODIA FOR
OVER A THOUSAND YEARS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE CAN BE
SEEN IN THE COUNTRY'S ARCHITECTURE. THE TEMPLES OF
ANGKOR WAT AND BAYON. FOR EXAMPLE, REFLECT BOTH
HINDU AND BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURAL STYLES. THERAVADA
BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN CAMBODIA TYPICALLY FEATURE A
CENTRAL STUPA, OR PAGODA, WHICH SERVES AS A FOCAL
POINT FOR RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. ANIMIST INFLUENCES HAVE
ALSO INFLUENCED CAMBODIA'S ARCHITECTURE, WITH THE
USE OF NATURAL MATERIALS SUCH AS WOOD AND BAMBOO,
AS WELL AS THE INCORPORATION OF NATURAL MOTIFS
SUCH AS LEAVES AND FLOWERS.
SOCIAL
CAMBODIAN SOCIETY
 PRIOR TO THE KHMER ROUGE ERA, CAMBODIAN
SOCIETY WAS SOMEWHAT HIERARCHICAL, WITH
CONSIDERABLE ROOM FOR MOVEMENT; WEALTH AND
PRESTIGE DICTATED THE STATUS LEVELS. THE
MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS BELONGED TO ONE OF
THREE GROUPS: THE ELITE, WHICH INCLUDED
ARISTOCRATS AND HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS; THE
MIDDLE CLASS, WHICH INCLUDED BUSINESSPEOPLE,
PROFESSIONALS, AND BUREAUCRATS; AND THE
PEASANTS AND LABORERS. BUDDHIST MONKS HAVE
HISTORICALLY BEEN HELD IN HIGH REGARD AND
HAVE THEIR OWN SPECIAL PLACE IN SOCIETY.
 TRADITIONALLY, VILLAGES HAVE BEEN VERY EQUAL
WITH ELECTED HEADMEN IN CHARGE. SOME FAMILIES
HAD SLIGHTLY BETTER FORTUNE THAN OTHERS, BUT
NOT BY MUCH. AGE, TEMPERAMENT, AND
RELIGIOSITY WERE THE MAIN FACTORS USED TO
STRATIFY SOCIETY.
 TRADITIONAL METHODS OF SOCIAL CONTROL
INCLUDE TEACHING CHILDREN APPROPRIATE
BEHAVIOR, GOSSIP, EXCLUSION, AND WORRIES OF
THE SHAME, EMBARRASSMENT, AND LOSS OF FACE
THAT COME WITH BREACHING SOCIAL NORMS.
BUDDHISM'S CODE OF BEHAVIOR IS THE FOUNDATION
OF MANY LAWS. MANY INDIVIDUALS ALSO WORRY
ABOUT BEING PUNISHED BY GHOSTS, DEMONS, OR
DECEASED ANCESTORS.
 SINCE 1970, CAMBODIANS HAVE LIVED BEYOND THE
BOUNDARIES OF CIVIL SOCIETY. THE KHMER ROUGE
DISMANTLED SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT KEPT
SOCIETY TOGETHER, INCLUDING THE FAMILY,
VILLAGE HIERARCHIES, AND RELIGION. THE
AFTERMATH OF THE KHMER ROUGE CAUSED CHAOS
AND UNREST, SLOWING THE REHABILITATION
PROCESS. BY REDUCING EVERYONE TO THE STATUS
OF A PEASANT, THE KHMER ROUGE TRIED TO
ERADICATE SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES.
NEVERTHELESS, A NEW ORDER EMERGED, WITH A
CADRE OF THE KHMER ROUGE AT THE TOP. SEE THE
KHMER ROUGE'S HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY.
 SOCIAL SEGREGATION FOLLOWED THE KHMER
ROUGE ERA, WITH THE STRONG, THE POWERFUL,
AND THE POLITICALLY CONNECTED AT THE TOP.
ANYONE WHO CHALLENGES THEM RUNS THE RISK OF
DYING.
HISTORICAL
GOLDEN AGE (9TH - 14TH CENTURY)
 
 THE ANGOR PERIOD, WHEN CAMBODIA SAW ITS
GOLDEN ERA, SPANNED THE NINTH AND
FOURTEENTH CENTURIES. DURING THIS TIME, A
STRONG AND THRIVING EMPIRE CALLED CAMBODIA
RULED PRACTICALLY ALL OF INLAND SOUTHEAST
ASIA. 
  BUT SEVERAL OF THESE TEMPLES, LIKE ANGKOR WAT
AND BAYON, ARE STILL STANDING TODAY. THE
EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENTS OF CAMBODIA IN
THE ARTS, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC, AND DANCE
DURING THIS TIME HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT
INFLUENCE ON SEVERAL SURROUNDING COUNTRIES,
PARTICULARLY THAILAND AND LAOS.

LAANG SPEAN
(LAANG SPEAN IN BATTAMBANG, OLDEST PRE-
HISTORIC SITE IN CAMBODIA)
CAMBODIA UNDER FRENCH COLONIAL RULE 
 FIRST SIGNS OF OCCUPANCY WERE DISCOVERED IN
LAANG SPEAN, IN CAMBODIA. ACCORDING TO  FRENCH COLONIAL RULE COLONIZED CAMBODIA
LEGEND, IT BEGAN AROUND 5000 B.C. IT WAS FROM THE LATE 19TH TO THE MIDDLE OF THE 20TH
POLISHED AND EMBELLISHED WITH CARVINGS AND CENTURY. NEOCLASSICAL AND ART DECO DESIGNS
BRUSH STROKES BY THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE. IN THE ARE EXAMPLES OF WESTERN ARCHITECTURAL
12TH CENTURY B.C., THE FIRST VILLAGE-LIKE STYLES INTRODUCED BY THE FRENCH DURING
CULTURE WAS DISCOVERED. C.  COLONIZATION. FROM 1863 TO 1953, FRANCE'S
COLONIAL EMPIRE INCLUDED FRENCH INDOCHINA,
WHICH INCLUDED THE PROTECTORATE OF
ANGKORIAN PERIOD  CAMBODIA. FRANCE CONSTRUCTED A NUMBER OF
BUILDINGS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD ALL AROUND
 OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE EARLY KHMER PERIOD. THE NATION.
DURING THIS TIME, FORMS OF BUILDING WERE  THE FRENCH ALSO INTRODUCED URBAN PLANNING
CREATED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INDIAN AND ARCHITECTURE TO THE CITIZENS OF CAMBODIA,
ARCHITECTURE BY INTRODUCING THE ROCK-CUTTING WHICH ENCOURAGED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A
TECHNIQUE. CONSTRUCTIONS WERE CREATED OF VARIETY OF BUILDINGS, INCLUDING HOSPITALS,
STONES DURING THIS TIME PERIOD TO EMPHASIZE OFFICES, BANKS, HOTELS, AND SO ON.  FRENCH
THAT THEY WERE BUILT FOR A RELIGIOUS PURPOSE.  INFLUENCE MAY STILL BE SEEN TODAY,
 RELIGIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS ARE STILL MADE OF PARTICULARLY IN PHNOM PENH, THE CAPITAL OF
STONES NOW. WHEREAS HOMES AND OTHER NON- CAMBODIA, WHERE ANCIENT COLONIAL BUILDINGS
RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES ARE MADE OF WOOD. HAVE BEEN MAINTAINED AND REPURPOSED.
PHNOM PENH ROYAL PALACE
 THE 19TH CENTURY SAW THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
PHNOM PENH ROYAL PALACE. WITH ITS TRADITIONAL
KHMER TIERED ROOFS, GOLDEN ROOF AND SPIRES,
AND CLASSICAL FRENCH STYLE EXTERIOR, THIS
BUILDING IS A WONDERFUL ILLUSTRATION OF HOW
KHMER AND FRENCH ARCHITECTURE CAN COEXIST.
SILVER PAGODA  
 THE SILVER PAGODA IS RENOWNED FOR ITS SILVER
FLOOR TILES AND IS HOME TO NUMEROUS
PRICELESS ANTIQUES, INCLUDING A SOLID GOLD
BUDDHA.
POLITICAL
POLITICAL PARTIES IN CAMBODIA
 RULING PARTY: HUN SEN, THE CURRENT PRIME
MINISTER AND A KHMER ROUGE DEFECTOR, IS THE
LEADER OF THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY (CPP).
WHEN THE VIETNAMESE OVERTHREW THE KHMER
ROUGE IN 1979, THEY INSTALLED THE KHMER
PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY (KPRP), WHICH
LATER BECAME KNOWN AS THE CAMBODIAN
COMMUNIST PARTY (CPP). BEFORE THE 1993
ELECTION, IT ALTERED ITS NAME AND REJECTED
COMMUNISM.
THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY (CPP), THE UNITED
FRONT FOR AN INDEPENDENT, NEUTRAL, PEACEFUL,
AND COOPERATIVE CAMBODIA (FUNCINPEC), AND,
MORE RECENTLY, THE SAM RAINSY PARTY, HAVE
BEEN THE THREE MAJOR POLITICAL GROUPS THAT
HAVE DOMINATED CAMBODIAN POLITICS FOR THE
PAST TEN YEARS. DESPITE WINNING THE MAJORITY
OF VOTES IN THE ELECTIONS HELD ON JULY 27, 2003,
THE CPP FELL SHORT OF THE TWO-THIRDS
 THRESHOLD NEEDED BY THE CONSTITUTION TO
ESTABLISH A GOVERNMENT ON ITS OWN. AFTER
LENGTHY NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE CPP AND
FUNCINPEC ON BUILDING A COALITION
ADMINISTRATION, A NEW GOVERNMENT WAS
ESTABLISHED ON JULY 15, 2004. 

REFERENCES
BENAZIRMOHAMEDKHAN. (2012, APRIL 4). CULTURE &
ARCHITECTURE OF CAMBODIA.
HTTPS://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/BENAZIRMOHAMEDKHAN/CU
LTURE-ARCHITECTURE-OF-CAMBODIA?
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EEPOJNIZUKO7FOCDGSPEFM

ARCHIEDUCPH. (2016A, JUNE 15). HISTORY: CAMBODIAN

ARCHITECTURE 1.0.
HTTPS://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/ARCHIEDUCPH/HISTORY-
CAMBODIAN-ARCHITECTURE-10

HAYS, J. (N.D.). POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICIANS IN

CAMBODIA | FACTS AND DETAILS.
HTTPS://FACTSANDDETAILS.COM/SOUTHEAST-ASIA/CAMBODI
A/SUB5_2D/ENTRY-2905.HTML

WIKIPEDIA CONTRIBUTORS. (2022). KHMER ARCHITECTURE.

WIKIPEDIA.
HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/KHMER_ARCHITECTURE