Hadjdj or hadj, in Islam, the pilgrimage to the holy city

of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which every adult Muslim must

make at least once in his or her lifetime

ISLAM HINDUISM

− Major world religion spread by the Beginnings and purpose

Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in 7th century CE
− Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,”
illuminates the fundamental religious idea of
Islam—that the believer accepts surrender to the
will of Allah (in Arabic, Allāh: God).
− Islamic theology affects all aspects of Muslim life.
− The Muslim’s submission of will to Allah ideally
appropriates space and reorganizes temporality
− Five Pillars (in Arabic it literally means “corners”).
− Pillars are configured in a pattern of a quincunx
(an arrangement of five objects in a square, with
four at the corners and one in the center)
THE FIVE PILLARS
1. Shahādah
The shahādah, or the profession of faith that begins with
the verse “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is
the prophet of Allah”
2. The Prayer
− Bhakti or devotional Hinduism spread across
the Indian sub-continent, and the old Vedic gods
were replaced by deities
like Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Brahma, and Devi.
− Temples were built to house a sacred symbol of
a particular God and were decorated with
sculptural figures recalling episodes
from mythology.
EARLY INFLUENCES
• Early Buddhist, Stupa
• first Hindu temples were built from rock-cut
caves and repeated the idea of relief panels and
the decorative gavaska window form.
• Gupta architecture in the 4th to 5th century CE,
the first free-standing Hindu temples were
constructed with features such as towers and
projecting niches.
• first materials used were wood and terracotta
• no mortar was used in the older temples
• so precise cutting of dressed stones was required

The second pillar consists of five daily canonical prayers. BUDDHISM

1. performed before sunrise, − a faith founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the

2. just after noon Buddha”)
3. in the late afternoon − one of the major world religions
4. immediately after sunset − most prominent in East and Southeast Asia
5. before retiring to bed
TYPES OF BUDDHISM

3. The Zakāt a. Theravada Buddhism: Prevalent in Thailand,

Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Burma
The obligatory tax called zakāt (“purification,” indicating
that such a payment makes the rest of one’s wealth b. Mahayana Buddhism: Prevalent in China,
religiously and legally pure). Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam

c. Tibetan Buddhism: Prevalent in Tibet, Nepal,

4. Fasting Mongolia, Bhutan, and parts of Russia and
Fasting during the month of Ramadan (ninth month of the northern India
Muslim lunar calendar), laid down in the Qurʾān (2:183–
185), is the fourth pillar of the faith. Fasting begins at
daybreak and ends at sunset, and during the day eating,
drinking, and smoking are forbidden.

5. Hajj − started through a variety of influences, among

which the most evident are:
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 − Founding Prophet - spaces & orientation,
garden based on paradise
− Bedouin & Arabian influences- open court &
climate adaptations, mud & grass construction,
geometry and algebra
− Byzantine - AR character, domes, iconoclasm,
minaret, arcade, portico as iwan, Damascus
masjid
− Sassanid - mosaic, masonry, Dome of the Rock
− Visigoths and Umayyads
− Ottoman - gender segregation and conversion
of the Hagia Sofia into a masjid
CONTRIBUTIONS:
▪ Moslems learned the technique of making
paper from the Chinese warriors they had
captured in the battle
▪ Arabic numerals were taken from India and
transmitted to the Western world became the
standard mathematical symbols
▪ Heritage of Classical Greece- both scientific and
philosophical returned through translation
undertaken in Islamic lands
FOUNDING PROPHET
▪ The prophet Muhammad founded the religion in
the late the 6th century in Medina.
▪ He adopts the religion of the Arabs forefather,
Ishmael, first-born of Abraham/Ibrahim, of the
near-east monotheistic belief.
▪ It is believed he was born in Mecca in 571 AD
Mecca and died in Medina in 632 AD.
▪ He built the very first masjid, place where both
prayers and teachings were held and plan
became the basis for designing future
mosques/masjid.
▪ Made with thatch, mud-brick walls and palm
trunks facing an open court called sahn.
BEDOUIN & ARABIAN INFLUENCES
▪ Earliest buildings, a masjid built with stone and
mud-clay bricks.
▪ Bedouins were the builders of Petra, and were
quite prolific with masonry and sands tone
construction.
▪ Sahn or open court is surrounded by cloisters
called riwaq that allow for shade and ventilation
form the center of the structure
▪ Water source like well or sometimes a small pool
called howz, or fountain to relieve oneself from
the arid climate is always found in these central
open courts.
▪ Algebra and Geometry became tools for
planning & construction. Numbers and equations
of proportions, geometric shapes and parabolic
curves became the source of wall ornamentation
as Islamic beliefs adapted iconoclasm.
▪ These patterns became the basis for creating
the mashrabiyas or wooden lattice-works that
serve as window screen or wall dividers.
BYZANTINE
▪ Umayyad caliphate is the empire responsible
for the early spread of Islam towards the
Byzantine regions, Africa through Egypt and the
Mesopotamia where they brought down the
Sassanid empire, and later in the Iberian
peninsula of Spain.
▪ In the Byzantine, the first major city they
occupied is Damascus in Syria in 634 AD, and
this is where they converted the city’s early
Christian Basilica into a masjid.
▪ In Damascus, the dome of the church dedicated
to John the Baptist gave the ideal roofing for
masjid/prayer hall. muqarnas - intricate dome
ceiling ornamentation.
▪ The ideal dome was the dome of Hagia Sofia,
then a Christian church. The Constantinople
church was the template then for many religious
buildings including that of Islam.
▪ In Damascus, Islam started to adapt iconoclasm
and maintained ornamentation to the use of floral
and geometric patterns and Arabic
calligraphy. The riwaq immediately adapted the
arcaded façade.
SASSANID
▪ The Sassanids were largely represented by the
Mesopotamians and the Persians.
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 ▪ The Umayyads started to claim the site where
Mohammad is said to have ascended taking
advantage that the Jews where in diaspora.
▪ The Dome of the Rock was completed in 691AD
in timber/wooden construction. It needed
rebuilding and was completed in 1023 AD.
▪ Mesopotamian masonry was a major building
technique used by the Umayyads.
▪ Mosaic provided ornamentation with iconoclastic
geometrical and floral patterns.
THE MOST IMPORTANT BUILDINGS IN THE HOLY
ENCLOSURE ARE:
1. Dome of the Rock
− The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount –
the “Noble Sanctuary” and the third holiest
shrine of Islam
− Associated with the mystical night journey and
ascension of the Prophet Mohammad with many
biblical figure
− Abraham, Jacob Jesus, David and Solomon
among others, accepted as prophets by Islam
− The shape of the sanctuary was determined by
the platform created by Herod the Great for the
Jewish Temple, destroyed by the Romans in AD
70.
2. Aqsa Mosque
VISIGOTHS AND UMAYYADS
▪ The Umayyad empire declined and its territories
were mostly dominated by the Abassids.
▪ Nasrid Emirate built one of the grandest of
palaces of the Middle ages, the Alhambra, the
“Red Fort”.
▪ Alhambra, is a palace where geometry provided
the best forms of ornamentation on lattice works
and mossaic, while ideal visual proportions were
derived simply through the use of compass and
straight edge.
▪ It had 3 palaces, the Lions Palace, the Comares
Palace, the Palace of the Lions, and the Partal
Palace. It has several courtyards and a garden
worthy to symbolize paradise as mentioned in the
scriptures.
THE EAST INFLUENCE:
▪ Chinese and Mughal architecture as Islam
spread to Southeast Asia.
DISTINCT FEATURES DEVELOPED:
− form of buildings, and the decoration of surfaces
− Islamic calligraphy
− geometric and interlace patterned ornament
− New architectural elements:
− cylindrical minarets
− pointed arch
− Muqarnas
− Arabesque
− multifoil
BY EIGHT CENTURY, THE TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS
OF A MOSQUE INCLUDE:
▪ mihrab – a niche in the prayer wall indicating
the direction of Mecca – an arcaded courtyard
and minarets.
▪ Minarets – massive towers, first used for the call
to prayer in the fourteenth century.
Mosque - part of a larger complex include:
▪ Koran school (madrasa), hospital, lodging for
travelers (caravanserai) and baths (hammam)
▪ Islamic architecture is also famous for massive
fortifications and desert places
DECORATIVE SYSTEMS
▪ Ornament and elaborate interior decoration are
integral to Islamic architecture.
▪ The decorative motifs consist of elaborate,
dense, intertwining, infinitely repeating
vegetative, geometric and calligraphic elements.
▪ nonfigural art - strictly nonrepresentational in
mosques and other sacred places,
▪ figural representation - tolerated in a secular
context
▪ Use of horseshoe arch, adapted from a much
simpler version common in buildings of the
Visigoth their predecessors in Spain.
▪ Muqarnas - a three-dimensional plaster
decoration resembling honeycombs or stalactites
to embellish domes, vaults and niches
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
▪ Countries into which Islam first expanded were
already rich in building tradition. Marble was
generally available, lime and gypsum for mortars
and plasters were usually readily procurable,
variety of building stones is found in areas and
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 the techniques of working them and building in
masonry had been highly developed
▪ Cyclopean masonry had survived from
antiquity, and Roman quarries such as those at
Baalbek still yielded massive stones.
▪ Most masonry structures of importance were in
arched, vaulted or domed forms
▪ True voussoirs were used in the curved shapes,
and interlocking voussoirs guarded against
earthquakes.
▪ Cements, plasters and stucco were used for
bas-relief carving, and the highly decorative
muqarnas techniques employed in domes, vaults
and arches.
▪ The greatest volume of building in Islamic lands
has been achieved with earth walling.
▪ The architecture of Islam as a matter of arcuated
masonry construction in which its artisans
achieved the highest level of finish and invention.
Characteristic features of Muslim architecture are
the pointed arch, and the horseshoe arch
▪ The origins - pre-Muslim era in the eastern
territories of Byzantium, and to the Sassanian
Empire.
▪ The pointed arch - earliest significant Muslim
monuments and carried to the western
Mediterranean by Muslim in the eighth century.
▪ (West) The horseshoe shape is round-headed,
(East) the round arch disappeared after the ninth
century, when the four-centered arch evolved.
▪ The use of cusping and of guarding colonnettes
or nook-shafts. Cusping has a pre-Muslim
history in church buildings in Syria in the sixth
century, but was first used regularly in decorative
frets to arches in late eighth-century Iraq.
▪ Nook-shafts are found in Coptic and Hellenistic
Christian architecture of the fifth and sixth
centuries.
▪ The regular use in Muslim architecture is dated
to the ninth century, after which they were used
widely for entrance openings of significance.
▪ By the eleventh century an important decorative
element had also become established - Islamic
muquarnas and or stalactite corbel.
▪ Muquarnas are superimposed corbels, angled
so that the quoin of the lower corbel is coincident
with the groin of the two superimposed corbels
above.
▪ calligraphy and pattern-making took the place of
figures
ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTH ASIA
− Islam arrived in India around the 13th century.
− Meanwhile in the Near East, Mongols and
Afghans have melted into a dynastic alliance that
created the Timurid empire. The Timurids who
were Islam adapted the building techniques of the
Seljuks (Afghan-Russian-Turks) and have
perfected techniques and design for the following:
− Paradise-Garden, built for masjids, palaces, or
mausoleums (Seljuks where likely influenced by
the Babylonian hanging gardens of the ancient
past)
− Tileworks evolved from mosaics and geometric
patterns
− 3-dimensional surface decoration which
eventually gave rise to filigree-like (marble lattice
screens) called jaali.
THESE STRUCTURES MAY BE RESOLVED INTO
THREE MAIN DIVISIONS, NAMELY:
1. The Delhi or Imperial Style (1200 to 1526 C.E):
Imperial style of architecture was developed and
continued at Delhi and its surroundings for nearly four
centuries beginning at the close of 12th century up to the
middle of 16th century, when it was succeeded by Moguls.
2. Architecture of Provinces (1150 to 1687 C.E):
The second of these styles, the provincial refers to the
building art developed in the self-contained Provinces
away from Delhi and their governors under the obeisance
to Delhi Sultans.
3. Mogul Period (1526 to 1707 C.E):
In the second quarter of 16th century, Moguls raised and
brought whole of India under their control. Mogul
architecture was the latest and ripest form of Indo-Islamic
architecture continued to flourish till 18th century.
Religious structures - the most significant of which are in
this garden, promoting the Paradise theme that became a
focal development in Persian Islamic architecture. The
sultanate of Delhi, though originated from this city,
eventually came to build Agra, the capital of the dynasty
that came to conquer them – the Mughals.
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Before the Mughals came, there were already distinct
Hindu-Islamic elements in the region and these are:
▪ Chhatri – Dome on post and lintel pavilion,
reminiscent of the shrine structures
▪ Arcuated post & lintel – merger of local post
and lintel construction with arcuated Islamic
structure.
▪ Jaali – perforated stone screen similar to filigrees
▪ Haveli – mansion for the affluent sultan which
eventually utilized also for the town house of the
affluent (the equivalent of a quasar)
▪ Zenana-the harem section of the house
▪ Mardana – male section of the house
The need to add a finial in lotus or bell-form led to the
popularity of onion/bulbous dome in the region, but of
different origins than the Russian onion domes.
The famous Taj Mahal is a mausoleum dedicated by the
ruler Shah Jahan to his wife, Mumtas Mahal when she
died young while giving birth. The plan is said to be of
highly formal balance (symmetrical) that a jawab (used as
guest house) mirroring the masjid needed to be built to
maintain formal balance in the complex. According to
historians, the recognized architect is Ustad Ahmad.
Construction materials were originally timber and
masonry based. Precious stones inlays and incisions
were mostly using marble and granite. Stone masonry is
mostly of corbelled assembly. Chuman, or limestone
plaster, is sometimes used for ornamentation to create
the incised 3-d traceries.
Building typologies:
▪ masjids/mosque
▪ minars (minaret), some of which were not limited
to mosques, can also be built to commemorate a
victory of certain rulers.
▪ sarais or caravancies, equivalent of the Arabian
wikala.
▪ dargahs/darwasa or commemorative gateways
▪ Haveli – quasar or townhouse of the affluent
▪ Mausoleums
▪ Bagh – paradise garden of Persian origin
Other styles: Deccan, based in the cities of Bidar and
Golkanda (14th century onwards)
▪ Followed the Lodi and Sayyid structures and
with strong Persian influences.
▪ Limited local influences
▪ Dynasties that contributed to the styles include:
1. Gulbarga Phase
2. Bidar Phase
3. Golkonda Phase (Qutub Shahi Dynasty
PROVINCIAL INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE:
GUJARAT
▪ Among the earliest (14th century)
▪ Two factors are responsible for the prodigious
output of architecture in this region:
▪ Proliferated by the Ahmed Shahi dynasty as a
way to prove their influence and wealth
▪ The supply of skilled indigenous workmen from
the north.
PROVINCIAL INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE:
MANDU
▪ Also known as the architecture from
Mandavgad in Madhya Pradesh, an ancient city
in western part of central India, where Afghan
architecture and culture have become part of the
local culture
▪ Style rose from migration of afghan Muslims into
the city
PROVINCIAL INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE ARE
GENERALLY CLASSIFIED AS:
Bengal – Sri Lankan traditional architecture applied in
temple construction. The string Buddhist and Hindu
construction styles have largely influenced the latter
period Indo-Islamic structures.
Manily built with terracotta and masonry techniques due
to the abundance of these materials.
PROVINCIAL INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE:
JAUNPUR
▪ Pylon facades
▪ Arches are Tudor-like
▪ Built based on traditional trabeated pillar system,
hence adaptation to masonry still shows timber
construction elements
▪ Pillar accentuated
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 − blend of local and exotic designs (Indian, Islamic
and Persian styles)
− the impact of Islamic ideas and techniques on
the established civilization of Hindu kingdoms in
TRABEATE AND ARCUATE:
India.
− a synthesis between two divergent building
systems that of Hindus and Muslims.
Type of Structures Built:
▪ Religious structures- Mosques and Tombs
▪ Secular structures- forts, palaces, pavilions,
town-gates and gardens.
▪ The walls of a mosque are decorated in
geometrical patterns in different coloured
marbles, plaster, stucco, paints and glazed tiles.
▪ The indigenous architecture of India was of
Trabeate order, in which the void spaces in the
walls were spanned by means of horizontal lintels
or beams.
▪ Arch technique is different used by
Mohammedan builders. An arch can be made up
of bricks or pieces of stones.

RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES ROOFS:

COMPARISON OF HINDU AND ISLAM WORSHIPPING ▪ Roofs are mostly flat.

STRUCTURES:
There is a great contrast in the two religions of Hindu and
Islam in respect of worshipping structures, the temple and
the mosque.
PLANNING AND FOCAL POINT:
▪ The temple is an abode of the deity to which it is
consecrated and contains massive walls, long
corridors, compartments and high
embellishments.
▪ The mosque is open in its design & has no need
of a central shrine or image of deity.
▪ It is enough for the devotee to turn to the
direction of Mecca.
▪ Sanctuary is the sacred part of the mosque and
the focal point is the Mihrab in the sanctuary.
THE SIMILAR ELEMENTS IN AN INDIAN TEMPLE AND
MOSQUE ARE:
▪ temples have pyramidal roofs or Sikharas.
▪ With the advent of Mohammedans, the dome
came into existence.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCTION OF
GREAT ISLAM BUILDINGS:
1. late development
2. due to the remarkable genius of Indian craftsmen
THE MOSQUE (MASJID)
The mosque or masjid is the worshipping place of Islams.
It is open in its design.
Main elements:
▪ Sanctuary on west side
▪ Mihrab – a sacred focal point in the Sanctuary
▪ Minbar – a pulpit in the Sanctuary
▪ Surrounding cloisters called Liwans
▪ An open courtyard called Sahn

▪ Surrounding cloisters SANCTUARY

▪ Sanctuary on west. But some temples are
exceptional to this.
▪ In a mosque, the central court is totally open.
▪ But in a temple the main temple occupies the
area of the court.
WALLS AND SURFACES:
▪ The temple was given the texture of stone and
the natural tint.
▪ The presentation of human figures, sculptures,
imagery are prohibited in Islam structures.
▪ Sanctuary is a pillared hall opening itself on east
into the courtyard.
▪ The hall is used for religious congregations and
prayers called Namaz.
▪ A portion of the sanctuary is screened off into a
compartment for women (Zenana) in some
mosques.
▪ The sanctuary has a central nave and side
aisles.
▪ The nave is often spacious and raised higher in
roof than the aisles.

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 ▪ Some mosques have only sanctuary and they
had no central open court and cloisters.
▪ The façade of sanctuary was monumentally built
in some mosques.
▪ There is continuous change, innovation and
development in the design of pillars, arches,
mihrab, parapets, kiosks and turrets.
MIHRAB
▪ A religious structure however needs a focal
point.
▪ To meet this, a recess or an alcove called
Mihrab is placed in the center of western wall in
the nave of sanctuary indicating the Qibla or
direction of prayer. Mihrab is a prayer niche.
MINBAR
▪ a raised platform with steps for the preacher to
deliver the sermon
▪ placed to the north of Mihrab in the sanctuary.
OPEN COURTYARD AND CLOISTERS
▪ In front of sanctuary an open place takes place
without roof called Sahn. The other three sides
are covered by pillared cloisters called Liwans.
The mosque is totally enclosed and secured. It is
entered usually through three gates each on east,
south and north except on west. Main entrance
mostly takes place on east. A water tank is placed
in the center of open court for ablutions.
Occasionally a fountain also takes place in this
tank.
SCREEN OF ARCHES AND DOME
▪ The mosque sanctuary appeared like a temple
pillared hall (Mandapa). Therefore to impose the
appearance of a mosque, a separate screen of
arches of huge size was added across the front
of the sanctuary.
▪ Arch became a symbol of Islam structures.
Examples:
1. Qutb mosque, Delhi
2. Arhai-din-ka Jhompra mosque, Ajmer
3. Eg- Jama Masjid at Ahmedabad, Jama Masjid at
Champaner
4. South India mosques were built in provinces in
Malwa, Bijapur and Deccan, the sanctuary façade
is not separately built or added.
Designs of Mosques
− Layout of these mosques is same in all mosques
having sanctuary on west side and cloisters on
other sides.
− Entrances, façades, arches and domes are
varied in their mass and design.
− Row of arches became the prominent feature.
− Sanctuary façades varied in designs like simple,
ornamental, artistic, monumental, fine and royal.
Feature wise examples are mentioned here:
1. Sanctuary nave is spacious and pillars less in
some mosques. Eg- Adina masjid, Pandua
Jaunpur mosques.
2. Classical decorated pillars are made in the nave
making a Rotunda extended in tiers above. Eg-
Jama masjid, Ahmedabad.
3. Sanctuary and cloister entrances are much
elaborated, projected and highlighted. Eg-
Jaunpur mosques and Jama masjid,
Ahmedabad.
4. Central arch of Sanctuary façade is made
different by means of foliated arch. Eg- Jama
masjid, Bijapur.
5. One and only example of Mosque which has no
open central court is- Jama masjid, Gulbarga.
6. Worshiping hall for Royals (Chapel) and Zenana
were added in first floor in a grand scale. Eg-
Adina masjid, Pandua and Jaunpur mosques.
7. Royal and palace type mosques are- Jama
masjid, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Jama masjid,
Delhi.
8. Simple design mosques are- Jama masjid,
Mandu and Bijapur.
THE TOMB
▪ The custom of Hindus is to cremate the dead
body.
▪ Tomb is the everlasting abode for the dead.
Finest Indo-Islamic architecture was developed in
these structures.
▪ The tomb building consists of a single
compartment or a chamber known as ‘Huzrah’ or
‘Estanah’. The cenotaph or Zarih is in the
center. The whole structure is roofed over by a
dome.
▪ The mortuary chamber called the ‘Maqbarah’
takes place in the ground underneath with the
grave or Qabr in the middle.
▪ Mihrab is placed in the western wall.
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 ▪ A separate mosque building is added in some of
the larger mausoleums, the whole being
contained within an enclosure called ‘Rauza’.
▪ Important tombs are designated as ‘Dargahs’ a
Persian word signifying a court or palace.
Designs of Tombs:
▪ Tomb building designs vary from one to other
and that of Sultans mainly Tughlaqs, Sayyids and
Lodis are either Square or Octagonal in plans
built at Delhi.
▪ Square tombs are taller and Octagonal tombs
are wider in general. These structures had
battering walls, sphere head fringes in arches,
merlon parapets, central dome and kiosks.
▪ Designs of Mogul tombs are large, spacious,
fine, rich and monumental in appearance
consisting of surrounding garden, enclosure walls
and gateways.
▪ They are square in plan having chamfered
corners. Domes, kiosks and slender turrets sky-
lined on these tomb structures. Fine Ashlar
masonry and close inlaid patterns are seen in
Mogul tomb structures.
Examples:
1. Earlier tomb – Tomb of Shams-ud-din Altumush,
Delhi
2. Beautiful tomb – Taj Mahal, Agra
3. Large tomb – Golgumbaz, Bijapur
4. Fine and Variety tomb – Itmad ud Daula, Agra
5. Later tomb – Mausoleum of Safdar Jung, Delhi
SECULAR STRUCTURES
TIN DARWAZA, AHMEDABAD, 1425 C.E
▪ a triumphal archway in the city of Ahmedabad.
▪ central feature of Ahmed shah’s processional
route, connecting the palace and the Jama
Masjid, Ahmedabad.
▪ The archway is known as Tin Darwaza or triple
doors.
WAVS OR STEP WELLS
▪ common in the towns of western India.
▪ the region is hot and nearer to desert, hence
public wells were built to meet people’s water
needs
▪ The Wavs of Gujarat took the form of extensive
subterranean galleries of a high architectural
value.
From Indus to Hindu
- The Indus Valley civilization began in 2500 BC
dwindled into non-urbanized fragmented Indic
settlements by 1500 BC.
- 500 BC, Indian settlements (mixture of Indus and
Aryans from Russia & Persia) began to converge
into population areas, considered the Indian
Kingdoms Period, fueled by 3 indigenous religion,
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
- Lasted for about 1700 years.
VEDIC PERIOD AND NANDA PERIOD
− Hinduism started during the Vedic Age together
with the Sanskrit and the epic Mahabrata prior to
the 2nd Urbanism of south Asian people.
− By 500 AD, population growth around Ganges
River fueled urban lifestyles centered on
Hinduism.
− It paved way to a system of government, initially
headed by priests, nobilities & warriors, skilled
workers and farmers, and unskilled workers.
− Nanda Kingdom - first Indian kingdom period
− Gupta Kingdom - around the time of the
Hellenistic period in Europe and Near East.
− Hinduism is anchored on the following beliefs:
• Reincarnation and souls are reborn in a
newly created human or animal life.
• Karma: Every action brings about
certain results. There is no escaping the
consequences of one’s actions
• Dharma: A set of rules that must be
followed by all living things if they wish to
work their way up the ladder of
reincarnation.
• Ahimsa: Supports the idea of being in
harmony with nature. Seeing all life as
sacred – a part of a “oneness”. Results in
the life principle of non-violence
• Caste system – Brahma (priest on top,
and slaves at the bottom.
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 − Then third kingdom was the period where
Hinduism and the Ashoka Empire spread east-
most to Myanmar and west-most to eastern
Persia.
− 263 BC, Ashoka the Great converted to
Buddhism, which turned his vast territory to
Buddhist societies
THE ASHOKA KINGDOM AND THE RISE OF
BUDDHISM AND SOUTH ASIAN ECCLESIASTICAL
ARCHITECTURE
− The Mauryan/Ashoka period is known for the
development of Buddhist architecture.
− South Asian Buddhist architecture are the
monasteries of vihara, chaitya or the prayer hall
and the stupa or the repository of a Buddha relic.
− Chaitya became integrated with the stupa.
− The stupa being a relic repository is essentially
a burial mound (which at first contained the ashes
of a Buddhist priest), similar to tumulus and
Aegean tholos of the Mediterranean. It
symbolizes the ascend to the enlightened state of
a former human being (or Nirvana in Hinduism)
− A stupa contains the sarcophagus where the
enlightened monk is buried. Relics vaults were
added. As it evolved the sarcophagus vanished
and mostly the relic vault remained.
In southeast Asia, the stupa evolved to integrate the 5
elements of nature, thus the 5-storey version.
Vihara is the term used to denote the Buddhist
monastery, the place where monks reside and study the
teachings of Gautama/Siddhartha Buddha, and recite the
sutras (prayers). The Vihara originally has the chaitya.
Chaitya is the sacred and main prayer hall were originally
done in India with:
• semi-circular (apsidial) roof
• a small rectangular door-way which opens to a
vaulted hall, with likewise apsidal end and divided
longitudinally by two colonnades forming a broad
nave in the center and two side aisles.
JAINISM AND JAIN SHRINE/TEMPLES
NAGARA SHRINES
− Before temple buildings for Buddhist worship
happened in South Asia, the 3 major religion
that emerged from the region co-existed by
having small outdoor shrines cut-out from caves,
or when detached were made of stone and
timber, sometimes covered with thatch.
− Stone building technologies in the region started
with Jain buildings. These buildings were
centered on a shrine covered with a corbelled
dome or spire (on corbeled vault) and with a
pillared porch. The plan is octagonal within a
square, smaller, lighter yet more detailed in
ornamentation than latter evolved Buddhist
temple.
− The corbelled ceiling has a central pendant
accent.
− Persian/Aryan descent of the early Vedans, Jain
temples integrated columns based on Persian
construction influences.
− With the corbelled vault of brackets in octagonal
layout, the Buddhist based the vaulting of their
stupa. The pillared portico is the basis of the
cloisters (concentric square) plan later developed
in Buddhist temples.
− Vedic period up to the Ashoka period, Hindu
structures were mostly Brahmanical shrines
(priest-centered shrines), which were built
outdoors and mostly with local materials, with
timber, thatch, or stones, if these were in
abundance in the area.
− After the fall of the Ashoka Kingdom and
Hinduism came to flourish to follow the form and
massiveness of latter Ashoka period Viharas
(Buddhist monasteries).
− Hindu temples were ornate with double-headed,
eagles, elephants, divinities, human figures, etc.
RISE OF HINDU ARCHITECTURE –
THE GUPTA KINGDOM
− After the Mauryan/Ashoka period came the Chola
dynasty, Chera and Pandyan empires
(3rd century AD) in a period called the Gupta
kingdom.
− 3 types of architecture evolve from the above
period, the Nagara of the north and Dravidian
of the south, and lastly the Chalukyan of
central India. Of the 3, the Dravidian became the
most wide-spread.
9
 − Nagara architecture came earlier than
Dravidian architecture. It originated from
northern India during the early Gupta Kingdom
(6th-10th century AD).
− It derived spaces from the older Buddhist
architecture, where in the most sacred part or the
sanctuary is represented by a mound.
− The main parts of the temple are the gopuram
(gateway), mandapa (porches), chawadi (hall)
and garbha-griha or sanctuary, typically with
statuary niches.
− Among its notable traits of Nagara temples are:
• Sikhara (or base/platform of the lotus bud
(amalaka), sometimes signifying the
mythical mount Meru) is often more
prominent than the vimana
• Garbahgriha is elevated (as in Dravidian
and Chalukyan style) and capped with
vimana, below a sikhara.
• Mandapa (cloister halls) is also integrated
with spires or towers, with fewer pillars
• Sanctuary crown depicting a chariot or
vimana is often single storey hence not
always prominent
• Plans are predominantly square (similar to
the base of a stupa)
• Gopuram is not prominent
• A sacred pool is mostly integrated
• More than 1 entrance/gopuram is possible
• Spires are lotus-bud like & circular in plan
mostly on the sanctuary.
DRAVIDIAN ARCHITECTURE “KOIL” (TEMPLES)
Dravidian, Tamil architecture, or architecture of the
southern style, is characterized by intricate imagery of
the Hindu doctrine Bragavad Gita and Mahabrata. This
developed in southern India where stone, stone-masons
and sculptors abound. Nagaran influences, if any, may
have come from the Kalinga architecture.
KALINGA ARCHITECTURE
The Kalinga region is on the north eastern part of India,
where the Nagara style flourished. However, due to the
region’s latter adaptations of Hinduism, it differs slightly
from the Nagara architecture and slightly adapted the
latter Tamil type of sikhara (the stone mound roof of the
shrine or garbagriha) called Rekha-deula, by having a
pyramidal form, slightly curving at top with the amalaka
(lotus top).
− The Sun Temple (1200s BCE) at Konark, an
example of Kalinga architecture, was built to glorify
‘surya’ the sun god at Konark.
− The temple shrine (garbagriha) is capped with a
sikhara (stone roof/cap) formed like a ‘ratha’ or
wheeled chariot.
− The temple is depicted to be resting on a large
platform with twelve giant wheels.
− Like most Hindu temples, the shrine building is
elevated and occupies the highest floor level in the
complex.
CHALUKYAN SHRINES/TEMPLES
− A third architecture evolved during the Chalukya
dynasty in the central part of India (6th-12th c.
AD.). It is likewise developed form a rock-cut-out
structures
− Badami was the capital of this dynasty. It was
protected by a fort wall surrounded by a
moat. There were other water features in the city
to hold sporting water events for the royal
families.
− Badami was a religious center eith the goddess
Banashankari as the main deity.
− Chalukyan architecture combined certain
features of the Nagara and Dravidia to generate
a new set of architectural characteristics. It is
generally characterized by high platform/loggia,
ornate door frames, plinth moulding, and the
presence of vestibule for the Chawadis or halls.
− Cave or rock cut-out structure
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
− The early Vedic and Nanda periods gave the
foundation for the development of both Buddhist
and Hindu architecture in South Asia, where the
Jain religious structure was the first to evolve from
the SHRINE typology. Its early temple was like the
small Roman temples but it with own characteristic
aedicula based on the shrine roofing of the period,
and with a portico.
− Timber and thatch where the most common
materials with occasional stone structure primarily
for rock-cut-out shrines and small temples.
− The shrine typologies of the period which then
gave rise to the architectural characteristics of
Buddhist and Hindu architecture. The stupa found
its origins in the apsidial proto-valabhi and amalaka
roofed shrines and a combination of influences
10
 from other shrine roof types, while hindu
architecture is influenced by most of these roof
types, particularly the Nagara style.
− These shrine roofs then became a sort of classical
order for south Asian religious structures.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
− Buddhist often has its torana at the south of the
complex. Oftentimes, the road that leads to a
Buddhist temple (generally a north-south oriented
road) becomes a basis for the natural growth of the
place into a town as pilgrims flock the area for
worship which then necessitates that shops and inn
be built along this road.
− Buddhist temple complexes always required
gateways to mark the entry of the holy place,
gateways were not necessary in early Nagara
Temples, but became quite prominent in Dravidian
style temples.
− The garbhagriha or the naos of the Hindu temple
always has its entrance facing the east, and thus
the gopuram takes east most side of the
complex. Secondary gateways may likewise be
placed facing other cardinal directions as Hindu
complexes tend to maintain rectangular
development.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
− While Buddhist temple complexes always required
gateways to mark the entry of the holy place,
gateways were not necessary in early Nagara
Temples, but became quite prominent in Dravidian
style temples. The garbhagriha or the naos of the
Hindu temple always has its entrance porch
(mandapa) facing the east, and thus the main
gopuram takes east most side of the complex.
− Nagaran style traces its roots to the Kuta, Valabhi
and Phamnsana shrine roofs. When integrated,
these shrine tops form the Latina shrine roof which
then characterized the Nagara style. This
development happened around the 10th century, in
the north and northwestern India and parts of
Pakistan.
− Shikahara became the most prominent structure
in Nagara temples, capped with egg-shaped or
disk-shape amalaka. On rare occasions, instead of
the amalaka, a bell spire form the top of the
Shikhara. The Shikhara symbolizes a mountain
and sometimes textured stepped-like horizontal
bands called buhmi.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
− The Dravidian garbhagriha dome/spire/mound cap
is based on the kuta and the shala. The style evolved
to have a more prominent vimana, and is generally
with a gate or more, with the main gate facing
towards the east.
− The integration of a reflection pond between the
gateway and the shrine (and sometimes before the
entering the complex) then became another Hindu
temple plan tradition.
− Dravidian temples tend to have longer mandapa
than the Nagara. The gopuram is built higher than
the vimana. If the vimana symbolizes a chariot, the
gopuram is more representational of mount Meru, a
mythical mountain told in the Sanskrit and
Mahabrata.
− Because of its prominent Vimana, which symbolizes
a chariot or palace, ornamentation with figures and
shalas (pediment symbolizing the mouth of a
mythical creature) become a common
ornamentation. These shalas continue the mini
shrine/aedicula theme that characterize walls of
palaces.
− With the Dravidian chariot theme, the ratha (wheel)
is symbolized by the piers of the walls or the plinth of
the structure.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
− Northern and southern styles evolved in a bud-growth
like transformation, with the early Jain temple as an
inspiration, a portico-ed structure which emerged in
the late Vedic and Nanda periods.
− Nanda period temples are simply enlarged shrines
that became available for access and movement of
Brahmas/priests to attend to prayers and rituals.
− From Jain temple plan, the Buddhist temple evolved
to have an apsidial end based on the Valabhi ceiling
(ex.barrel vaulted Buddhist temple at Karla & Elora
caves), but eventually turned to have a central
sanctuary (stupa) arrangement. The stupa plan itself
becomes more like a compounded square and
eventually turned circular in certain regions (ex.: stupa
at Sanchi). The Buddhist adapted the octagonal
ceiling and came to relegate octagonal elements and
circular elements for the divine.
− The Hindu temple plan took a “blossoming” evolution
where wings were first added and appendages
“sprouted” from corners in between these
appendages.
11

BURMESE ARCHITECTURE
• Stupa
• massive brick construction of domical external
form,
• built upon a plinth of three or five diminishing
terraces;
• Temple is usually square in plan
• brick walls enclosing narrow vaulted corridors
embracing a solid masonry core, which had
centrally-placed niches on each side to
accommodate statues of Buddha;
• walls are decorated with frescoes or sculptured
bas-reliefs
• central core rose in a series of receding storeys,
and was crowned with a tapering shikhara-shaped
finial.
Both kinds of religious buildings were also referred to as
pagodas (paya).
• The monasteries (kyaung) and ordination halls
(thein) from monks were derived from wood
prototypes, and libraries (pitakat-taik), housing
the sacred Buddhist texts, resembled the simpler
temple designs.
• Pagan period – there are 5000 stupas and
temples within the boundaries of the capital. Post-
Pagan era Burma declined architecturally, as well
as politically.
• Chinese influence contributed to the
emergence of the ‘Pagoda” style, which
characterized the architecture of the 17th to the
19thcenturies.
• Typical of the Burmese feeling for rich and
intricate artistry
CAMBODIA
− The earliest recorded capital of Cambodia (c.
fifth century AD) was Vyadhapura) (Angkor Borei)
on the lower reaches of Mekong River, 200 km
(120 miles) from the sea and the port Oc Eo.
− It was an agglomeration of wooden houses on
piles, connected by little canals, linked to a large
waterway capable of taking sea-going ships.
− Later Funanese and early Khmer architectural
development (7th and 8th centuries) was centered
upon Sambor Prei Kuk
− Wooden buildings gave way to more substantial
brick and stone imitations of timber prototypes,
which show a mixture of Indian forms
EARLY CLASSICAL KHMER PERIOD
Three important architectural events indicating the
transitional stage between the pre-Angkor and early
Angkor styles.
1. Creation of a city and temple mountain in 800
AD on the hill of Phnom Kulen ,near Angkor and
the lake of Tonle -Sap.
2. Building of another capital (893) on the hill and
round the temple mountain of Phnom Bakeng,
close to Phnom Kulen, terraced into the hill as a
five-levelled pyramid, with isolated towers on the
topmost tier and smaller towers of the lower
levels.
• walled rectangle
• temple and the central intersection of the
principal avenues radiating towards gate
in the four sides of the moated enclosure,
• main gate facing east
3. Construction at Roulus,Angkor, of the archetypal
Khmer urban irrigation system. An immense
artificial lake, ‘Barai’ Lolei about 3 km (2 miles)
long and 800 m ( half a mile) wide was formed by
earthen dykes to store water from the Stung
Roluos River flowing into a network of moats and
waterways.
• The lake provided for the need of
community, its final purpose being to irrigate
the paddy fields.
TRANSITIONAL CLASSICAL KHMER
PERIOD (10TH AND 11TH CENTURIES)
Evolution of temple mountain continued in Baksei
Chamkrong, Angkor (c.911), the first to be built up in stone
(laterite) in pyramidal terraces from flat ground, and Koh
Ker(921), 64 km (40 miles) north-east of Angkor,
constructed on an artificial lake by damming a stream, the
normal east-west axis of the city altered to align with it
• Ta Keo (completed c.1010 where classical five
terraces and five colossal towers were
introduced, and still another in the Baphuon
(c.1050)), in which the style and scale of the
temple mountains became formalized.
12
THE CLASSICAL KHMER PERIOD ( 12TH AND EARLY Bawbawgyi Paya stupa
13TH CENTURIES)

was dominated by two majestic architectural

achievements:

• Angkor Wat, the temple city of Suryavarman II

(1113-50)
• Angkor Thom, the remodelled capital of
Jayavarman VII (1180-1218)
• Stone was used like a wood, and stone walls
were often reinforced with concealed timber
beams.
• The corbelled vaulting was never modified and
permitted only the spanning of small space • Bawbawgyi Paya stupa is among the best
• No mortar was used preserved from the period, estimated to be
• Everywhere sculptural ornaments breaks constructed between the 6th and the 7th
through the architectural lines particularly at centuries. It is 46m in height and with about 24m
Angkor Thom. high vault inside. Conservationists believe this
brick masonry structure was once covered with
PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS stucco.
• Located near Pyay, south of Beikthano.
A traditional Borneo long house plan

• Socialization and working areas are the ruai and

tempuan
• Private areas are the are the bilik, dapor and
toilet and bath (recent addition). Leimyyethna Paya Temple
• In larger rumah a meliga (maiden’s quarters)
and panggau (bachelors’ quarter) mezzanines
may be present
• The veranda side of the ruai is called tanju, over-
looking the rice fields.

MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES (MYANMAR)

− While early religion in the region were mostly

animists with outdoor shrines and rituals,
Buddhism introduced the idea of prayer halls,
sacred monument (stupa) and monastery (school
to study the doctrine).
− With Myanmar/Burma, the period of monumental The Leimyyethna Paya temple located in Pyu is another
structures started with the Pyu period. Where brick masonry Buddhist (praying hall) temple, with a
cylindrical stuppas (called chedi) with 4 archways square plan and a central pillar supporting the tower
started to appear, centered to the ancient city of above(now mostly only the ruins remain) which may be
Beikthano. construed as a stupa. The temple, surrounded by moat,
− Most Pyu structures (mostly in ruins now) are is believed to be constructed around 600AD.
studied to have similar architectural
characteristics as the Andrah Buddhist
architecture of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in
southern India.

13
 Pagan Kingdom
• The rise of the Pagan kingdom during the
9th century marked the golden age of Buddhist
monumental structure construction.
• Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism took turns
in reigning over the period between the 9th and
13th century, when most of the monumental
structures were built. Tantric Buddhism and
Hinduism where minor religions during the period.
• Approximately 1000 stupas, 10,000 temples and
3,000 monasteries were built during the reign of
the Pagan kingdom.
• The Bagan architecture is influential to the
development of the architecture of the Siam
kingdom (Thailand) which came centuries later,
centered on Ayutthaya.
Dhammayangyi Temple
The most prominent of the numerous temples is the
Dhammayangyi Temple, built around 1165 during the
reign of Bagan king Narathu. It is believed to have not
been completely finished due to the untimely death of the
ruler.
Shwezigon temple
• The stupa at Shwezigon temple, built in the
11th century, is significant in the sense that it set the
standard for letter-built stupas in Myanmar.
• Ananda Pahto temple is one of Bagan’s earliest
temples, completed around 1105.
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
• After the period of decline caused by the Mongol
attacks in the 13th century, Burmese monarchy
briefly rose again in 1510 with the Toungoo
kingdom, while annexing Laos and the Siamese
Ayuthaya kingdom. Earliest buddhist structures
restored under this kingdom is the Shwemawdaw
Pagoda in Bago, Myanmar (15th century).
• Konbaung dynasty(1752-1885) new Buddhist
monumental structures started to be built
(Hsinbyume Pagoda, completed around 1807 in
Mingyu, Myanmar)
CAMBODIA/KHMER
− The Toungo empire was supported by 2
significant bodies of fresh-water, Mekong River
and Tonle-sap lake, which makes it very fertile
and rich.
− During the succeeding Chenlan period centered
on Sambor Prei Kuk where circular temples were
14
 built colonades capped with capitals of
Indochinese characteristics.
− Khmer kingdom started to flourish around 700
AD, under a Hindu ruler and was a significant city
by 802 AD under, Jayavarman II.
− Angkor was the center of civilization where most
large structures are of religious nature and made
of bricks, hardened clay stone (laterite) and/or
sandstone.
MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES (CAMBODIA/KHMER)
Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple was built in a combination of
a temple mountain and galleried type of temple, in a
manner like the stone-cut temples of India. This originally
Hindu temple has the following spaces:
• Central sanctuary
• Prang/tower above sanctuary
• Enclosure and enclosure galleries
• Gopura/gate
• Library (separate building)
• moat and reflection pond
Banteay Kdei
Another prominent Hindu galleried temple in Angkor is
the Banteay Kdei, completed around the 13th century but
with very little-known background.
The Ta Keo temple
A classic example of a temple mountain is the Ta Keo
temple depicting Mount Meru (a sacred Indian mountain),
built around 975 by Jayavarman V. An enclosure gallery
likewise surrounded the temple.
• trade routes of India, Tibet and China, Nepali
architecture reflects influences from these
cultural strongholds.
• The pagoda architectural tradition
• Buddhist temples reflect the Tibetan
tradition of Buddhist architecture
• Stupa features prominently
• Mugal, summit and dome styles
• Influence for Nepal's architecture comes from
India
HISTORY
LICCHAVI DYNASTY
• ruled between the 5th and 7th centuries
• no buildings remain but there are many surviving
sculptures.
SHAH DYNASTY
• 1786 onwards, Nepal entered its ‘modern era
• 1816, the Shah kingdom ruled and the country's
architecture was heavily influenced by the Newar
style. During the Shah reign, various temples,
fountains and other important buildings were
constructed.
RANA DYNASTY
15
 • 1846 to 1951 the Rana dynasty ruled, which saw
both art and architecture of Nepal become heavily
influenced by popular architectural trends in
Europe
20TH CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
• Between the end of the Rana dynasty and the
restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepal’s
architecture became significantly more modern
• dhunge dhara is a traditional stone drinking
fountain, intricately carved stone waterway
through which water flows uninterrupted from
underground sources.
• pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with
multiple eaves
• stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure
containing relics that is used as a place
of meditation
• chaitya, chaitya hall, refers to a shrine,
sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian
religions.
• tutedhara (Nepali) or jahru (Newari) is
traditional drinking fountain found in Nepal. It is a
water reservoir built out of stone with a tap that
can be opened and closed.
• Palaces
• Monasteries
• temple - building reserved for spiritual rituals
and activities such as prayer and sacrifice.
RESIDENTIAL HOUSES
• Newar houses - three or four stories and faced
outwards to either the street or a courtyard
• Sherpa houses -elongated shape, have two
stories, a rigid roof and most have the ground
floor built into the hill or slope behind it
• traditional housing is architecturally designed to
cope Nepal’s hot, dry summers and cold winter
TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
predominantly Hindu places of worship, feature a pagoda
roof, common features include pillars with animals,
humans and important deities depicted on them as well
as carved wooden struts to support the structure.
SHIKHARA TEMPLE STYLE
• Krishna Mandir, Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur,
Nepal.
• This construction involves between five and nine
layers that meet at the peak of the building to
represent “the crown of Himalayas”.
THE NEWAR PAGODA STYLE TEMPLE
• These temples have between one and five
layers of roofs and are dedicated either to
Buddhism or Hinduism
STUPAS
• Ashoka Stupa Chaitya, Lalitpur district.
• Stupas are similar to temples with characteristic
dome-like structures that contain significant, often
religious relics. The most common elements of
stupas in Nepal are the pedestal that the stupa
stands on, the mound of the actual structure and
the spire on top
KATHMANDU (NEPAL)
The architectural treasure of the Kathmandu valley has
been categorized under the well known seven groups of
a heritage monuments and buildings.
Five monuments in Kathmandu:
• Durbar square of Hanuman Dhoka,
• Hindu temples of Pashupatinath
and Changunarayan,
• Buddha stupas of Swayambu and Boudhanath; and
• Durbar square at Patan, Durbar square at
Bhaktapur.
Kathmandu - "Land of Gods" and as "land of the largest
congregations of magnificent historical monuments and
shrines ever built”
MATERIALS AND LAYOUT
• temples of Nepal are made of brick, stone or
wood and despite some stylistic differences, most
temples follow a similar architectural layout or
pattern.
• temples consist of either a single roof structure or
one with multiple tiers, statues of the gods and
goddesses reside known as Mandir
• Please see the recorded lecture in Panopto.
Establishment of Chinese and Central Asian Buddhism
16
 • 6th century CE, Mahayana Buddhism had made
its way into China and Korea, and from there
crossed into Japan.
• The Han emperor built a monastery for them
called the Baima-si (or the White Horse
Monastery).
• Buddhism, however, was only one among many
competitive intellectual traditions prevalent in
China at the time
• In 400 CE, Buddhism was supported by the
Northern Dynasties (386–581 CE). In the
Southern Dynasties (420–589 CE), Confucianism
was still dominant
Chinese Architecture
Ancient Chinese architecture and styles are rich and
varied. Building typologies were numerous even in early
iron age, such as temples, imperial palaces, altars,
pavilions, official residencies and folk houses, which
greatly reflect Chinese ancient thought - the harmonious
unity of human beings with nature.
PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS TO SHANG DYNASTY
Shang Dynasty : Erlitu in Henan province was the
earliest settlement in this dynasty, where a metal smelter
of bronze was unearthed. Shangcheng and An-yang
were the latter period cities where residences were built
in rows of wooden houses with rammed earth on walls,
while on the central part of the city a palace or temple on
earthen mound was built.
Early settlement in China emerged more than 4 thousand
years ago, very likely by ancient migrants from Tibet, and
later on, by migrants from India via Southeast Asia. These
include the settlement where earthen wares abound in
prehistoric middens. China is known to be among the
earliest to use calligraphy, and integrate glazing in their
pottery and this opened opportunities for pottery trading
with neighboring regions.
PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS
Prehistoric period to Shang period houses include thatch
roofed pith houses.
• development of timber frame structures on
rammed earth platform.
• timber posts stand on flagstone base and
support a system of bracketing that carry a gable
roof with bamboo tiles and imbrication.
• Geomancy was a common practice and
developed into the widely practiced Feng Shui.
• Building orientation, space planning, fenestration
orientation are still affected up to the present by
feng-shui.
• Feng shui prescribes access on the south with
preference for north-south major axis orientation.
Feng-shui was later adapted to east Asian Buddhist,
temple layout, in the 3-Kingdom period, when a
temple is necessarily placed with a north-south axis
with mountain on the north, a river on the east, a great
road (highway) on the west and a pond and/or open
area on the south.
ZHOU/CHOU DYNASTY
• The succeeding Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE)
had very distinct palace-like structures made
mostly of timber but with stone masonry
base/plinth, the ruins of which remains today.
• With the Zhou palaces artifacts came the
understanding that the period had well-stratified
social structure composed of royalties,
intellectuals, warriors, artisans, peasants and
slaves. The construction method used in the
period provided the prototype of the timber
bracket system China is well known for, the dou-
gong (dou=cap, gong =block).
• Chinese philosophy saw its emergence in the
period, with Confucius, Mencius, Mo Ti, Lao-Tzu
(codified Taoism), and Sun-Tzu as the leading
thinkers. Taoism remained a major doctrine.
• Among the notable excavations from the period
was the tomb of Duke Jing of Qi (547-490 BCE),
who was buried together with about 600 horses
and chariots to accompany him to the after-life.
• Zhou period established a system of coin-based
currency and iron tools eventually became
common.
QIN DYNASTY
• The architectural development seemed to have
mainly undergone refinement in timber
construction method in the periods following the
Zhou dynasty (Springs and Fall period), while
fortified structures became the dominant type of
development during the Period of Warring
States.
• A palace at Xinyang (Hsienyang Palace)
became the center of the government. This was
similarly built on a rammed earth base/platform
with timber structural elements.
17
HAN DYNASTY
The Han dynasty succeeded the Quin dynasty and this
led back to Zhou dynasty type of social structure. By this
time, beam-in-tiers or the tai-liang method from the north
and the column-and-tie-beam or the chuan-dou method
from the south were the dominant construction methods.
The Han dynasty succeeded the Quin dynasty and this
led back to Zhou dynasty type of social structure. By this
time, beam-in-tiers or the tai-liang method from the north
and the column-and-tie-beam or the chuan-dou method
from the south were the dominant construction
methods. Confucian philosophy ang feng-shui beliefs
continue to be used as guidelines for construction.
The Siheyuan plan is a Confucian residence with
courtyard layout where in feng-shui is applied.
• Feng-shui, an ancient geomancy practice is
seen as among the most influential on building
and design of the ancient Chinese doctrines
• Building orientation, space planning, fenestration
orientation are still significantly affected up to the
present by feng-shui in Chinese architecture.
• Feng shui prescribes access on the south with
preference for north-south major axis orientation.
• Feng-shui was later adapted to east Asian
Buddhist temple layout, when a temple is
necessarily placed with a north-south axis with
mountain on the north, a river on the east, a great
road (highway) on the west and a pond and/or
open area on the south.
3-KINGDOM PERIOD
• More distinct local architectural characters
developed in the 3-Kingdom period (220-581
CE), and this was mainly due to the advent of
Buddhism coming from the Tibetan
regions. Indian and Persian influences were
introduced from the west.
• The evolution of the mound-based stupa to the
octagonal pagoda happened from the 3-Kingdom
period to the emergence of southern and northern
dynasties. The adaptation of timber roofing and
that symbolizes the chattras
or umbrella/canopy/crown were then turned into
wooden framed octagonal roofs in multi-tier.
• Buddhist temples are made highly symmetrical
in China and accessed mostly from a south to
north road, with the paifang/pailou at the
south(unlike in India where numerous access at
cardinal directions were possible).
• A Chinese chaitya or miao is the main temple
prayer hall of the whole temple complex. Often
painted with red and black combination, it was
originally made with timber but eventually built
with masonry materials for posterity purposes.
• Pavilions or ting are integrated (from Taoism
practices) and generally used as garden sheds,
found in temple gardens as ornamental and
resting structures.
TANG AND SONG DYNASTIES
• The architectural characteristics developed from
the previous periods, together with the new
architectural characteristics brought by Buddhism
were brought to refinement in the Tang and Song
dynasties, together with related building
construction systems.
• The main building of the Daminggong Palace
built with 188 posts, and the Sakayumi pagoda
which is 67m in height are the architectural
highlight of the period.
• The architectural development in the Song
dynasty peaked with the use of color and
exquisite ornamentation as seen from the original
Shaolin temple and monastery.
MING AND QING DYNASTIES
By the 14th century, refined version of earlier Buddhist,
palace halls, pavilions and garden were seen in may parts
of the region, showing the following distinct
characteristics:
• Unity or structure with architectural art: This
includes having decorative pillars, dog and lion
statuary at the entrance, paintings on wall
canvass, garden with water feature, bridge and
stone lanterns and the like.
• Anti seismic function: timber construction is
generally preferred over stone, the Chinese
octagonal pagoda uses timber mainly for roofs,
but earlier timber versions included timber
frameworks. Timber posts are not imbedded in a
foundation but are simply standing on flagstones.
• High degree standardization: A bay between 2
timber posts is called jian generally follow a
standard distance. The tai-liang, chuandou and
the combined framework provide construction
standard. The cai or the vertical part of the dou-
18
 gong was used as a unit of measure; or the fanga
piece of wood with height:width ration of
3:2. Other standards are describe in a guideline
for building called Yingshao Fazi from the Song
Dynasty.
• Bright color palette for buildings: Paint is used
to prevent weathering and insect infestation of
wood. Palace and temple walls, pillars, doors &
windows are often painted. Roofs were often
painted yellow, while cool colors (blue and green)
are for the eaves.
• Systematic grouping and formal arrangement of
buildings: the central courtyard approach allow
for all doors and windows in a residential complex
to face an open private space. On the other
hand, larger complex grounds have buildings in
axial or multi-axial arrangement. Significant
structure: Forbidden City, a palace temple
complex built around 1420-1924, during the
Quing dynasty. Plan was highly rectangular and
formal, particularly in symmetry.
OTHER ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
• A traditional Chinese roofing material is the
bamboo which are assembled as imbrexes. This
became the inspiration for the molded ceramic
version. Roof structure is called wu-ding and
come in a variety of gable, hip and hip-gable
combination of assemblies.
• The South Asian stupa, chaitya and vihara then
found its own adaptation in China, and further
evolved in other east Asian regions.
• Buddhist temples are highly symmetrical and
access mostly from a south to north road.
• Structures introduced with Buddhism include the
pagoda, temple and monastery.
• A pagoda is the east Asian version of the stupa,
typically contains a relic of a holy person believed
to have reached Nirvana. It is essentially a
monument not entered into by the public,
• There were two types of Buddhist temple: the
first combined a tall, symbolic feature (a stupa or
pagoda) with a temple-hall; the second and later
type consisted of buildings arranged around
courtyards.
• The earliest examples of the first type were
temples with stupas which had been introduced
from India at the time of the Eastern Han dynasty
(first century).
• The stupas, which usually stood in the center of
the group of temple buildings, were said to
contain Buddha’s remains and were objects of
homage for his disciples.
• By the time of the Northern Wei dynasty, temple-
halls were combined with pagodas. This kind of
temple was built from the fourth to sixth centuries
and later was passed to Japan through Korea.
• Pagodas with closely layered eaves, of which
the earliest remaining example is the oldest
pagoda of the Songyue Temple built in 520 at
Mount Songshan, in Henan province. Externally it
is twelve-sided, but its interior is octagonal.
• Tang dynasty, the caves pagoda became very
popular and a square plan shape was evolved.
The Lesser Wild Goose Pagoda at Xi’an in Shanxi
province is an example of the square pagoda.
• Liao dynasty the octagonal plan was preferred
and the eaves were no longer parabola-shaped.
The Pagoda of Tianning (Haven of Peace) temple
in Beijing is of this kind and is built to imitate
timber-framed building style.
• The storeyed pagoda. The Chinese storeyed
building combined the pagoda form with that of
the Indian stupa. The earliest existing storeyed
pagodas were built in the Tang dynasty and were
square in plan (an example is the Greater Wild
Goose Pagoda in Xi’an) but the more popular
form, from the tenth to thirteenth centuries, is
octagonal.
• Temple of Kaiyuan in Quanzhou built between
1241 and 1252, resembled earlier wood-framed
pagodas. Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda, which is 82 m
(269 ft) high, in Dingxian county, Hebei province,
have less decoration.
• Some brick pagodas have an outer wooden
gallery. Example is the The Bao’en Temple
Pagoda in Suzhou, built in 1131-1162. The brick
pagoda has various structural forms.
• Vase-shaped pagodas evolved directly from
stupas; they were first built in the late Tang
dynasty, but became popular only after the Yuan
dynasty in the temples of Lamaism. The White
Pagoda in the Temple of Miaoying (Divine
Retribution) in Beijing was built in 1271 with the
guidance of a Nepalese craftsman. It is 56 m (184
ft) high. These pagodas were usually built in
groups, sometimes five or more in a line or
arranged symmetrically around a major building.
The surface of the pagodas are faced in glazed
brickwork.
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 • Groups of Pagodas honoring Buddha’s warrior
attendants, popular in the Ming and Qing periods,
were built in imitation of the Buddha Gaya relic-
house complex in India. Five pagodas were
usually placed along the diagonals of a square
terrace decorated with carved statues. Each was
a closely-layered eaves pagoda and pyramidal in
shape, for example the Zin Gang Bao Zuo
Pagoda in the Zheng-jue Temple, Beijing.
• Single-storey pagodas were built as tombs for
monks and nuns. They may be square,
octagonal, circular or hexagonal. They are often
found in groups or lines adjacent to temples.
• There are collections of pagodas at the Shaolin
Temple, Henan province, and at the Lingyan
Temple, Shandong province.
• Wooden tower pagodas were built from the
third century onwards, but the Shija Pagoda in
the Buddhist Palace Temple, Shanxi province,
built in c.1056, is the only surviving building of this
kind in China.
• It is 67 m (221 ft) in height, and 26 m (86 ft) in
diameter at its base. Between each of the five
outside storeys there is a hidden interior storey.
PALACES AND VILLAS
Significant structure: Forbidden City, a palace temple
complex built around 1420-1924, built during the Ming
and Qing dynasty. Plan was highly rectangular and
formal, particularly in symmetry.
SHRINES
• Shrines were used in ancient China for making
sacrifices to ancestors and famous historical
personages, as well as to the gods. The most
famous is the group of buildings known as
Tiantan Shrine in the southern district of Beijing.
It extends over an area of 280 ha (690 acres) and
was built for emperors of the Ming and Qing
dynasties.
• The buildings of the Huanquitan also include the
Huangqiongyu (Imperial Vault of Heaven), which
houses a sacred tablet. The Huanquitan itself is a
three-tiered circular, marble terrace, the
uppermost tier of which is 26 m (86 ft) and the
lowest tier 55 m (180 ft) in diameter.
GROTTOES
• The Buddhist grottoes were introduced to China
from India. They are shrines carved into cliff faces
and inside the caves. The earliest in China are
the Mingshashan Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu
province, and the Hesser Grottoes in Xinjiang,
also cut in the fourth century.
• Among the best-known grottoes are the Mogao
Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, the
Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi province,
and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan
province.
• The rock caves of the Yungang Grottoes cut
during the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)
• Grottoes carved on natural cliffs are large and
without decoration; they belong to the first stage.
• The appearance and clothing of the giant
Buddhas reveal the influence of India and Central
Asia.
• The second stage is distinguished by square
caves with central columns. Niches for statues of
the Buddha were carved on some of the central
columns, while others were shaped into Buddhist
pagodas.
• The grottoes at this time had many designs
taken from India, Persia and Greece, for example
flamboyant lions, twin-headed beasts back to
back and Ionic capitals.
JOMON PERIOD (14TH CENTURY TO 4TH CENTURY
BC)
• Pre-Buddhism Japan is divided into the Jomon,
Yayoi and Gofun periods.
• Jomon period (from 14th century to 4th century
BC) is characterized by the presence of pit
dwellings, Thatched covered depression on
ground with earthen floors.
• During this period, most settlements were of
hunter gatherers, believed to have migrated from
the mainland, hence the strong similarities of
structures with the pit houses of Korea.
• With limited predator species in the archipelago,
rarely were these settlements were fortified.
• The period after Jomon is the Yayoi period,
which happened between 300 BC to 300
AD. During this time, it was believed that there
came migrants from southeast Asia who brought
stilted structures to Japan. Interestingly, these
structures on stilts are found to have been first
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 built as storage for the emerging widespread rice
cultivation.
YAYOI PERIOD (3RD CENTURY BC TO 3RD CENTURY
AD)
• The Yayoi period the development of large
tracks of land cultivated to produce rice. Rice
cultivation might have started earlier but the
period brought in larger population dedicated to
rice cultivation, combined with animist beliefs
mainly focused towards rice-cultivation related
deities, that gave way to Shintoism.
• During the Yayoi period, it was believed that
there came migrants from southeast Asia who
brought stilted structures to Japan. Interestingly,
these structures on stilts are found to have been
first built as storage for the then emerging
widespread rice cultivation.
• The stilted structures of the Yayoi period were
eventually adopted as residences, aside from its
granary function. The interiors were mostly
blackened with sooth to prevent decay of the
wood and grass materials used.
• The Yayoi period likewise saw the wider
acceptance of Shintoism, a religion in which the
main deities are highly associated with elements
of nature, particularly those related to rice
cultivation.
YAYOI PERIOD (3RD CENTURY BC TO 3RDCENTURY
AD)
• During this period, small shrines (mikoshi) on
stilts started to be erected. These shrines are
highly regarded as ephemeral structures and
were rebuilt periodically(i.e. every 20 years) in the
very same feature as the original ones.
• During the Yayoi period, Shinto rites were held
outdoors in demarcated holy sites. Ise, in Mie
prefecture was designated as a Holy site since
around 4 AD.
KOFUN/GOFUN PERIOD (3RD CENTURY AC TO 538
AD)
The Kofun/gofun period is actually named after the burial
mounds for the Japanese nobilities of the 3rd-6th century
AD. These mounds were often in key-hole shapes and
sometimes artificially made.
These mounds for the nobilities are called kofun, from
which the period is named. Those entombed in these
mounds are often buried with their sword, mirror and other
personal belongings similar to the artifacts of the gods,
that are housed in Shinto shrines.
Buddhism was introduced to Japan by the Paekche
Kingdom in 538 AD when emissaries brought scrolls od
Buddhist doctrine to the then emperor of Japan This
gesture maks the start of timber pagoda and dera
(Buddhist temple complex) construction in the
archipelago.
The short Gofun/Kofun period came between the 3rd
century to 538AD, prior to the arrival of Buddhism. This
is the period where the Naikū and Gekū sites of the Ise
shrine were built (3rd to 5th century AD), in the
refined architecture that evolved from the preceding
Yayoi period, called shinmei-zukuri. the most prominent
character of which are the stilted shrines containing the
mirror, comb and sword. Entrance to a Shinto shrine was
then marked by a gateway called torii.
• The ‘torii’ is the entrance gate of a shrine precint,
and consists primarily of two pillars and two
horizontal beams. Both of the pillars are usually
embedded directly in the earth.
• Shimmei torii are the simplest form, and the
Myojin torii has double lintels curved to resemble
the eaves of temple architecture.
SHINTO ARCHITECTURE
The Shinto shrine called honden evolved into a variety of
forms in subsequent Shinto shrine structures, some of
which were later merged with the Chinese temple
form. Mikoshi (small portable shrines) of ancient
architectural characteristic or with Chinese Buddhism
influences are still used for a variety of religious festivals.
• Shinto shrines are never entered into except
during holy ceremonies, and only by the
designated priest.
• In order to realize the periodical replacement of
these shrines, there is a designated holy forest
wherein the timber production is mainly for the
shrine repair or replication. This tradition is
among the reasons for the forest preservation
culture of the Japanese up to the present.
The Shinto. gateway is the torii, which is a more ancient
architectural element.
21
In a Shinto shrine, before one goes to front of the honden
for prayer, they must first wash their hands, then mouth,
in a structure called temizu-ya or chozu-ya. In a Buddhist
temple, these pavilions are not present. However, up to
the late 19th century, Shinto shrines and Buddhist
temples were allowed to co-exist (because the Japanese
practice both religions simultaneously), thus in many
Buddhist temples, the temizu-ya can still be found like in
the Kyomizu-dera
The first remarkable architectural feature of the Ise Shrine
is a storehouse with an elevated floor.
At Ise, all the shrine buildings have columns embedded in
the earth instead of being set on stone bases as was the
general practice elsewhere.
The traditional method of handing down the form of
shrines, known as shikinen-sengu (the transfer to new
shrines in certain ceremonial years), was established. It
became customary to rebuild all shrine buildings every
twenty years: a pair of adjacent sites of the same shape
and size was required for each set of shrines.
A number of mausolea are also regarded as shrines. The
first of these is the Kitano Shrine, built in the Gongen style
in Kyoto.
The Tokugawa Shogunate followed the same custom,
and built a number of mausolea-shrines.
The Izumo Shrine. The present building is a smaller
version rebuilt in 1744, 24 m (80 ft) in height from the
ground to the top of the forked finials. It is 10.9 m (36 ft)
square in plan and each side is divided into two bays. The
gabled roof, covered with cypress bark, has a slight curve,
two separate forked finials at each end, and three ridge
billets.
NARA PERIOD (710-794AD) AND HEIAN (794-1195)
PERIODS
• Narra and Heian periods are considered as the
imperial classical periods of Japan. Chinese
writing medicine, silk and tea cultivation became
widely accepted together with Buddhism.
• The significant development for these periods
were the construction of Buddhists temples or
dera/tera, pagodas and monasteries. The
temples of the Tang dynasty were painstakingly
copied using local construction/carpentry
methods. Initially, Japanese carpenters tried to
copy the iron nail joinery of the Chinese temples
but reverted back to the use of wooden pegs as
purely wood joinery assures better resilience of
structures against earthquakes. Temple
construction from the Tang dynasty were
modified to suit the earthquake prone geology of
Japan. The dougong system was immediately
adopted as this appears to be suitable for
structures under frequent tectonic
movement. The dougong is called tou-kyou or
masugumi by Japanese carpenters.
• The center of development was in Nara, and
later in Kyoto, the seats of the imperial power
during the period.
• Cremation which was by then the popular
Buddhist internment mode brought a stop to the
creation of kofuns.
• While the emperor and the imperial family
remained largely as Shinto figure-heads,
Buddhism was widely practiced alongside
Shintoism, Taoism and Chinese Geomancy.
• The seat of the emperor moved to Kyoto in 794,
which then shifted the building of Buddhists
structures and palaces towards this area.
• By this time the pagoda has reached peak-form
and its structural design, mainly done with timber,
enabled it to be earthquake ready. Builders, by
late Heian period, were already integrating a
pendulum-like central structural component
called shin-bashira to act as earthquake tremor
damper. Initially, the shin-bashira was a column
embedded into the plinth at the center of the
wooden pagoda. But later Heian versions copied
the Chinese column’s roller base which allows
for the movement of this column during
earthquakes, movement that counteracts the
swaying of the outer shell of the pagoda.
• A Japanese religious complexes like most
citadels are entered into through a gateway,
entered from the south in Japan sometimes in a
series of gateways, called the romon. For
Buddhist complexes, romons can come in a
variety of styles, like the karamon which has a
serf-curved gateway canopy (roof), somon, the
sideways-gable roofed gateway and earliest of
styles and the very grand type called sanmon.
• The Japanese buddhist complex is called dera,
the main/largest building is called kondo which
contains the moya, the shrine hall (for prayers)
surrounded by a hallway called hisashi.
22
 • Buddhist temples also often have a pond, a bell
tower/platform, and incense urn.
• In Japanese architecture the term hisashi has
two meanings:
• indicates the eaves of a roof - the part
along the edge of a roof projecting beyond
the side of the building to provide
protection against the weather.
• indicate the area surrounding
the moya (the core of a building) either
completely or on one, two, or three sides.
• Open corridors or verandas under
extended or additional roofs are also
sometimes referred to as hisashi. In
temples constructed in the hip-and-gable
style (irimoya-zukuri), the gabled part
usually covers the moya while the hipped
part covers the hisashi.
• Kyoto fast became an urban center in this
period, with its establishment as the capital, and
seat of the Imperial power.
• Daimyos have had their shinden zukuri, a house
in the midst of a large garden, symmetrical in
layout, and with rooms were connected with long
hallways. It allowed residents to enjoy seasonal
events and the beauty of nature.
• Kyoto machiya (townhouses) or kyo-machiya, on
the other hand, were built in blocks as people
flock to Kyoto for government-related
transactions, and to establish commercial
enterprise. These were mostly owned by
merchants, with shops at one end. A property
dimension is approximately 8m x 39.5m and often
referred to as “the bedroom for eels.” During
these times taxes were greater for longer street
frontage of dwellings or shops.
• Zenkoji Temple in Nagano was built in the
7th century, which then resulted to the
development of the town/city of Nagano. It is built
with the Korean timber temple construction
influences, showing the characteristic upward hip
ridges.
EARLY NARA (HAKUHO) PERIODS (552-710)
• The Horyuji temple and the pagoda are
considered the oldest surviving timber structures
in the world, approximately 1300 years old, are
said to the similar in structure as Korea’s 3-
Kingdom timber buildings.
• In the ancient period, the layout of Buddhist
monasteries was strictly prescribed.
• The kondo and pagoda at Horyuji, the world’s
oldest extant wooden buildings, were constructed
after the original Horyuji temple was destroyed by
fire in 670. The present kondo, 9 bays long and 7
bays wide, 18.5 x 15.2 m (61 ft x 50 ft) including
mokoshi completed by 693
• cloud-shaped bracket complexes (kumo-tokyo)
support the eaves
• characteristic of these buildings is a marked
entasis on the pillars
• The storehouse is an important early
building type and the most famous example
is the Shosos’in at Todaiji, Nara, which
houses the collection of treasures left by the
Emperor Shomu.
• The building is 108.4 m x 30.5 m (356 ft x
100 ft) raised high above the ground on stout
pouts and divided into three parts. The two
end sections are constructed in the ‘azekura’
style of logs, notched and fitted together in
such a way that their ends cross each other
and project beyond the corners.
KAMAKURA (1185-1333), ASHIKAGA (1336-1573)
AND MUROMACHI (1392-1573) SAMURAI PERIODS
These periods started off the feudal system in Japan
where the samurai class ruled and the emperor became
simply a symbolic figure-head.
Similar to Europe, the period ushered in the castle
architecture development, which served as the
headquarters of the regional daimyo (chief samurai) and
his army.
The feudalism brought the stratification of the society
wherein merchants and entertainers were at the bottom,
just above the morticians. Second to the samurai were
the farmers, but they were heavily taxed in order to
support the armament requirements of the samurais.
Zen Buddhism was also spreading which was the
samurai’s preferred branch of Buddhism, were the
spartan life of monks are emulated. Out of Zen Buddhism
came the Bushido philosophy, which brought philosophy
to the art of warfare among the samurai class.
Architecture likewise took a spartan form and became
more integrated with natural environment. In these
periods, governance swung back and forth between
samurai clan heads (daimyos) and the imperial court.
23
The Ashikaga family period brought the center of the
samurai governance back to Kyoto, in its Muromachi
district. But this did not happen until the Kamakura bakufu
ended and then emperor Go Daigo was able to restore
power to the Imperial court. However, not all samurai
clans were satisfied with succeeding actions off the
imperial court and thus a new samurai clan rose to ensure
that the samurai class remains in power and leadership,
and this was the Ashikaga clan.
The Ashikaga period, now practicing the doctrines of
Bushido, together with the popularity of Zen Buddhism
brought new outlooks and approaches in constructing
buildings, whether for religious purpose, or for
residences. This time, the influences from China have
mostly disappeared. Buildings of the period ditched the
formal planning adopted from China, and instead were
organically integrated into the setting/environment. Gyon,
a district in Kyoto for Geisha’s was provided additional
architectural characters for the period. This period is
where tea ceremonies evolved giving birth to the
tokonoma alcove for ikebana.
Kinkaku-ji is a temple pavilion (honden) that serves as a
classical example of the style of the period. This is a
former villa of one of the Muromachi rulers.
KAMAKURA PERIOD (1185 – 1333)
• The Wayo style. The standard style and method
of temple building up to the end of the Heian
period came to be called Wayo or ‘Japanese’
style, after the beginning of the Medieval Age.
Temples were usually established on a
mountainside or hilltop near a village. Scenic
views and natural surroundings were important;
rocks or waterfalls within the temple grounds
were often sanctified.
DAIBUTSU/DAUBUTSU-YO STYLE
• Architecturally it utilizes horizontal wooden
beams known as penetrating tie beams which are
combined with pillars to reinforce the structure
The ends of penetrating tie beams are decorated
with moldings known as 'kurigata'. Use of a
unique bracket complex known as 'sashihijiki'
(bracket arms inserted into the shaft of a pillar).
ZEN/ ZENSHŪYŌ'S STYLE.
The Zen style (Karayo) favored by the Zen sects was the
other important new style introduced at the very beginning
of the thirteenth century. It is one of the three most
significant styles developed by Japanese Buddhism on
the basis of Chinese models
• Its characteristics are decorative pent roofs
(mokoshi) and pronouncedly curved main roofs,
cusped windows (katōmado), earthen floors and
paneled doors. Wood structures are relatively
light, design light and orderly. All buildings are
erected on stone podia and have either stone or
earthen floors.
SEN NO RIKYU
Sen no Rikyu is a tea ceremony master who hosted
imperial court people and daimyos (samurai warlords)
alike for philosophical discussions during tea-
ceremonies. He promoted the concept of wabi–sabi, a
traditional Japanese view of beauty, in which something
natural and ephemeral is valued as beautiful and precious
for its brief existence. The Wabi-cha, a new tea ceremony
style called for the most natural of landscaping, the use of
natural elements in the tea
The room the wabi-cha is deliberately made humble
compared to elaborate tea ceremonies of earlier periods,
in Japan or China. The design uses mainly natural light
into the interior, and a major use of the space is to gaze
towards garden and contemplate about life and nature.
EDO PERIOD (1600-1863)
Edo or Tokugawa Period (1600-1863) was the period of
true unification of Japan when again a singular shogun
(governing over daimyos and samurais of all region)
headed the country as an independent state.
This period also saw the closure of Japan from any
foreigners except for the Dutch, who were allowed to land
and stay in Nagasaki only. The architecture, therefor,
evolved more homegrown characteristics, free from
foreign influences.
These include:
RYOKANS AND MINSHUKUS
Architectural typologies that emerged included the inns or
ryokans and minshuku to cater to traveling samurai
families, as ordered by the shogun. Nakesendo and
Tokaido inns
24
YOSHIWARA
This district for hiring courtesans in Tokyo provided a new
type of building function (essentially a red-light district)
Minka or Traditional houses in Japan were able to
develop more of its complex features based on tradition
due to the relative peaceful period under the Tokugawa
reign.
Traditional Japanese houses vary, but a typical plan
contains 3 major spaces:
Doma: work space where the kitchen and bathroom are
also located. It is floor is generally covered in earth or
stone flagstones. The yoku or furo (bath is often with a
wooden tub made of hinoki) The toilet is of squat type and
in a separate room.
Hiroma is where the hearth is and is used for
gatherings. The irori when used to heat the house also
provides the sooth that preserves the timber used for the
house. The house is mosthly made of timber and thus the
preservative effect of the smoke from the hearth is
essential.
Zashiki is mainly used for sleeping, but also for
ceremonies (tea, prayers, etc).
MEIJI PERIOD (1863-1945)
This period saw the adaptation of European architecture
in Japan when the country needed to catch up with
western technology and sent scientists and scholars to
Europe to study locomotion and other technologies
brought by the west’s industrial development. Modern
Japan started in this period.
The Meiji Jingu shrine(1915) is a Shinto complex
dedicated to Emperor Meiji who died in 1912. Because it
was built at the heart of Tokyo, and Shinto shrines are
often built to be surrounded by nature, either by a forest
or sea, a forest then had to be created to surround it in the
ARCHITECTURE & HOUSING IN THE MEIJI PERIOD
In Tokyo and the larger cities new, Western style
concrete, stone and brick buildings and bridges were built.
These were often designed by foreign architects and the
most famous include The Bank of Japan, Ginza
Bricktown, The Asakusa Twelve Storeys, Tokyo Central
Station and the infamous Rokumeikan. Gas lighting came
to the Ginza in 1874 and electricity in 1878.
BUDDHISM’S ARRIVAL IN KOREA AND JAPAN
6th century, with the gradual unification of the clans of
Silla under King Beopheung (514–40 CE), Silla became a
full-fledged kingdom, with Buddhism as its state religion.
One of the first Buddhist temples was the Hwangnyongsa
Temple (553–644 CE). Hwangnyongsa, which means
“Golden (or Imperial) Dragon Temple,” located near the
royal palace, on a plain surrounded by mountains. The
whole was enclosed and framed by a rectangular
perimeter wall. An immense 80-meter-high, nine-story,
wooden pagoda stood right in front of the entrance.
Behind it were three halls.
From Korea, Buddhism crossed into Japan during the
reign of the emperor Kimmei (509–71 CE). Along with
their teachings, the Koreans brought with them their
architecture, which defined the early period of Japanese
Buddhist architecture.
PREHISTORIC PERIOD KOREA
The period of written history started in Korea between the
1st century BCE and 7th century AD, a time when tribal
kingdoms emerged, initially with Koguryu people, then
followed by the Pakeche and the Shilla tribes.
Pit houses with thatch roofs and timber support emerged
as early as 3,000 BCE, found mostly in aggregation of
small settlements. Later, log settlements emerged, with
raised floors and heated by ondol heating system, a
network of horizontal flues under the floor, to keep the
floors heated from a furnace integrated below the
elevated floor.
Dolmens were also found in the regions believed to have
been built prior to 1st century BCE are believed to have
been built for burial purposes.
3-KINGDOMS PERIOD KOREA (57BC-668AD)
When the 3-Kingdoms emerged, these were already
under much influence of the Chinese geomancy, Taoism
and Confucian ideas as the ancient Koreans were
migrants from China and Mongolia. The earliest of the 3
kingdoms was the Koguryu kingdom. This occupied the
largest section of the region and even extends to parts of
present-day Manchuria.
25
No wooden structures, like palaces, survived from the
Koguryu period due to the latter invasion of foreign
powers and eventual conflict with supporters of
Confucianism.
Buddhism came directly from India around this
period. This brought in the construction of Buddhist
temples. Early pagoda was built mainly to reflect the
canopy of the structure and were built several tiers
high. Stupas were separately built to serve as burial
structures of Buddhist monks.
The second kingdom to emerge was the Paekche
kingdom which occupied the south-western tip of the
Korean peninsula and is believed to be closely related by
blood to the Koguryu people of the north. Only 2 pagodas
from the Paekche period survived, from the Miruksa
temple of 7th century and the Chongnimsa temple (6th-
7th century).
The Shilla kingdom was the last to emerge in the 3-
Kingdom period and was the kingdom that united all
three. Prior to the unification, The Shilla people built the
Chomsongdae observatory and the Pungwangsa temple,
the pagoda of which still survives today.
The timber structures of the 3-kingdom period are
believed to be similar to that of Horyuji Temple in Japan
as the Buddhist influence to Japan has traveled through
Korea from China.
KOREAN ARCHITECTURE
• The earliest settlements of Korea with “public”
buildings evolved around the Koguryu period,
Paekche period and the Silla period known as the
3 Kingdoms, founded around 37 AD and lasted
up to 668AD.
• In this period, large palace-like structures with
clay roof tiles stamped with lotus or demon mask
designs, are believed to have been built with only
the ruins of foundations remain today.
• Around the middle part of the Koguryu period,
Buddhist wooden pagodas and temples were
believed to have been built (no ruins remain) in
Chinese architecture. These structures were
originally larger, like Chinese scale by made
smaller in latter periods due to limited timber.
• Houses in the Koguryu and another 3-Kingdom
period included the original pit, the log house and
elevated house.
• The shift to stone pagoda for posterity reasons
happened in this period.
• Buildings during the Koguryo Kingdom (57 BC-
668) may be envisaged from the murals depicting
fortress walls in the Samshilch’ong,
Yodongsongch’ong and Yaksuri tombs and in
houses in the Sang-yongch’ong, Anak No.1 and
T’onggu No. 12 tombs.
• Painted pillars and beams in the murals at the
corners of the burial chambers of Muyongch’ong,
Kwigapch’ong and Anak No. 1 tombs
• Koguryo structures had round pillars with
entasis, supporting simply executed brackets.
Short struts with bearing blocks or inverted V-
shaped trusses were fitted on beams and purlins
to sustain the framework of hipped or gabled
roofs.
• Most of the houses depicted in the murals have
tiled roofs. Probably the architecture of Koguryo
was influenced by that of the later Han (25-219)
and of the Northern Wei (386-534) dynasties of
China.
UNIFIED SHILLA PERIOD (668-935AD)
• The Shillla kingdom unified Korea, upon
conquering the Koguryus and the Paekches in
the late 7th century AD.
• A 12th century written account of the Shilla and
the earlier 3-Kingdom period showed that houses
in the Unified Shilla period had tiled roofs, with
end tiles at the eaves and with bird’s tail
ornamentation at the ridge, while ends of the hip
ridges have grotesque mask ornamentation (like
gargoyles of the gothic architecture. Eaves were
said to be double tiered supported by dou-gong
brackets on top of pillars. Timber structures were
mostly colored and covered with gold and silver
ornaments.
• The remaining stone structures from the Unified
Shilla period are its stone pagodas. These
pagodas were mostly 3-tiered, and earlier
versions are said to be based on the Miruksa
pagoda of the previous period, such as the
pagoda of the Komunsa temple in Wonsong.
• Sokkat’ap, is another Unified Shilla period
pagoda of the Pulguksa temple in Kyongju. This
pagoda is supported on a square pedestal with
pillars carved on it. Each of its storey is a
separate stone.
• Sokuram, an 8th century grotto is another
significant building from the period.
26
 • The Shilla kingdom got help from the Tang
dynasty to assume power over the Pakeche and
Koguryu kingdoms. With the help of China, Korea
came a period of rapid building construction
which allowed for refinement of its Chinese-
influenced architecture.
• The Unified Silla period is a period where
imperial and Buddhist structures were given
significant local adaptations. Gyeongju, the
capital of this period, was estimated to have 35
palaces, districts with streets and about 179
thousand houses.
• The Unified Shilla period had stupas, aside from
pagodas. The term, in Korean context, is used to
denote the not so vertical, burial chamber, like
stone lanterns. Most stupas in Korea (like China)
are octagonal in shape. Lions, apsaras (celestial
goddesses) and Buddhist guardian kings
decorate the stupa.
• The roof of a stupa is, even though it is made of
stone, is patterned after timber structures of
Chinese origins. An example from the period is
the stupa of the Sshangbongsa Temple at
Hwasun, for the Zen monk Ch’olgam.
• The Shilla period ended due to internal
squabble, and the descendants of the old
Koguryu period started to wield influence, which
later became known as the Koryu kingdom.
• The Koryu period officially started in 918 AD,
from which the name Korea is derived.
UNIFIED KORYU/GORYEO PERIOD (918-1392 AD)
The Koryu period continued to rule under a unified Korea,
as how it was established during the Unified Shilla
period. In this period, Buddhism continued to flourish and
spread.
Significant timber structures from this period are mostly
preserved which includes Kungnak chon or the Nirvana
Hall of Pong Jongsa Temple in Andong, a hall built in the
style of earlier periods.
A new style emerged in the Koryu period which came from
south of China. His style includes the use of curved
brackets and is the highlight of the Muryanagsujon in
Pusoksa Temple.
Thereafter, brackets above girder became a trend in the
14th century Koryu period. The brackets later became
more complex and heavier than those of its Chinese
origin. An example of this is found in the Pongwanjon of
Shimwomsa.
The 3-storey pagoda construction from the Unified Shilla
period was continued under the Koryu period. A
significant example is the 3-tiered pagoda in the
Yonggoksa temple in Kurye.
UNIFIED KORYU/GORYEO PERIOD (918-1392 AD)
OTHER EVENTS:
This period saw very limited construction due to the
prevalence of Mongol invasion. Most buildings of the
period were wooded, and none survived after ages of
decay.
Among the landmarks of the period were the burial
mounds of King Kongmin, and his mongol wife known as
the Hyonjongrung Royal Tomb built in the 14th century,
during a brief Mongol annexation period.
The period brought the Song dynasty influence on Korean
pagoda, which then were mostly build in octagonal
(sacred shape for the divine) or rounded plan. Painting of
wooded structures also became part of building
preservation technology.
Stone lanterns were likewise made popular during this
period, with form adaptations from the stupa, but in
rectangular or hexagogal plan, whereas the stupa takes a
circular or octagonal plan.
• Chinese influence from the Song and Liao
dynasties (960-1279) is evident in polygonal
pagodas such as that at Kumsansa Temple in
Kimche, Chollabuk-do, which is hexagonal, and
in the octagonal, nine-storey pagoda of
Wolchongsa Temple in P’yong-ch’ang, Kang-
wond-do. The ten-storey pagoda of
Kyongch’onsa, which is now in Seoul, is a
meticulously sculptured stone replica of a
wooden structure and shows a strong Yuan
(1271-1368) influence.
• The predominant type of stupa was octagonal,
but bell-shaped stupas began to appear towards
the end of the period, rich sculptural
embellishment appeared on the body of
octagonal stupas, and the size of the roofstone
was reduced. The stupa that enshrines the
remains of High Priest Chongjin in Pongamsa
Temple, Mun-gyong, Kyongsangbuk-do, is one of
this type. A stupa on the site of Kodalsa Temple
27
 in Yoju, Kyonggi-do, is noted for the bold carving the royalties were trained prepared for civil service
of a dragon and tortoise motif on its pedestal. careers in an atmosphere of Confucian learning.
• Two unique stupas are the lamp-shaped stupa
The period also brought painting Donggwoldo, depicting
of Royal Preceptor Hongbop at Pulguksa Temple
a landscaped city with extensive grounds and home to the
and the palanquin-like stupa of Royal Preceptor
Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung palaces, which
Chigwang at Popch’onsa Temple. The body of
was then used to restore Buyongjeong pavilion of the real
the former is topped with a roof stone shaped like
Changdeokgung palace.
a lotus leaf, and the latter is covered with
elaborate carvings. Shirhak, or schools for practical learning managed by
scholars dedicated to promoting social welfare also
CHOSON/JOSEON PERIOD (1392-1910 AD)
marked the latter part of Choson period.
• The latter Koryu period was turbulent one and Western influences came around the late 17th century,
the kingdom was weakened by the clashes which brought into the region industrial and neo-classic
between followers of Confucianism and architectural styles.
Buddhism. The Mongols succeeded in annexing
Korea in 1260 AD. Then attacks from Japan HONGSALMUN
aggravated the situation.
- A gate for entering a sacred place in Korea. It is arranged
• The attacks of these invaders resulted in the
by two round poles and two horizontal lines.
destruction of many ancient structures from the
earlier kingdoms.
• In 1392, a Korean warrior, Yi Song Gye and his
army were able to push out the Mongols and
Japanese attackers. This started the Choson
period, with Hanyany (Seoul) as the seat of
power. The court of Choson was allied with the
Confucian philosophers and this brought further
destruction and neglect to many Buddhist
structures. Despite the decline of Buddhism in
Korea, the Choson period is said to be
instrumental in bringing the golden age of Korea.
• Kyong-bokkung, Ch’anggyonggung,
Ch’angdokkung and Toksugung palaces are
classic examples of Choson period architecture.
• The Nandaemun and Tongdaemun gateways to
the city of Seoul characterize the development
done in the city to imprint the mark of the Yi
dynasty of the Choson period.

Religious structures of the period include the Sakyamuni

halls (taeungjon) of Pongjongsa temple in Andong, and
the Kaeshimsa Temple in Sosan. These structures were
mostly built in timber with the following significant
structures:

• Bracket (dougong) on column

• Bracket (dougong) on beam or girder
• Wing-like bracket (dougong)

The period latter Choson period ushered in the

hyanggyo (local schools) construction in Seoul and
numerous provincial cities. In these institutions, sons of
28
 • Toba Batak houses are boat-shaped with
intricately carved gables and upsweeping roof
ridges.

• Rumah gadang gable roofs are in multitude

layers and flare upwards at the ends.

• Tongkonan are the traditional Torajan ancestral

houses. They stand high on wooden piles, topped
with a layered split-bamboo roof shaped in a
sweeping curved arc.

• Minangkabau houses in Western Sumatera was

greatly influenced by nature, concave roof design
that looks like buffalo horns or bumbung
bergonjong. It is a traditional house used for living
as well as a place for rituals or customary
ceremonies. It can also be used for conference or
communal meetings.
• Mentawai - Uma are traditional vernacular
houses be 300 m2 in area. Built on piles, they
traditional have no windows. The insides are
separated into different dwelling spaces by
• The Omo sebua is a traditional house style of
partition which usually have inter-connecting
the Nias people from Nias island, Indonesia.
doors.
They are built only for the houses of village chiefs.
• Joglo – vernacular house of the Javanese
people (Javanese omah). Joglo refers to the
shape of the roof.

29
THE MAIN CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS OF THE
RUMAH BUBUNGAN TINGGI ARE:
• The main building part in the middle.
• Anjung, the constructions on the right (Anjung
Kanan) and the left side (Anjung Kiwa) of the
central part.
• The central part of the roof that is very steep,
the Bubungan Tinggi.
• Front roof is Sindang Langit, rear roof is
called Hambin Awan.
• Sumba house evolved from the more squarish
kubo, for single family dwelling
• characterized with its high-pitched central peak
in its roof
• Bubungan tinggi is another combination-roof
hut of Kalimantan type.
Atoni ethnic group has three types of houses: holy house
(Uma Lulik), house for sleep (Uma Tidor), and barn
(Lopo-Lopo).
• culture is notable for its spatial symbolism,
associated with a gender dichotomy. Male-female
principle is important in turn affects the spatial
configuration of an Atoni house.
• This principle conceived the Atoni house as a
microcosmos and expresses social order.
• A more elaborate house is called Ume
Atoni (Atoni means "male").
• The Atoni entertains their guest in a communal
house called Lopo.
Bali Aga house is a rectangular post-and-beam structure
supporting a steeply pitcher roof made of bamboo
shingles or of a thick grass thatch. It is raised on a low
plinth of compacted earth faced with stone. The walls are
typically thick wooden planks or plaited bamboo strips.
The windows are small or non-existent. A single door is
situated at the center of the house, facing the central
corridor of the compound.
Sasak house is a straight derivative from the rice granary
structure of prehistoric Lombok rice cultivating societies.
Malaysian vernacular houses are categorized based on
roof type and based on location. Per locations, the
typologies are:
1. Perlis, Kedah and Penang (NW style)
2. Perak (East coast style)
3. Kelantan and Terengganu
4. Pahang and Johor
5. Negeri Sembilan
6. Melaka (East coast style)
Roof typologies include:
1. bumbung panjang
2. bumbung lima
3. bumbung perak
4. bumbung meru 2-tingkat or 2-teired
RUMAH BUMBUNG PANJANG
The house had long elongated shape, its roof long
horizontal lures using the screen curtain made of bamboo
triangular or the letter 'v' in reverse.
RUMAH BUMBUNG PANJANG KELANTAN
Roof shape like an inverted V introduced. At a meeting on
the roof top of the lid separated by buttresses called bone
or bone ridge roof. Roof form is known also with folding
roof or a roof awning length.
RUMAH BUMBUNG PANJANG PAHANG
Pahang is a traditional Malay house architectural heritage
that is quite unique and very valuable.
RUMAH BUMBUNG PANJANG PERLIS
use of long horizontal roof and side walls are mounted on
the face of a vertical wall called the screen while the
components of the capital structure has consisted of a
house and the kitchen.
• Malay houses, or rumah kampung is a
structure raised on stilts high above the ground,
covered with thatched roofs, enclosed with
wooden walls, and perforated with windows and
lattices. The size, form, and ornamentation of the
houses depend on the size, wealth, and status of
the family in the community.
• The Kutai style incorporates the Bumbung
Panjang style, but it is distinguished by the
carvings on the door, porch, awnings, windows,
and walls, which can be more elaborate than
other styles.
• “Kutai” is another word for old in the local
Perakian dialect.
30

TRADITIONAL HOUSES
were characterized by wooden structures topped by steep
roofs.
• The roofs covered with fish-scale tiles and curve
outwards
• beams and rafters held up the main building
• stilt houses were built, had an odd number of
rooms.
• Palaces, pagodas and citadels flourished in
Vietnam for over 500 years.
Vietnam is largely affected by Southern Chinese
building practices in terms of construction methods and
beliefs (like feng shui). In Northern Vietnam, the effect
of the north east monsoon and tropical typhoons require
that traditional houses be built with stone walls
terminating to a closed gable wall, or be built with heavy
hip roofs. Houses were also clustered into compounds
similar to the Siheyuan Chinese arrangement, as most
residences are used by multi-unit, multi-generational
families tending to the same rice fields.
Auxiliary structures are built on the west to protect the
main structure from harsh southwestern monsoon, while
most entrances face south. The variety is numerous, with
strong influences of chuan-duo girder connections.
In southern Vietnam, houses are mostly influenced by
tropical Pacific easterlies. Most houses are adapted to
the flooding brought by the Pacific and the monsoon rains,
and therefore are tilted. 2 major classifications of houses
in the south are:
1. Roi: structures with cross trusses supported on
wood columns embedded to the ground
2. Ruong houses are multi-family dwelling units,
with 4 columns at its center that form the
residence core.
Vietnam Construction of vernacular houses in the north
have strong similarities to the Chuan duo timber column-
girder assembly. The northern houses likewise follow the
Chinese elevated floor of compacted earth with stone or
clay masonry perimeter base wall. Roofs have
imbrication, and are either made of clay or
bamboo. Windows have double layers of shutters, for
storm and shading, as well as for complete
privacy. Private courtyards are mostly found in northern
ad central regions.
The southern and central Vietnam traditional structures
tend to be elevated and are flood plain adapted. The
southern houses have wider eaves and more permeable
walls to ease humidity while allowing air movement.
Traditional longhouse in Vietnam is mostly found on the
south where multi-unit families comprise a rice cultivation
workforce reside. These Vietnamese longhouses are
similar in nature and construction to the rumah betang
found in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Southern
vernacular structures are more resilient to typhoons,
earthquakes, and flooding than their northern
counterparts, which are more adopted to cooler, sub-
tropical/sub-temperate conditions.
• A traditional house of Ede ethnic, who live in
high plateau region of central Vietnam called
longhouse.
• Unsually 8-12 families live together
• The house is lengthened whenever a daughter
gets married.
• In Ede society, after marriage, the man comes to
live in his wife’s house and has to listen to her
rules.
Due to similarities in Macro and meso climate conditions,
there are striking similarities between vernacular houses
from various regions of Southeast Asia. For roofs or atap,
these similarities may not always be in physical
appearance but are mostly based on function and
materials used such as:
• To ward off rain
• To ride (sway with) the monsoon
• To indicate social status
• To build using thatch of timber and bamboo frame
EAVES
Eaves are always employed to ward off rains. The
monsoons can bring heavy rains to the region in long wet
seasons. Among the top countries to experience the
largest amount of rainfall in the world are Indonesia and
the Philippines. While rain is seasonal, it occurs for
almost half of the year in the easter countries of southeast
Asia. Eaves are needed, either as roof extension or as
31
wall protrusion to ensure that rain will be redirected from
roof or wall towards the peripheries of the structure.
MONSOON-FACING GABLES
While roofs vary in structure, gable-type roofing are often
oriented towards the monsoon or prevailing wind direction
with the gable walls typically open in order allow for the
smooth passage of the monsoon wind without much
resistance from the structure. Certain roof structures like
the toraja roof-style have ends turned upwards to ensure
deflection of upturned wind.
HIGH-PITCHED ROOF
The high-pitched roof, for practical purpose is to ensure
that rain water is smoothly deflected away from the
structure as it slides down the roof. It is also most
effective during torrential rains than low-pitched ones. But
culturally, roofs symbolize social status; the more
prominent the roof, in its size and form, the higher the
social status of the family living in the structure.
THATCH ON TIMBER AND BAMBOO FRAME
The residences utilize locally available materials. Most of
southeast Asia are traditionally covered with tropical
forest, river banks with bamboo groves and muddy
coastal areas with mangrove and nipa. Hence, the
timber, thatch and bamboo poles are the primary
materials for construction. While these decay over time,
the maturity of materials when harvested for building can
prolong the life of the structure.
WALLS AND FLOORS
The walls of Southeast Asian houses are quite simplified
compared to the roofs. Walls are thin and often porous
(lattice type) in order to allow for air movement and reduce
humidity. Walls are mostly made of woven material on
wooden framework/studs. Walls are mostly to separate
the interior from the exterior, and to separate the private
quarters from social and working spaces of the house in
larger long-house units that holds multiple family
residents.
Most walls do not reach full height so as not to hinder air
movement, especially warm air. In certain structures,
walls are made to incline towards the exterior on the upper
part of the wall, to ensure that monsoon rains will not
directly hit the walls to lengthen its materials’ functional
life.
In many instances, floors are also porous, by using
bamboo slats with spaces in between as flooring on
timber or bamboo floor joists.
POSTS/STILTS/PILES
Posts/stilts are made with timber, often with a complete
section of a tree trunk. Matured hardwood or mangrove
trunks are the most common material to ensure that the
piles are resistant to humidity, insect infestation and
flooding.
While the main reasons for using putting the structure on
stilts are to reduce humidity and to elevate from seasonal
floods, the use wooden stilts is also a reflection of the
prehistoric accommodation for shelter when these were
baskets made of vines hung from trees used by our
hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Depending on the ground characteristics, the stilts (or
posts) can either be on flagstones to allow movement of
structures during earthquakes; or are embedded as piles
for swampy areas. However, the most common practice
is to build house on stable ground and erect its posts on
top of flagstone mat foundation.
SPACES DIVISION, UTILIZATION AND SYMBOLISM
The underside (silong) space of the house is often
dedicated for animals. This is where animal livestock
(usually pig, chicken and sometimes monitor lizards are
kept as food stock). For coastal areas, this space serves
as working area for maintaining fishing gears, like fish
nets and fish baskets, as storage.
The main floor, elevated to create at least a crawl space
for the silong, is for the living spaces. The main floor can
vary in plants from a single-family dwelling unit (similar to
a kubo) to a rumah betang, a house typology meant to
accommodate multi-family living in Kalimantan Indonesia.
In both single-family and multi-family dwelling, there is
often segregation of spaces. The front of the house which
is composed of work areas related to farming or fishing
are more frequented by the male. The back of the house
where the hearth and food preparation is located is more
of a female domain.
SPACES AND UTILIZATION
A covered porch where guests a greeted is called anjung
where social interaction takes place.
32
The male area is called serambi where male guests are
entertained and social and religious functions take place,
therefore, a public area.
The private space is called ruma ibu where occupants of
the house sleep, pray and convene as a family.
The kitchen is called dapur, connected to the main house
by a hallway/bridgeway called selang. Dapur and
selang are generally the domain of the female members
of the family, and are considered private spaces.
MULTI-FAMILY DWELLING
Southeast Asia has its own versions of the long-house; a
multi-family dwelling that became necessary in order to
have numerous people available for more extensive rice-
cultivation practices. In Bahasa these structures are
known as rumah betang in Indonesian or rumah panjai
in Malay.
Spaces are generally divided in 3 zones, a public
socialization and work hall, private quarters, and storage.
Long houses are typically made with timber for major
structural components (hence, iron tools are necessary)
such as posts and beams
Roofing is generally gable or a combination on hip (lower
part) and gable roof (upper part) to allow for vents at gable
apex. More prominent hip part of roofs is found within
typhoon belts of the region.
Long houses, as well as rice granary huts are often
oriented towards the prevailing winds with the gable sides
facing wind direction. For steep valleys prevailing winds
travel along the river/canyon direction. In many low-lying
parts of southeast Asia, prevailing winds means the
monsoon, hence the northeast-southwest direction of
most of these huts.
Socialization and working areas are the ruai and
tempuan. Private areas are the are the bilik, dapor and
toilet and bath (recent addition).
In larger a rumah, a meliga (maidens’ quarters) and
panggau (bachelors’ quarter) mezzanines may be
present
The veranda side of the ruai is called tanju, over-looking
the rice fields.
THAI HOUSES
− Traditional houses of Thailand are made of
prefabricated wood panels put together with
wood joinery.
− Most houses consist of clustered smaller
buildings including terraces, verandahs, sleeping
areas, and living/kitchen areas. They may house
a single family or an extended family.
− Depending on its location, a house may be
raised off of the land on stilts or even 'float' on a
body of water.
− Many houses have some of the same details as
Thai religious architecture such as roof forms and
chedis.
− built of bamboo or unpainted wood, often near
water, using pre-assembled walls that are hoisted
into place on the posts, with a multi-purpose
space below the cabin.
− Ayutthaya period: A large house may have
three or more cabins ground around a raised
terrace that functions at an outdoor family room.
Structures that evolved:
north – boxy and massive, walls that slope out towards
the roof
Northeastern houses are more rustic
Southern houses feature Malay-influenced elements
such as painted fretwork and hipped –roofs descended
from colonial architecture.
Special architecture suiting the demands of rice
cultivation include barns for storing grain and temporary
shelters that farmers use when working in fields away
from the village.
THAILAND
Thailand on the northeast part of the Indian Ocean and is
heavily influenced by the monsoon. Its low-lying areas
are flood plains which makes rice cultivation
widespread. It has limited mountainous regions in the
north. Socio-cultural Indo-Malay influences are strongest
on its southern strip while Indo-Chinese influence is
strongest on the east. Chinese Influences come from the
north while South Asian Buddhist influences come from
the west.
33
Traditional Thai houses can be dismantled to allow for
easy transfer when conditions change and become
unfavorable to residents.
Northern Thailand houses are either of these 2 types:
Kalae: a 5-room house with cross-bows at the end of its
high-pitched gable roofs with floors elevated on stilts,
which sometimes house multi-family residents. It has the
bedroom/s on the east, a kitchen called ruean fai, a
veranda, a terrace and the space below the floor called tai
thun ruean with its 1.4 to 1.9m head space for storage
and for doing farm tool maintenance work.
Isan: is a smaller stilted house typically made of
indigenous materials, sometimes with no interior wall
partitioning and is used by a single family. It typical has a
veranda and w/ a lower pitch shed roof below a gable roof.
NORTHERN HOUSE
The architecture of local houses symbolizes the
distinctive culture of northern Thailand, a region known
as Lanna (kalae house) , named for the V- or X – shaped
wooden decoration extending from the gable end peaks,
thought to represent the horns of the water buffalo.
most important part is the terrace and toen, or verandah,
usually built facing south for warmth, a centre for family
activities, entertaining guests and sometimes sleeping.
NORTHEASTERN HOUSES - KNOWN AS ISAAN
Simpler and less decorated; similar to central Thai
houses; built of wood on stilts, roofs feature a gentler
slope since there is less rain to cope with; Thatch and
corrugated iron roofs are more common; Walls are
perpendicular, not slanted, and often made of simple
wooden
SIAMESE WOODEN HOUSE
• The classic wooden house of central has a
concave roof, arching bargeboards with hooked
lower finials, and trapezoidal walls.
• adaptation to heavy rain and heat starts with the
tall posts on which the structure is built.
• curve of the steep roof is highlighted by
a bowed plank called a bargeboard, or panlom,
placed at the gable rims to protect the roof tiles or
thatch from wind
• Columns and walls are built leaning inwards,
adding structural strength.
• Windows are tall and wide, for optimum
ventilation; their shape mirrors the trapezoid of
the cabin wall panels.
• pre-assemble wall panels in a standardized,
modular system that allows it to be used
interchangeably in any Thai house.
• rooms open onto covered verandahs about 2 m
wide, which step down onto a board wooden
terrace.
Southern Thai houses are those found along the narrow
strip of land connected to the Malaysian Peninsula and
are generally classified into Buddhist Thai houses where
there is often a shrine for prayers; and Muslim Thai
houses mostly designed for coastal conditions.
Southern houses are similarly elevated on stilts like their
northern counterparts, but these stilts are not embedded
into the ground but are freely standing on a rock or
flagstone foundation. This is due to the frequency of
earthquakes in the area and houses are better left able to
move or “roll” over its foundation during tremors.
• Cambodia is a country located in the southern
portion of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast
Asia.
• Architecture of Cambodia is the use of stilt
houses often used in areas that are prone to
flooding.
• originally constructed using wood, but later,
houses were made with brick or stone.
• use of stilt houses continued through the
Angkorian period and into the post-Angkorian
period.
• Hinduism and Buddhism have a significant
impact on Cambodian culture
• Cambodia Traditional House is an ancient
Khmer house it has traditionally been custom for
houses to align against the East
• Buddhism’s philosophy is to follow every aspect
of life, including housing.
HOUSES AND SETTLEMENTS
• residents lived on stilt houses, cultivated rice
and sent tributes of gold, silver, ivory and exotic
animals.
• people built their houses over the ground and
made them accessible by ladders
• walled towns, dwelling houses and palaces
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 • During the Khmer Empire (8th-15th century),
high-status people were known to live in large
houses, parts of which were covered in roof tiles
where commoners lived in smaller houses with
thatched roofs from perishable materials
• Bas reliefs from Bayon temple depicted houses,
building, and palaces which shared similar roof
design and concept with today Khmer traditional
houses and palaces.
CAMBODIAN/KHMER TRADITIONAL HOUSES
Khmer traditional houses are shaped by the monsoon
seasons of Cambodia, the hot and humid climate, the
flooding of the Tonle Sap lake and the great Mekong river
happening during the southeast monsoon season. House
construction is large influenced by Vastu Shastra beliefs,
and provide prominent spaces for women, particularly the
matriarch of the family.
Classification of houses are based on cultural ethnicity of
various indigenous groups in Cambodia, and can largely
be visually recognized based on the roofing and
ornamentation involved.
• Traditional Khmer homes are built on stilts
above the ground, with gable roofs and stairs or
ladders leading up to the house.
• The wealth of the occupants is frequently the
key factor in determining building materials.
Khmer: are houses north of Tonle Sap where the Khmer
empire was centered. The structure starts as a simple
Vastu shastra cube but is extended if the family has a
daughter who got married, because traditionally , the
daughter stays with the family even as she starts her own.
It typically has a golden room (for traditional ceremonies)
and entrance area (chey), an emotional relaxation room,
and the chhneang or the extended part of the house for a
daughter who got married.
Roong: these are the washed down versions of the
Khmer houses, built for families during turbulent periods
or when economic hardships were widespread.
Bet/Pet: houses that were mostly built starting with the
French colonization, mostly done with hip roof with apex
spire accent.
Keng: houses
Rural Khmer houses are a traditional house types of
the Khmer people.
• two-storey buildings, varying in size from 4
metres (13 ft) by 6 metres (20 ft) to about 6 by 10
metres (33 ft).
• The basic structure consists of a wooden frame,
and the roof is erected before the walls on the
upper floor are inserted.
• Dwellings are raised on stilts that sometimes
extend as high as 3 metres (9.8 ft) off the ground.
• One or two wooden ladders, ramps or staircases
provide access to the upper floor.
• The simplest houses consist of only one room
on the upper floor, partitioned off to provide a
storage place for rice, a bedroom for the parents,
and a further space for unmarried daughters.
• The upper floor generally consists of one large
room. The main part of this room, the area where
visitors are received
• The parents’ sleeping space is situated either to
the left or the right of the central entrance
• To the back of the upper floor, on the left, is a
space for the girls, whilst the boys have a space
reserved for them on the right.
SPATIAL ORGANISATION OF THE HOUSE
• kitchen is situated at the back of the house,
often some steps lower and attached to the main
building;
• Sometimes in a separate building near the house.
TRADITIONAL HOUSE IN A SETTLEMENT
• private sphere of each household is restricted to
the area occupied by their dwelling
• ground level that daily life – work, eating and
family interaction – takes place
• Livestock is kept here, in simple pens
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