Southeast Asian Architecture

Sofia Alicia De Austria

CAMBODIA

The earliest recorded capital of Cambodia was Vyadhapura (Angkor Borei) on the lower reaches of Mekong River. It was agglomeration of wooden houses on piles connected by little canals linked to larger waterways capable of taking sea-going ships.

Wooden buildings gave way to more substantial brick and stone imitations of timber prototypes, which show a mixture of Indian forms grafted on t o indigenous elements, and rich decorative sculpture derived from wood carving.

Examples of temples and shrines still exist, if in a ruined state, at Tat Panom (Sambor) on the Mekong and Phnom Bayang.

Architectural Character

At the beginning of the Early Classical Khmer period, 3 important architectural events occured, indicating the transitional stages 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. The building of another capital 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 the smaller towers at the lower levels.

3. The construction of Roluos, Angkor, of the archetypal Khmer urban irrigation system. An immense artificial lake, ‘Baray’ Lolei about 3km long and 800m wide was formed by earthen dykes to store water from the Stung Roluos river. The lake provided for the needs of the whole community, its final purpose being to irrigate the paddy fields.

In the transitional Classic Khmer period, the evolution of the temple-mountain was continued in Baksei Chamkrong, Angkor, the first to be built-up in stone in pyramidal terraces from flat ground, and Koh Ker, constructed on an artificial lake by damming a stream, the normal east-west axis of the city altered to align with it- proof perhaps that the practical needs of the irrigation system were considered more important than a symbolic gesture to religion.

Baksei Chamkrong Koh Ker

The Classical Khmer period was dominated by two majestic architectural achievements: the creation of Angkor Wat, the temple city of Suryavarman II and of Angkor Thom, the remodeled capital of Jayavarman VII.

Khmer architecture, as expressed in these works, is characterized by grandeur of conception, brilliant landscaping, unsurpassed town-planning in a strictly formal sense, and exuberant sculptural decoration on a grandiose scale, but of exquisite refinement.

Building techniques, remained unsophisticated. Stone was used like wood, and stone walls were often reinforced with concealed timber beams inserted in the hollowed-out centres; when the wood rotted the stone blocks fell. No mortar was used; the stone masonry was stablised by the stheer mass of the construction, and the fine joints of the roofs fitted so perfectly that they remain watertight after several hundred years of neglect.

The Preah Ko Temple is one of two important temples build by Indravarman I. Situated in the city-water complex, for which the king was also responsible, it is a single-terrace construction )that is, not yet a temple-mountain) with six towers and lavish carving showing strong Javanese influence.

The Bakong Temple, Roluos, the second important temple built by Indravarman I, typifies the emergence of the Khmer temple-mountain concept. An architecturally simple stone pyramid, it comprises 5 superimposed terraces, decreasing in size from an almost square base.

Other temples of the Early Classical Khmer period exemplifying the pyramidal superstructure are the Lolei, set in the Roluos lake, near Angkor, and the Bakheng, Angkor, of the same date, which largely follows the pattern of Bakong.

MYANMAR

Architectural Character

The development of Burmese architecture follows the four historical periods. Few significant buildings survive from the early centuries. The majority of Burma’s important architectural monuments date from the Pagan period and almost all buildings of distinction are religion.

The stupa (also known in Burma as Zedi) was a massive brick construction of domical external form, built upon a plinth of three or five diminishing terraces; the temple was usually square in plan with brick walls enclosing narrow vaulted corridors embracing a solid masonry core, which had centrall-placed niches on each side to accommodate statues of Buddha; the walls were decorated with frescos or sculptured bas-reliefs.

The central core rose in a series of receding storeys, and was crowned with a tapering shikhara-shaped finial. Both kinds of religious building were also referred to as pagodas (paya).

In the Pagan period there are said to have been 5000 stupas and temples within the boundaries of the capital.

The Great Golden Stupa Shwezigon Pagoda

The monasteries (kyaung) and ordination halls (thein) for monks were derived from wood prototypes, and libraries (pitakat-taik), housing the sacred Buddhist texts, resembled the simpler temple designs.

In the 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 19th centuries. No matter what their particular functions might be, all buildings were treated, constructionally and aesthetically, in a similar manner. Typical of the Burmese feeling for rich and intricate artistry, this architecture of carved wood, lacquer and gilt is essentially a fold art, expressing the imagination, vitality and craft skills of the people.

There were stupas dating from the pre-Pagan period, perhaps as early as the third century, at Bir-Paya near Pagan, and in the seventh and eighth centuries at Prome, the Banbangyi, Payagyi, and Payama pagodas.

The Mingalazedi Stupa, Pagan, comprises a high square plinth of three stepped terraces, with stairways in the centre of each side leading to the platform, from which the circular bell-shaped main structure rises. At each angle of the square stands a small replica of the stupa. The design has Javanese precedents.

Shwedagon Pagoda Nanpaya Temple

Ananda Temple