MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE
PRE COLONIAL ASIAN
ARCHITECTURE- CAMBODIA

Presented by,
AMMU PRADEEP KUMAR
APARNA BABURAJ GROUP NO 5
MERIN JAMES S4 BATCH B
SRUTHI D.S 2016-2021
PRANAV P.V
Cambodia
Pre colonial
architecture
Kingdom of Cambodia is a sovereign state located in the
southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia
bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast,
Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest
 Periodization

• Many temples had been built before Cambodia became a powerful Kingdom
of Khmer Empire which dominated most of the Indochina region. At that time,
Cambodia was known as Chenla kingdom, the predecessor state of Khmer
empire. There are three pre-Angkorean architectural styles :

• Sambor Prei Kuk style (610-650 AD): Sambor Prei Kuk also known as
Isanapura where was the capital of Chenla Kingdom. Temples of Sambor Prei
Kuk were built in round shape, plain colonettes with capitals that include a bulb.

• Prei Khmeng style (635-700 AD): Structures reveal masterpieces of sculpture

but architecture scarce. Colonettes are larger than previous style. Buildings
were more heavily decorated but they had general decline of standards.

• Kompong Preah style (700-800 AD): Temples with more decorative rings on
colonettes which remain cylindrical. Brick constructions were being continued.
At the beginning of early classical khmer period three important
architectural events occurred

• First was the creation of a city and temple mountain in the hill of
phnom kulen and the lake of tonle sap.

• The second was the building of another capital on the hill and round
the temple mountain of phnom bakeng.
It was a five levelled pyramid with isolated towers on the
topmost tier and smaller towers at the lower levels.

• The third event was the construction of archetypal urban irrigation

system at roluos.
an immense artificial lake baray lolei about km long and 800m
wide was formed by earthern dykes to store water from the stung roluos
river. The lake provided for the needs of the whole community. Its final
purpose was to irrigate the paddy fields.
In the transitional classical khmer period the evolution of the temple
mountain was continued

• In baksei chamkrong , the first to be built up in stone in pyramidal

terraces from flat ground
• Koh Ker constructed on an artificial lake by damming a stream,
normal east west axis of the city was altered to align it

Further stage in the evolutionary process came in the ta keo in which

the classical five terraces and five colossal towers were introduced and
still another in baphuon in which style and scale of the temple
mountains became formalized

• The culmination of khmer building art was now in sight.

 ta keo

• baksei chamkrong
The classical khmer period was dominated by two majestic architectural
achievements

the creation of
• Angkor wat
• Temple city of suryavarman II
• Angkor Thom, the remodeled capital of jayavarman VII

the latter a fantastic baroque manifestation of a declining civilization.

Khmer architecture is characterized by

• grandeur of conception
• Brilliant landscaping
• Unsurpassed town planning in a strictly formal sense
• Sculptural decoration on a grandiose
 Architecture styles
• It was an assemblage of wooden houses on piles, connected by little
canals linked to larger waterways capable of taking sea going ships.

• Later funanese and early khmer architectural development was

centered.

• Wooden buildings gave way to brick and stone imitations of timber

prototypes which show a mixture of Indian forms grafted on to
indigenous elements and rich decorative structure derived from wood
carving.

• Examples of temples and shrines still exist.

 ANGKOR
• Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire (Yasodharapura)
• 9th to 15th centuries
• Angkor was a megacity supporting at least 0.1% of the global population
during 1010–1220.

• The Sanskrit word Angkor means"city“.

• The Angkorian period began in AD 802,
• when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared and lasted until the
late 14th century
• first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion against
Siamese authority resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya,
causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.
 The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland north of the Great Lake
(Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city.

Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the
most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitors approach two million annually, and
the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Khmer Empire
Map of Angkor
 ARCHITECTURE

• emphasis on religious architecture

• ( since all the remaining Angkorian buildings are religious in nature.)
• During the period of Angkor, temples and other religious buildings were
constructed of stone.
• Non-religious buildings such as dwellings were constructed of perishable
materials such as wood, and so have not survived.

• The religious architecture of Angkor has characteristic structures, elements, and

motifs.

• Since a number of different architectural styles succeeded one another during the
Angkorean period, not all of these features were equally in evidence throughout
the period.
 Materials
Brick
• The earliest Angkorian temples were made mainly of brick.
• the temple towers of Preah Ko, Lolei and Bakong at Hariharalaya.
• Decorations were usually carved into a stucco applied to the brick, rather than into
the brick itself.

Sandstone
• The only stone used by Angkorian builders was sandstone, obtained from the Kulen
mountains.
• Since its obtainment was considerably more expensive than that of brick, sandstone
only gradually came into use, and at first was used for particular elements such as
door frames.
• The 10th-century temple of Ta Keo is the first Angkorian temple to be constructed
more or less entirely from Sandstone

Laterite
• Angkorian builders used laterite, a clay that is soft when taken from the ground but
that hardens when exposed to the sun, for foundations and other hidden parts of
buildings.
• Because the surface of laterite is uneven, it was not suitable for decorative carvings,
unless first dressed with stucco.
 Structures
Central sanctuary
The central sanctuary of an Angkorian temple was
home to the temple's primary deity, the one to whom
the site was dedicated.

The deity was represented by a statue

Since the temple was not considered a place of

worship for use by the population at large, but rather
a home for the deity, the sanctuary needed only to
be large enough to hold the statue or linga; it was
never more than a few metres across.

Its importance was instead conveyed by the height of

the tower (prasat) rising above it, by its location at
the centre of the temple, and by the greater
decoration on its walls. Symbolically, the sanctuary
represented Mount Meru, the legendary home of
the Hindugods.
Prang
The prang is the tall finger-like spire, usually richly
carved, common to much Khmer religious architecture.

Enclosure
Khmer temples were typically enclosed by a
concentric series of walls, with the central
sanctuary in the middle
this arrangement represented the mountain ranges
surrounding Mount Meru

Enclosures are the spaces between these walls,

and between the innermost wall and the temple
itself.

By modern convention, enclosures are numbered

from the centre outwards. The walls defining the
enclosures of Khmer temples are frequently lined
by galleries, while passage through the walls is by
way of gopuras located at the cardinal points.
Gallery
• A gallery is a passageway running along the wall of an enclosure or along the
axis of a temple, often open to one or both sides.
• Historically, the form of the gallery evolved during the 10th century from the
increasingly long hallways which had earlier been used to surround the central
sanctuary of a temple.

• During the period of Angkor Wat in the first half of the 12th century, additional
half galleries on one side were introduced to buttress the structure of the temple.
 GOPURA

• A gopura is an entrance building.

• At Angkor, passage through the enclosure walls surrounding
a temple compound is frequently accomplished by means of
an impressive gopura
• Enclosures surrounding a temple are often constructed with
a gopura at each of the four cardinal points.
• In plan, gopuras are usually cross-shaped and elongated
along the axis of the enclosure wall;
• if the wall is constructed with an accompanying gallery, the
gallery is sometimes connected to the arms of the gopura.
• Many Angkorian gopuras have a tower at the centre of the
cross. The lintels and pediments are often decorated, and
guardian figures (dvarapalas) are often placed or carved on
either side of the doorways.
Hall of Dancers
Hall of Dancers
• found in c late 12th-century temples constructed under
King Jayavarman VII.
• rectangular building elongated along the temple's east
axis and divided into four courtyards by galleries.
Formerly it had a roof made of perishable materials
• The pillars of the galleries are decorated with carved
designs OF APSARAS

House of Fire
• Dharmasala,
• found only in temples constructed during the reign of
late 12th-century monarch Jayavarman VI1
• A House of Fire has thick walls, a tower at the west
end and south-facing windows.
• theorIES OF USES
• the House of Fire had a religious function as the
repository the sacred flame used in sacred
ceremonies.
• "rest house with fire" for travellers.
Library
common feature of Khmer temple architecture,
but their true purpose remains unknown.
Most likely they functioned broadly as religious
shrines rather than strictly as repositories of
manuscripts.
Freestanding buildings, they were normally placed
in pairs on either side of the entrance to an
enclosure, opening to the west.

Srah and baray

Srahs and barays were reservoirs, generally
created by excavation and embankment,
respectively.
these reservoirs was religious, agricultural, or a
combination of the two.
The two largest reservoirs at Angkor were the
West Baray and the East Baray located on either
side of Angkor Thom.
Elements Bas-relief

Bas-reliefs are individual figures, groups of figures, or entire

scenes
cut into stone walls as sculpted images projecting from a
background.

The Angkorian Khmer preferred to work in bas-relief

bas-reliefs depicting stories from mythology or history.
Until about the 11th century AD, the Angkorian Khmer
confined their narrative bas-reliefs to the space on the
tympana above doorways.
 Blind door and window

• Angkorean shrines frequently opened in only

one direction, typically to the East.

• The other three sides featured fake or blind

doors to maintain symmetry. Blind windows
were often used along otherwise blank walls.

blind door at Banteay Sreiis flanked by colonettes.

Above the door is a lintel, above which is a tympanum with
a scene from the Mahabharata

Colonette
• Colonettes were narrow decorative columns
that served as supports for the beams and
lintels above doorways or windows.
• Depending on the period, they were round,
rectangular, or octagonal in shape.
Colonettes were often circled with molded
rings and decorated with carved leaves.
 Corbelling

• Angkorian engineers tended to use the

corbel arch in order to construct rooms,
passageways and openings in buildings.

• The corbel arch is structurally weaker

than the true arch.

• The use of corbelling prevented the

Angkorian engineers from constructing
large openings or spaces in buildings
roofed with stone, and made such
buildings particularly prone to collapse
once they were no longer maintained.
 Lintel, pediment, and tympanum

• the Angkorean Khmer lacked the

ability to construct a true arch,
• they constructed their passageways
using lintels or corbelling.
• A pediment is a roughly triangular
structure above a lintel. A tympanum
is the decorated surface of a
pediment.
 Stairs

• Angkorean stairs are notoriously steep. Frequently, the length of the riser exceeds that o
the tread, producing an angle of ascent somewhere between 45 and 70 degrees.
• The reasons for this peculiarity appear to be both religious and monumental. From the
religious perspective

• a steep stairway can be interpreted as a "stairway to heaven," the realm of the gods.
"From the monumental point of view,"
• according to Angkor-scholar Maurice Glaize, "the advantage is clear - the square of the
base not having to spread in surface area, the entire building rises to its zenith with a
particular thrust."
 Gajasimha and Reachisey Indra Linga Krishna
MOTIFS
Apsara and devata Garuda Makara[

Kala Nāga
Dvarapala
 Nāga bridges

Nāga bridges are causeways or true

bridges lined by stone balustrades shaped
as nāgas.

In some Angkorian nāga-bridges, The

nāga-shaped balustrades are supported
not by simple posts but by stone statues
of gigantic warriors.
 Quincunx

• A quincunx is a spatial arrangement of five elements, with four elements placed as

the corners of a square and the fifth placed in the center.

• The five peaks of Mount Meru were taken to exhibit this arrangement

• Khmer temples was arranged accordingly in order to convey a symbolic

identification with the sacred mountain.
 Building techniques

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 well.
• The corbelled vaulting was never modified and permitted only the
spanning of small spaces.

• Hence the confined nature of each room

and the grouping together of many such
units, and their interconnection by
galleries to create an impression of size.

• No mortar was used. The stone

masonry was established by the sheer
mass of the construction, and the fine
joints of the roofs fitted so perfectly that
they remain water tight after several
hundred years of neglect.

• At Angkor Thom the domination of the

architecture by sculpture is even more
marked than at Angkor wat.
ANGKOR THOM

Angkor thom
• located in present-dayCambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of

Angkor Thom
the Khmer empire.
• It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII
• It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier
eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors.
• At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major
sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.
 Length 3 km (1.9 mi)
Width 3 km (1.9 mi)
Area 9 km² (3.4mi²)
Diameter 3 km (1.9 mi)
Circumference 12 km (7.5 mi)

Builder Jayavarman ii
Material sandstone, laterite
Late 12th century AD
Founded (excluding some
monuments inside)
Perhaps early 17th century
Abandoned
AD
Periods Middle ages
BAYON
Jayavarman VII
Krong Siem Reap,
Cambodia
▪ The Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple
at Angkor in Cambodia.
▪ Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state
temple of the MahayanaBuddhist King Jayavarman VII the Bayon
stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom
▪ It was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of
monumental construction and public works, which was also
responsible for the walls and nāga-bridges of Angkor Thomand
the temples of Preah Khana Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei
▪ Following Jayavarman’s death, it was modified and augmented
by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with
their own religious preferences.
 started by
Suryavarman II
Completed by
Jayavarman VI

Built in 12th
century
Khmer empire

ANGKOR WAT
o Angkor Watt is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious
monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares
o It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the
god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into
a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.

o Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west.

o It was built by
the Khmer King SuryavarmanII in the
early 12th century in Yaśodharapura
(angkor)

o the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his

state temple and eventual mausoleum.

o Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of

previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead
dedicated to Vishnu.

o As the best-preserved temple at the

site, it is the only one to have remained
a significant religious centre since its
foundation.
o The temple is at the top of the high classical
style of Khmer architecture. It has become a
symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its
national flag,

o Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of

Khmer temple architecture:
the temple-mountain and the later galleried
temple.

o It is designed to represent Mount Meru,

home of the devas in Hindu mythology

• within a moat and an outer wall 3.6

kilometres long are three rectangular
galleries, each raised above the next.

• At the centre of the temple stands

a quincunx of towers.
o A causeway in the form of a raised path 9.4 meters wide and 350 meters long
leads across the ocean and then across an open field to the front of the temple
compound.

o The causeway terminates at the bottom of an elevated cruciform altar in front of

the entrance to the temple.

o Both the causeway and the altar are edged by a balustrade designed as long
serpents, a reference to shesha naga.
o The shisha naga was one of the prominent symbols of the
khmer

o After the naga altar is a three portaled gate that gives access
to the third enclosure.

o The vertical scale of vrah vishnulok escalates and intensifies

as it nears the central precinct in the final level, which looms
above and is accessible only by a long and very steep flight of
steps.
• It contains the central
shrine

• A tower that rises 43

meters above the floor of
its gallery

• It is surrounded by four
smaller corner towers
CENTRAL STRUCTURE

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher

than the city.

It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to

a central tower, each level higher than the last.

Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points,

and the two inner galleries each have towers at
their corners, forming a quincunx with the central
tower. Because the temple faces west, the
features are all set back towards the east,
leaving more space to be filled in each
enclosure and gallery on the west side
for the same reason the west-facing steps are
shallower than those on the other sides.

quincunx
 OUTER WALL

West outer wall

• The outer gallery measures 187 m (614 ft) by
215 m (705 ft), with pavilions rather than towers at
the corners.

• The gallery is open to the outside of the temple,

with columned half-galleries extending and
buttressing the structure.

• Connecting the outer gallery to the second

enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister
called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand
Gods").

• This area has many inscriptions relating the good

deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but
others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small
courtyards marked out by the cloister may
originally have been filled with water. North and
south of the cloister are libraries.
The partial cloister
wall enclosure
• the second and inner galleries are connected
to each other and to two flanking libraries by
another cruciform terrace, again a later
addition. The second-level enclosure is
100 m (330 ft) by 115 m (377 ft).

• Three sets of steps on each side lead up to

the corner towers and gopuras of the inner
gallery.

• The very steep stairways represent the

difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the
gods.This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a
60 m (200 ft) square with axial galleries
connecting each gopura with the central
shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below
the corner towers.
 GARBHA GRIHA
• The main garbha griha with its statue of Vishnu/suryavarman II was originally
accessible from all directions

• There was also a 23 meter deep well at its center into which offerings could be
thrown

• Wells found in most khmer temples, are not only a connection to the water based
authority of the khmer rulers but also an inverted mirror of the cosmic mountain
symbolized by the tower.
The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a
snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas.

Carved lintels and pedimentsdecorate the entrances to the galleries and to the
shrines.

The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m (141 ft) to a height of 65 m
(213 ft) above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the
central tower is raised above the surrounding four.
LIBRARY
Inside the first enclosure
 BIBILIOGRAPHY
Sir Banister Fletcher’s THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Wikipedia encyclopedia
The east, history of south east Asia
THANK YOU