Temple Architecture

Thailand

Temple Architecture

Wat

The term Wat refers to a group of religious buildings generally enclosed by a wall with several gateways. According to artistic importance, the principal religious buildings in Thailand are: the Phra Chedi, the Bot, the Vihara, the Phra Prang, the Mondop and the Prasat. The other structures architecturally not very important are: the Kuti, Ho Trai, Sala Kan Parien, ordinary Salas and the Ho Rakhang.

A Wat may contain just some of these structures or all of them. The most essential is the Bot, also called Ubosot. In general, with the exception of the Bot or of the Vihara, whose plan is conceived as a single unity within its enclosing gallery, the rest of the monuments are added little by little without special consideration of the general planning. But because of the contrasting forms of the large Bot or Vihara and the slender pinnacle of the Stupas or the solid vertical mass of the Phra Prangs, the resulting effect is always harmonious.

Bot

The Bot (also called Ubosot) corresponds to the Indian Chaiya Hall, and like this it may have one large nave or one nave and the lateral aisles. Its classic type has a rectangular plan and at its end it enshrines a large gilded sitting Buddha image modeled either in stucco or cast in bronze. The image is placed on a high pedestal whose rich ornamentation contrasts sharply with the plain modeling of the image and seems to symbolize the restlessness of the earthly life in comparison with the serenity of the Enlightened One.

Because of the limited light the interior receives and also because in general the walls are decorated with paintings having a rather dark tone, the large image often seems to shine - an effect apt to add mysticism to the holy interiors.

The shape of the Bot may have originated from the thatched Indonesian-Thai house. Of course, the roof of the Bot has in time become more complex than the roof of a common house because of lateral additions and the superimposed roofs. The lateral additions are meant to widen the interior. Thereby (as usually is the case) a feature dictated by functional necessity had become a characteristic of a style.

The roofs of the front and rear porches which are not as high as those of the main structure add movement and beauty to the mass and outline of the building. In central Thailand, at the end of each ridge of the roof of the Bot there is that graceful finial called Chofa. It may be a reminiscence of a horn of some animistic protective mask as those seen in the houses of Indonesian clubs used for animistic ceremonies, or it may be a reminiscence of the Makara motif made in glazed terra-cotta used for the same purpose in Sukhothai art.

The gables are enriched with wooden carved ornaments which are gilded and often have a glass mosaic as background. The triangular wooden framing of these gables, as well as those of the other superimposed roofs, are decorated with the universal design of the Naga (mystical serpent) as it was in the Khmer temples.

In old Ayutthaya architecture, the Bot had, instead of panelled windows, narrow vertical openings rather high up in the side walls - a reminiscence of the fine windows of the Khmer temples. At a later period series of windows with wooden panels were added laterally at the height of about one meter from the level of the inner floor.

The Bot (or Ubosot) may have one, two or three doors, both in front and at the back of the building. Outside, the doors and windows are decorated with ornamental frames in stucco, gilded and enriched with glass mosaics. The panels of the windows and those of the doors are decorated outside with gilded lacquer ornaments while, in general, the interiors have mythical figures of guardians painted in vivid colors. Some Bots instead of lacquer decoration have ornaments in inlaid mother-of-pearl.

Some Bots such as that of Wat Na Phramane in Ayutthaya (ca. 16th century A.D.) have between the two lateral doors a large and high niche containing a standing Buddha image. Both front and rear facades have the same niche.

In old Thai architecture, the pillars of the interior and exterior of the Bots are octagonal. The interior ones are generally enriched with painted ornaments. The capitals of these columns have a lotus form. If the inner columns were in wood, then their natural circular form was respected; the shaft was often painted in red and enriched with gilded ornaments.

Like the old Christian Basilicas, old Thai structures had no ceilings. The wooden ceilings added later are painted in red and enriched with gilded studs.

The mass of the building is in brick, plastered and whitewashed. The large sloping roofs are covered with glazed tiles which in general have dark orange, green or violet color and contrast with the plainness of the main white mass. This white mass is relieved at its lower part by the series of the gilded window frames.

Like Greek temples, some of the larger Bots also have pillars around the main rectangular hall. In general a large Bot is erected over a terrace which gives more nobility and beauty to the monument.

Vihara

The Vihara is a replica of the Bot and is used to keep Buddha images. In central Thailand the Vihara is smaller than the Bot, while in the north of Thailand it is the reverse. The reason for this difference is that in the north there are more Wats so that many Wats have just a few monks while in central Thailand there are fewer but larger Wats - hence the Bots of northern Thai Wats don’t need to be as large as those of southern or central Thai Wats.

The Vihara is often enclosed by a gallery walled outside and open inside having generally square pillars to support the roof. Along the galleries are many Buddha images modeled in stucco or cast in bronze. In a few cases the walls of the verandah are decorated with paintings.

The roofs of these galleries are covered with the universally used glazed tiles in brilliant colors, while the walls are painted white.

The Chedi or Stupa is the most venerated religious structure in a Wat. Originally it always enshrined some relics of the Buddha. Later on it contained relics of some holy men or kings, etc; finally it has become a religious symbol as the cross is for Christians.

The prototype of the Stupa originated in central India. It is composed of the drum, (basement), the dome (tumulus) surmounted by a cubical chair symbolizing the seat of Buddha, and over it the Chatra umbrella which originally had only one tier and later on became a slender pinnacle formed by many tiers. In Thailand, Stupas are found in many various forms.

The typical northern type is formed by a cubical solid mass having four niches at its sides containing images of Buddha in high relief or round relief; this cubical mass is superimposed by one or more storeys and crowned by a dome. If the structure is hollow, one of the niches serves as entrance. At the corners of the cubical basement and even at the corners of the superposed storeys, there are small Stupas which remind of both, Srivisaya and Burmese art. Difference of proportions in width and height varies the appearance of this kind of Chedi (Stupa).

Another type of Chedi is the one resembling the Sat Mahat Pasada at Polonnaruva in Sri Lanka. It is formed by many receding cubical storeys enriched with horizontal rows of standing Buddha images in high relief.

In general, the round Stupa built in Thailand has the same elements as the Indian prototype which was introduced from Sri Lanka. The form of the round Stupa nevertheless is eminently Thai because of its high pyramidal curved outline, a characteristic noticeable in all Thai religious buildings. This Stupa has a high drum formed by many moldings of the same design, a bell-shaped dome, a square throne surmounted by a low circular colonnade supporting the high and slender Chatra (umbrella).

During the Ayutthaya period, by adding four niches (an element borrowed from the northern art) to the dome of the classic Chedi, the Thai composed a fine new style. The beautiful group of the three Chedis of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet of Ayutthaya show this style at its best development. In later times the outline became more slender and more slender losing in such a way its monumentality.

Generally this type of Stupa is hollow with one niche serving as entrance. The interior contains, as usual, Buddha images.

Found in Thailand are many Stupas of the classic type - all of them have a high square basement and a high drum. In some instances the drum is octagonal suggesting Chinese influence.

Chedis are built in all sizes: small ones may just be about two meters high (ca. 6ft); but they can be as tall as the large Stupa of Nakhon Pathom which measures 115 meters (376ft) from the ground

Prang

The Prang originated from the corner tower of the Khmer temple, becoming a new form of the Thai Stupa. Square in plan with a domed roof it rises elegantly from a large base to an elliptically shaped mass. Usually, a Prang has three niches and one entrance door reached over a very steep staircase. The interior contains images of Buddha.

The best example of a classic Thai Prang is at Wat Mahathat in Sawankhalok. This old monument originally was part of a single edifice with the Bot erected in front of it. Such planning corresponds to the Khmer style which again was borrowed from Indian temple architecture.

In the opinion of Professor Silpa Bhirasri, from about the end of the 17th century A.D. on the shape of the Chedi and the Prang started to degenerate for two reasons. One was the tendency to build the structure too narrow and to give too much prominence to the basement, reducing the space of the cell of the Prang or that of the dome of the Chedi; the second cause was the fashion to replace old architectural moldings with the ‘S’ shaped lion-leg of the Chinese low table. By transporting characteristics of Chinese wooden structures into brick ones, the Thai buildings lost their monumentality.

Professor Silpa Bhirasri applies this criticism also to the concave line of the longitudinal moldings of the Bot or Vihara below the level of the windows. This concave line was meant to imitate the Chinese Sampan (boat).

Mondop

The Thai Mondop resembles closely the Mandapa of the Indian temples. Square in plan, cubical in form, it has a pyramidal superstructure. The Thai Mondop may be built entirely of bricks or may have the square hall and the pillars around it in bricks with a timber superstructure. Some of the all-brick Mondops are plain and their pyramidal upper part is formed by two or three layers of roofing.

The more recent type of Mondop has wooden superstructures decorated with wooden carvings, gilded and enriched with glass mosaics; the mosaics are also applied over the pillars. By combining two or three different colored glasses, ornamental designs are composed. As usual, the wooden superstructure is formed by a series of receding storeys enriched with the same decoration.

The Mondop may serve to enshrine some holy object as does, for example, the Mondop of Saraburi which houses a footprint of the Buddha (it is Buddhist religious belief that Buddha traveled the world extensively after his earthly life, leaving behind human shaped but oversized footprints as well as other relics).

The Mondop may also serve as a kind of library and store-room for objects used in religious ceremonies as, for example, the Mondop of the Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) in Bangkok.

In more recent times the roofs of some Mondops were decorated all over with mosaics composed of small pieces of porcelain.

Prasat

This structure, too, is a direct descendant of the Creek-cross Khmer temple composed of a square sanctuary with its domed Sikhara and the four porch-like antechambers attached to the sides of the cell.

These antechambers projecting from the main body of the building have two different elements: one formed by the mass attached to the walls of the cell, the other formed by the portal. The different heights of these two elements create a step-like contour.

The Thai Prasat is formed by a square central room and either three long and one short projecting wings and or four wings of the same length.

There are two distinct forms of timber superstructure of the Prasat. One retains the traditional Sikhara as a finial of the roofs; in this type, for the sake of tradition, the Sikhara which formerly was structural has become a mere decorative part of the building.

The other superstructure has the same form and same ornaments as the Mondop - many superimposed horizontal low storeys and at about one third of the total height of this elaborated roof a vertical element formed by what looks like a conventional Stupa, ending in a very high and thin pinnacle.

The Prasat serves two distinct purposes: one is as Royal throne hall; the other to contain some venerated objects, as does, for example, the Prasat of Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok which enshrines the statues of the Kings of the present dynasty.

Ho Trai

The Ho Trai is basically a library. There is no prescribed design for this structure, and it varies greatly in form and size. In the past, most libraries were built of wood on poles over ponds, mainly to prevent white ants from harming the palm-leaf books.

Some Ho Trais have a basement in brick and the library room in wood, others have a ground floor room in brick and a room made of wood over it. Of this type, which is common in the north of Thailand, there are fine examples in Chiang Mai and Lamphun.

Usually the Ho Trai has no interior decoration but some, like that of Wat Rakhang on the west bank of the Chao Phaya River in Bangkok, have fine paintings on the walls and window and door panels. This Ho Trai consists of three rooms, each having an own proper roof. The inner sides of the roofs of the right and left rooms join the slopes of the central one and the water of the four slopes is received by two gutters.

To build two or three rooms attached to each other with separated roofs is typical for common Thai houses. It is considered sensible because by roofing each room it becomes unnecessary to build a single large and high roof which would have to span the total breadth. In this case the lower part of the building would appear too small in comparison with the roof.

Sala Kan Parien

In earlier times the Buddhist Doctrine was taught to the laymen only in the Sala Kan Parien, which usually is a common room differing in size according to the needs. Only few Wats have a large Sala Kan Parien and in this case it has a form similar to those of a Bot or Vihara. In some cases the Sala Kan Parien is elevated up to two meters (ca. 6ft) from the ground.

Sala

The Sala is an open pavilion used for resting. Usually rectangular in plan, it is erected over four wooden or brick pillars on which rests the steep roof. An eave runs around the Sala to widen the shade. This characteristic is almost universal in Thai buildings.

Some more ornamented Salas have eight brackets connected to the exterior side of the four pillars. These brackets, which in many Ayutthaya buildings were massive and functional, have become a mere feeble ornamentation during the Rattanakosin, or Bangkok period - or they were abolished. Like the more important buildings, fine Salas have glazed tiles and wooden gilded ornaments on the gables.

Some Salas are more complex looking because of two projecting additions from the long sides of their rectangular plan, forming in this way a cross plan. In general, this kind of Salas has no pyramidal superstructure, but in some cases, for example the Salas at the Royal summer residence of Bang Pa-In, do have the universal pyramidal roofs.

Salas have always been built also for civil purposes, for example along roads or canals where people pass and like the chance to rest for a while. Nowadays small simple Salas, stand along major highways and serve as... bus stops.

Hok Rakhang (Belfry)

The Thai belfry usually has no special artistic appeal. The Thai have plainly disregarded these structures. There is no definite type for the Thai Ho Rakhang. The simplest is formed by four wooden poles on the top of which there is what looks like a small temple.

Others, built in brick, have a high platform with steps on one or four sides. Over this platform is built a pyramidal roof into which the bell is suspended.

The bell is struck by hand and so the belfry in general is not high. Only the Ho Rakhang of the Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok is high and pyramidal in form; the small structure at the top supporting the bell is reached by an inner staircase.

In general the Thai belfry is whitewashed but some, such as that of Wat Phra Kaeo, are decorated with porcelain all over their surfaces.

Kuti (Sangarama)

The living quarters of a Thai monastery do not present anyspecial constructive or artistic features. They are just a series of small rooms, some of which have a verandah in front of it. The rooms may be built in a row or separated.