Architectural Characterof Laos

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

CHRISTIAN L. VENTURA

LAO ARCHITECTURE

Lao architecture is mainly a mix of French colonial, Buddhist (in temples), traditional Lao and modern architecture, with some influences from Thailand and other countries. In rural areas most Lao people live in Lao traditional houses, built of wood and raised off the ground on stilts, but in urban areas modern style houses are more common and Lao traditional houses are slowly disappearing. Many ethnic groups have their own house styles, such as the Hmong, Iu Mien, and some other ethnic groups in the northern mountainous areas, where the weather is cold and windy in cold season. These groups build houses on the ground with the end of the roof almost touching the ground.

The most important buildings in Laos are the wat (a Buddhist temples, sometimes spelled “vat”) and the that (a Buddhist stupa built to hold religious objects). Lao structures have traditionally been constructed of wood, which is often ravaged by the elements, and thus not many old structures remain. Secular architecture includes French colonial and French-influenced buildings with pitched tile roofs and shuddered windows; Chinese-style shophouses with upper floors for residences and lower floor for shops and businesses; and postRevolutionary structures built in a socialist realist style; and neotraditional style buildings like those at Luang Prabang airport and Vientiane’s National Assembly hall.

Across Laos there exists a plethora of distinctive monuments and architectural styles. One of the most notable structures is the That Luang, the great Sacred Stupa, in Vientiane. Its dome-like stupa and four-cornered superstructure is the model for similar monuments across Laos. Stupas serve to commemorate the life of the Buddha and many stupas are said to house sacred Buddha relics (parts of Buddha s body). Traditionally, Theravada Buddhists cremated the dead body and then placed the bones in stupas, which are set around the grounds of temples, or wats. Different styles of architecture are evident in the numerous Buddhist Wats.

TRADITIONAL LAO HOMES

Traditional Lao Homes Traditional Lao houses are made of wood or bamboo and are built on stilts above the ground. People live on the first floor of houses raised on timber stilts. Traditionally the houses had steep thatched roofs and verandas. Under the house the family often keep animals, craft equipment such as a loom and simple food processing machines like large wooden mortars and pestles. In the grounds around the house were often a rice granary, family livestock and poultry, vehicles, fruit trees, a kitchen garden and maybe a kitchen shack. The quality and type of homes changes with elevation. The lowland Lao generally live in better quality housing than the poorer highland tribes.

Lao Loum houses are built on wooden piles with the floor from one to two-and one-half meters above the ground. This style keeps the living area above the mud of the rainy season, provides a shady area under the house to work or rest during the day, and allows the house to catch breezes for natural cooling. Depending on the wealth and resources of the family, the walls and floor may be made of woven split bamboo or sawn wood; the roof is constructed from grass thatch, bamboo, wood shingles, or corrugated steel roofing sheet. Some older houses in well-off villages are roofed with clay tiles, but this style was no longer common in the early 1990s. A separate rice granary is built in the house compound, also on posts using similar construction. Livestock is sometimes kept under the house.

Northeastern-style houses are similar to central Thai houses. They are built of wood on stilts, but their roofs feature a gentler slope since there is less rain to cope with. Thatch and corrugated iron roofs are more common in Isaan than other regions. Walls are perpendicular, not slanted, and often made of simple wooden planks rather than the prefabricated panels used in other regions. Homes are built in a compound structure, starting with a main cabin; a second cabin may be added as the family grows.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE

Vientiane-style temple architecture features a large veranda with heavy columns, an ornamented, overhanging roof, carved wood porticos and a carved wood shade along the top of the veranda, often with half-bird, half human kinnari against a background of stylized foliage.

Luang Prabang-style temple architecture is similar to the northern Siamese Lanna style. It features a roof that is very pointed and steep at the top and gradually flares and is almost horizontal at the bottom and often almost touches the ground. The Lao sometimes say these roofs resemble to the wings of a hen protecting her chicks. Many wats have goldleaf-covered doors and outer walls.

The Xieng Khuang style of northern Laos, of which relatively few examples remain, features a multiplelevel platform and a roof that sweeps low and wide and usually isn’t tiered. The Thai Lu style features whitewashed stucco walls, small windows, two or threeired roofs, curved pediments and naga lintels over the doors and steps. Thai Lu stupas are typically gilded and octagonal in shape of are covered with Thai Lu fabrics.

RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE IN LAOS

1) The style of Luang Prabang, is characterized by its huge pointed roofs made from flat tiles which are put down in successive layers, normally two or three, stopping only a few metres from the ground.

2) The style of Xieng Khouang, presents an accentuated form of the characteristics described above : the roofs come nearly all the way down to the ground, and their cross sections are almost perfect pentagons. We can see in this style a provincial version of the Luang Prabang style, structures built in this way are nearly all situated in the province of Xieng Khouang, to the South-East of Luang Prabang. You can also see the original style of the Lao vihans, the style of Luang Prabang only representing the result of a long evolution; it would appear that the old vihans of Luang Prabang belong to the Xieng Khouang style.

3) The style of Vientiane is a more tapering style, the part that the roof plays in the structure is less important here and the openings are higher.

HISTORY OF LAO ARCHITECTURE

The 16th century witnessed an extraordinary flowering of Buddhist art and architecture in Lane Xang, presided over by three illustrious kings - Wisunarath (1501-1520), Photisarath (1520-1550) and Sai Setthathirat I (1550-1571). During this period wats were increasingly constructed in major centres of population, where they became a focal point for all aspects of daily life. At the same time their design and layout became progressively more elaborate, evolving into a series of buildings which would eventually include an ordination hall (sim), a manuscript library (ho tai), a bell tower (ho rakhang), a drum tower (ho kong), a stupa (that) and an area dedicated to the Buddhist sangha containing the monks’ living quarters (kuti). Though Lao wats evolved in the same basic way as those of their Siamese or Khmer neighbours, they were generally more modest in appearance and came to be characterised by the distinctive dok so fa (pointing to the sky) roof fixture and dok huang phueang (beehive pattern) front entrance panel of the sim.

Sim

King Wisunarath

Ho Kong

King Photisarath

Ho Tai

King Sai Settathirath

kuti

Ho Rakhang

Stupa

During this period of war between northern Thailand (Lanna Kingdom) and the southern, many Chiang Mai families fled to Xiang Dong Xiang Thong, where their cultural influence was felt in a number of artistic fields, notably the development of temple architecture. Characterised by a high-pointed tiled roof sweeping down in multiple tiers, the Lannainspired Luang Prabang II style sought to represent the cosmological levels in Buddhist doctrine. This style of temple architecture is found only in Luang Prabang and King Sai Setthathirat I's great masterpiece Wat Xieng Thong stands as its most elegant and best-preserved example. The back of Wat Xieng Thong with its famous tree of life mosaic in colored glass on a dark red background. This is one of the best known images in modern Laos. The mosaic was crafted in 1960 by the Lao craftsmen.

TRADITIONAL LUANG PRABANG HOUSES AND BUILDINGS

Traditional wooden houses built on posts high above the ground represent the oldest architectural heritage in Luang Prabang. Built high on hardwood posts, traditional wooden houses were created with prefabricated lightweight materials such as woven bamboo or wood. Houses were generally rectangular in shape with a simple ridged roof covered with thatch or bamboo, with a separate kitchen located at the side. The use of high gables and natural materials enhanced ventilation, and long projecting eaves provided protection from severe seasonal rain. The space beneath the raised floor provided security and a useful work and storage place. Both traditional raised wooden houses and masonry structures built on the ground, the two types of architectural systems found throughout South East Asia, exist in harmony in Luang Prabang and correspond to their respective water and land based backgrounds. The earlier water based culture influenced architecture that was harmonious and suitable for an environment in which rain and river dominated, while land based architecture, which included structures associated with religions or royal functions, were gradually adopted and came to be known as formal or classic.

Although previously utilized for constructing the foundation of certain structures in a wat, brick and stucco became the primary building materials for colonial influenced buildings . Neo-colonial buildings combined wooden floors from traditional local architecture with french colonial influenced lower walls utilizing masonry.

Early 20th century French colonial influenced structures are a more recent addition to the architectural landscape of Luang Prabang. Adapted for tropical conditions, the majority of these thick-walled public administration buildings and official residences were built using brick and stucco with pitched tile roofs and wooden shuttered windows. Gradually, neo-colonial structures that combined both traditional local elements and French influences appeared. When merged together in a relatively harmonious manner with traditional wooden structures, these colonial and other foreign influenced structures such as the Chinese inspired shop-houses added another aesthetically interesting element to Luang Prabang's architectural heritage.

LUANG PRABANG RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE

After Theravada Buddhism was officially adopted in the 14th century during the reign of Fa Ngum, monasteries (wats) were progressively built on the former sites of animist shrines. Most of these wats were destroyed when Luang Prabang was invaded by foreign aggressors in 1887, however, a substantial number have since been rebuilt using traditional methods and styles. A residence of monks is known as Kouti. It is constructed in a similar manner as a traditional wooden houses.

The architecture of the Theravada Buddhist wat reflects its role as the meeting place of monks and the community. From a technical perspective, monks must actually reside in the wat compound, which consists of various structures laid out according to a specified plan, for it to be considered a monastery. Generally the largest and most elaborately

ornamented structure, the congregation hall (Sim) is considered the most important building in the compound and is where monks are ordained. Generally longer than wide, the Sim has a front entrance for the congregation and a back entrance for the monks. Inside, at the far end, a large Buddha image is positioned on a dais. As a means to contain treasure sealed in its foundation, the Sim was the first architectural structure to utilize brick and mortar building materials and techniques.

Congragation Hall

QUESTIONS 1. One of the most notable structures in Vientiane? a. Ho Rakhang b. Ho tai c. That Luang d. Kuyi 2. ____________ architecture features a large veranda with heavy columns, an ornamented, overhanging roof, carved wood porticos and a carved wood shade along the top of the veranda, often with half-bird, half human kinnari against a background of stylized foliage. a. Vientiane-style temple b. The style of Xieng Khouang c. Luang Prabang-style temple d. None of the above 3. __________ colonial influenced structures are a more recent addition to the architectural landscape of Luang Prabang. a. Thai c. Spannish b. French d. Chinese

4. It is one of the most important structure in Laos? a. That Luang b. Ho Rakhang c. Hmong, Iu Mien

d. That Stupa 5. Which of them is not one of the kings in 16th century? a. King Wisunarath b. King Photisarath c. King Xieng Khouang d. King Sai Settathirath