Thai architecture reflects the challenges of the climate and importance of religion, and has developed over seven periods, from early brick and stone structures to designs intended to display wealth and power. Traditional Thai houses are built on stilts to prevent flooding, using wood or bamboo, arranged around a central terrace, while religious buildings called wats consist of prayer halls and monk residences with multiple tiers of tapering roofs. The kuti is a small wooden structure built on stilts to house individual monks and discourage material possessions.

1. Thai Architecture:
 Reflectsthe challengesof livinginextreme climate andimportance of architecture tothe
people’ssense of communityandreligiousbeliefs
 Historycoverssevenages(accordingtoWikipedia,anyway):
o Tawavardee – locatedincentral Thailand,usesclaybricksandlaterite
o Sriwichai –notable feature isstupa-style Buddhawithsquare base andoctagonal top
o Lopburi – influencedbyKhmer,seeninShrinesof Ganesh.Usedbrick,sandstone and
laterite
o ChiangSaen – periodwhenmostreligiousplaceswere built.Influencesinclude
Sukhothai,Tawaravadee,SwiwichaiandBurma
o Sukhothai – identifiedbyusage of symbolicshapestodisplayBuddhistfaith
o Authong– integrationof Tawaravadee andKhmer.
o Ayutthaya– designedto displaymightandriches.Dominantfeature if sunlightshining
intobuildings.Architecturewasregardedasa peakachievementinthe latterpartof the
era.
 Examplesof buildingsanditscharacteristics:
o Traditional thai house:
 Elevationof buildingonsilts,typicallyat
headheight.Elevationisuseddue to
floodingandpredators(the latterduring
ancienttimes).Space below house maybe
usedforvariouspurposessuchas for
lounging,storage,craftsorlivestock.
 Buildinghabitswere basedonbeliefs as
well asavailable materialsandpresent
environment.
 Three principlesare tobe followed:
material preparation,construction
and dwelling.
o Materials– site and orientation,taste andsmellof soil,names
of treesthatwill be usedof buildhouses
o Construction– ritualsthatare performedduringconstruction,
such as one performedbyaspiritual power(monk???) when
firstcolumnisput intoground.
o Dwelling–properbehaviorinside
the house.
 House was made of wood,and builtina dayas
prefabricatedwoodpanelswouldbe builtaheadof
time andwouldbe assembledbyamasterbuilder.
Otherhouseswere made of bamboo.Using
prefabricatedpanelswasathingthough.
 House usuallybuiltasa clusterof physically
separatedroomarrangedarounda large central
terrace.Terrace isthe largestpart of the house,

2. and an area inthe middle of the terrace isleftopentoallow forgrowth of a
tree.
 Natural surroundingsare important.
 Furniture wassparse.
o Kuti
 Small structure (4.013 x 2.343 m, basedon Sanghathisep),builtonstilts
 Purpose wasto house a monkand designismeanttoaidin spiritual journeyby
discouragingaccumulationof material goods.
 Monasteriesconsistsof anumberof Kuti groupedtogetherona sharedterrace.
o Religiousbuildings:
 Knownas “wats”,althoughthe termreferstoa place of worshipnow,it
originallyreferredtotempleshathave monkslivinginside.
 Has two parts:
 Phutthawat– dedicatedtoBuddha
 Sangkhawat– livingquartersformonks
 Importantelementsincludemultiple roof tiers.Twotothree tiersare used,but
royal templesmayhave four.Purpose isaesthetic.The taperingappearance
(thatis,that the roof seemstodecrease insize asthe levelsgoup),isto lighten
the roof’sappearance.
 Decorationsare attachedto bargeboards,andthe structure is calledthe
lamyong. The designof the lamyong invokesthe appearance of aNaga.