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COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
• 1500-500 BCE
• Aryans arrive from northern steppes and push back the Dravidians to Southern India
• Tall white people from the northeast of the Black Sea and who migrated to Europe and south to
Persia and India
• Introduced language to the areas they occupied, now known as the Indo-European family of
languages
• First 1000 years, no known written history, only oral history
• Only religious literature can attest to the developments during this period, known as the
Vedic Age
• The Vedas are religious books that include battle hymns, chants, religious rituals, sayings,
and tales
• The Rig-Veda was the most important, containing more than 1000 hymns, songs and chants
• Children are educated by priests through memorization of the Vedas word for word
• Vedas are transmitted orally from generation to generation
Aryan Society
• Three classes :
Warrior-nobles – the leader was called rajah
Priests
Commoners – tended cattle
• Classes of Highly Developed Aryan Society
Brahmins – priests
Kshatriya – warrior nobles
Vaisya – commoners (merchants, traders, artisans, landowning farmers, herders)
Sudras – laboring class (Aryans who married non-Aryans, conquered Indian peoples) who were looked
down upon by the three upper classes
HINDUISM
• The highly developed Aryan society, also resulted in a complex form of religion – Hinduism.
• There are many gods. One of the triumvirates is that of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, responsible for
the creation, preservation and destruction of the world.
• Belief in the soul
• Karma and reincarnation
• Good karma brought about by correct dharma (duty)
•The goal of each soul is moksha – release from the cycle of death
and rebirth; Moksha occurs when the soul unites with Brahman
(world spirit) through path of duty, path of knowledge and path of
devotion.
•The Vedas are the ultimate authority.
The UPANISHADS -- a collection of writings by religious thinkers,
discussing the basic ideas about right and wrong, the universal order,
and human destiny – set forth the basic ideas of Hinduism.
HINDU Trinity - Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, Shiva
the Destroyer
Lord Krishna - avatar (material manifestation) of Vishnu
Shiva - represented in the Lingam
HINDU ARCHITECTURE
NAGARA STYLE
Consists of:
• Shikhara - tower
• Garbha griha (womb house) – usually surrounded by an ambulatory
• Antarala – open or closed vestibule connecting the mandapa and the garbha griha
• Mandapa – assembly hall
VESARA STYLE
Also known as Karnataka Dravida
• Combination of the Nagara and Dravida Styles
• Found in the Deccan area of India
Mughal architecture
is an architectural style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the
ever-changing extent of their empire in Medieval India. It was an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkic and
South-Asian architecture.
Example: Taj Mahal in Agra, India built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his deceased wife
Amber Palace by Jai Singh I
Jali (pierced screen) - used extensively in Indian architecture as windows, room dividers, and railings
around thrones, platforms, terraces, and balconies. Used in outer walls, they were ideal for cutting
down glare while permitting air to circulate.
CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
Chinese civilization - started in settlements near the Yellow River or the Huang He River.
Qin Shih Huangti - first emperor of China; unified the different warring states. His tomb is in Xian,
China where thousands of terra-cotta warriors, each with different faces, stand guard protect his tomb
Temple of Heaven - located near Beijing, it is a temple complex used during the Ming and Qing
dynasties by the emperor to pray to the god of heaven
Gong – Chinese palace and later referred to imperial and religious buildings; the Potala Palace, in Tibet
is a gong to the Chinese
Ting – Chinese kiosk or gazebo; columns support a roof
Curved roofs – Buddhist belief to ward of evil spirits; to allow more light if the eaves are upturned
Ge- storeyed pavilion similar to a lou, but with windows, doors and walls
Pagoda – comes from the Sanskrit word “bhagavat”; contains holy relics or collections related to
Buddhism
Dugong bracket system - Chinese traditional architecture bracketing system which uses a dos and a
gong
Feng shui – Chinese geomancy used to harmonize individuals with the environment
Chorten or choeten - a stupa characterized with an eye of the Buddha at the top spire
Potala Palace - home of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet
ARCHITECTURE IN JAPAN
Chashitsu - architectural space or structure used for tea ceremony; the chasihitsu is designed in the
sukiyaki style; sukiyaki is another term for chashitsu
Shinto - Japanese religion which includes ancestor and nature worship and in the belief of the kami
(sacred spirit/power) of animate and inanimate things; the state religion of Japan since the
8th century until 1945
Japanese Zen rock garden - a rock garden found in Zen Buddhist monasteries used for meditative
purposes; characterized by gravel and rock forms or islands of rock amidst the gravel
Tokugawa Shogunate - founded by Ieyasu Tokugawa who unified Japan and made Edo (now Tokyo) the
capital; it introduced urban planning that included creating efficient security and disaster
systems in Edo, zoning, and connecting territories through the Nihonbashi Bridge
construction; the shogunate introduced the planting of cherry trees in the avenues and
lanes of Edo
Ukiyo-e - Japanese art form that flourished in the 17th to the 18th centuries using wood block printing; it
depicted kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, folk tales; and erotica
Manga - Japanese art form of comics or cartooning with historical roots in Japanese prints
Examples:
1. Himeji Castle - castle to be first declared a World Heritage Site; known also as White Heron Castle
because of its very white appearance or facade; most intact Japanese castle
2. Horyuji Temple - oldest existing wooden building in the world in Nara, Japan
3. Todaiji Temple - temple in Nara, Japan which has the world’s largest bronze statue of the buddha
Vaicosana or the Daibutsu
KOREAN ARCHITECTURE
Korean architecture - heavily influenced by Chinese architecture; buildings usually built on a platform or
podium to accommodate the ONDOL heating system
Ondol or Gudeul heating system - Korean heating system which uses direct heat from a wood fire to
directly heat the underground of a stone floor through a system of horizontal flues and a
chimney where heat is finally released out in the air
Namdaemun (Sungnyemun) - one of the gates of the fortified city of Seoul; first to be declared as
National Treasure of Korea
ARCHITECTURE OF INDOCHINA
Cambodia (Kampuchea)
Khmer - referring to its people
Angkor - ancient city in Cambodia
Angkor Wat - temple in Angkor originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu and built by Suryavarman;
later converted into a Buddhist temple I
Angkor Thom - built by Jayavarman VII
Wat - temple
Burma (Myanmar)
Shwedagon Pagoda or Shewdagon Zedi Daw - a Buddhist temple for the Theravada Buddhism branch
and is known for its golden stupa; also called the Golden Pagoda; located in Yangon,
Burma
Bagan Temples - during the height of the kingdom, many temples numbering to thousands were built in
Bagan ca. 1100-1300 CE
Vietnam
Imperial City of Hue - seat of the old Kingdom of Vietnam; laid out with huge walls, a moat, ceremonial
apartments, private apartments, and gardens or courtyards
Hoi An - ancient trading post known for its many ancient shophouses, Japanese bridge and street silk
lanterns lit up at night; declared a UNESCO World Heritage site
Laos
Ancient architecture heavily influenced by the Khmers (Cambodia). Important ancient sites include
Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. It was in Ayutthaya that ancient architecture (temple making) reached its height
and the style was perfected and refined.
Sala Thai - an open kiosk with a roof but no walls, where people can meet or seek shelter from the sun
and the rain
Kuti - a small structure for a monk
ARCHITECTURE OF INDONESIA
Borobudur - significant Buddhist temple in Central Java; a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Batavia - old name of Jakarta when it was colonized by the Dutch; Old Batavia in Jakarta
Traditional houses:
• Minangkabau house - known for the overlapping saddleback roofs with upturned gables
• Rumah - house
Singapore
ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Characterized by geometric forms and motifs, calligraphic designs, horseshoe or pointed arches