Myanmar architecture

Much of Myanmar's architecture is tied to ancient Indian architecture, and can be traced to the country's earliest known inhabitants.{{Cite book|title=Myanmar|publisher=World Book Inc.|year=2016|location=Chicago|chapter=Art}} During the Pyu period, cylindrical stupas with four archways—often with a hti (umbrella) on top{{Cite book|title=Stupas and Stupa-Shrines|last=Myer|pages=26}}—were built. The Mon and Pyu people were the first two influential groups to migrate to Myanmar, and the first Indo-Chinese adherents of Theravada Buddhism. Beikthano, one of the first Pyu centers, contains urbanesque foundations which include a monastery and stupa-like structures. These Pyu stupas, the first Indian foundations in Myanmar, were built from 200 BC to 100 CE and were sometimes used for burial. Early stupas, temples and pagodas are topped with htis and finials or spires symbolizing Theravada Buddhist transcendence.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=A Sacred and Public Place|journal=Meio University|pages=4}}

File:20160810 Bawbawgyi Pogoda Sri Ksetra Pyay Myanmar 9260.jpg|alt=Large bell-shaped reliquary|The Bawbawgyi Pagoda in Sri Ksetra

File:Pyu Ancient City In Myanmar UNESCO World Heritage 006.jpg|Excavated site in Hanlin

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By the 9th century, the Bamar people had established a kingdom centered at Bagan. During the 11th century, King Anawrahta unified the Irrawaddy Valley region and founded the Pagan Empire. Bagan, with over 10,000 of Myanmar's red brick stupas and pagodas, had become a center of Buddhist architecture by the mid-12th century.{{Cite book|title=Myanmar|publisher=World Book, Inc.|year=2016|location=Chicago|chapter=The Pagan Kingdom}} During this period, the Pyu-style stupas were transformed into monuments reminiscent of alms bowls or gourd-shaped domes, unbaked brick, tapered and rising roofs, Buddha niches, polylobed arches and ornamental doorways influenced by India's Pala Empire and its monuments.{{Cite journal|last=Myer|title=Stupas and Stupa-Shrines|journal=Artibus Asiae|pages=30–34}} Stucco was widely used in Bagan, especially by the Mon people. Stucco features of Bagan structures include garlands, flames or rays of the sun, peacock tail feathers and mythical creatures.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=341}}

The Dhammayazika Pagoda has a plan similar to the Tantric Paharpur stupa in India. It does not have a square base like many Bagan stupas; instead, it has a pentagonal base with radial halls and low skirting.{{Cite journal|last=Myer|title=Stupas and Stupa-Shrines|journal=Artibus Asiae|pages=30}}

The Ananda Temple (finished in 1090), one of the first temples erected in Bagan, was influenced by Indian architecture.{{Cite web|url=http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/513/myanmar/bagan/ananda-pahto-temple|title=Ananda Pahto Temple, Bagan, Myanmar|last=Fiala}} The vaulted temple represents the Theravada branch of Buddhism, Bagan's official religion when it was built. Architectural features of the temple include brick vaulted halls, Buddha statues, tapered roofs and the absence of terraces.{{Cite journal|last=Myer|title=Stupas and Stupa-Shrines|journal=Artibus Asiae|pages=30–31}} The temple has one of the first uses of the pyatthat, or tiered roof, which indicates the presence of a throne within. With both royal and religious symbolism, many of the temple's images depict the Buddha seated before an odd number of pyatthat tiers.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace: An Interim Report on Aspects of Design|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=339–340}}

Many of Bagan's historical monuments are well-preserved, due to the dry climate. Bagan, with one of the largest concentrations of temples in the world, is one of Myanmar's most important pilgrimage sites.{{Cite journal|last=Yang|title=Cultural Resilience vs. Historic Preservation|journal=Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review|pages=75}} Many of the temples' paintings and murals are still visible.{{Cite book|title=Today's Pagan: Conservation Under the Generals|last=Pichard|first=Pierre|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|year=2013|isbn=978-3-642-35869-2|pages=2}} Notable architectural sites in Bagan include the Bupaya Pagoda, the Dhammayangyi, Gawdawpalin and Htilominlo Temples, the Inn-hpaya Stupa, the Mahabodhi Temple, the Mingalazedi Pagoda, the Minochantha stupa group, the Taung Kyaung monastery, the Nathlaung Kyaung Temple, the Nga-kywe-na-daung Stupa, the Pahto Thamya and Shwegugyi Temples, the Shwezigon Pagoda and the Sulamani and Thatbyinnyu Temple.{{cite web|url=http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/cid/131/myanmar/bagan|title=Bagan, Myanmar|last=Fiala}}

File:Gawdawpalin Temple Bagan Myanmar.jpg|alt=Ornate temple, lit by the sun|The Gawdawpalin Temple in Bagan was built during the 12th century

File:Bagan 131.jpg|alt=Large, ornate temple surrounded by trees|The Thatbyinnyu Temple in Bagan was built by King Alaungsithu in the mid-12th century.

File:Dhamma Yan Gyi, Pagan 0181.jpg|alt=Another large temple lit by the sun, with a bus for scale|The Dhammayangyi Temple, Bagan's largest

File:Htilominlo-Bagan-Myanmar-12-gje.jpg|alt=Decorated corner|Htilominlo Temple's stucco ornamentation

File:Le dernier repas avant l'Éveil.JPG|alt=Frescoes of the Buddha and other people|Frescoes in the Gubyaukgyi Temple (Myinkaba)

Burmese dynasties had a long history of building regularly planned cities along the Irawaddy valley between the 14th to 19th century. Town planning in pre-modern Burma reached its climax during the Konbaung period with cities such as Amarapura and Mandalay. Alaungpaya directed many town planning initiatives, building fortified towns with major defences, including the city of Yangon, which was founded in 1755 as a fortress and sea harbor. The city had an irregular plan with stockades made of teak logs on a ground rampart. Rangoon had six city gates with each gate flanked by massive brick towers with typical merlons with cross-shaped embrasures. The city was established near the older Mon town of Dagon and preexisting stupas of Shwedagon, Sule and Botataung were located outside the city walls. The city had main roads paved with bricks and drains along the sides.{{Cite journal |last=Hla |first=U Kan |date=1978 |title=Traditional Town Planning in Burma |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/989177 |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=92, 97–98 |doi=10.2307/989177 |jstor=989177 |issn=0037-9808 |access-date=26 May 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526232317/https://www.jstor.org/stable/989177 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

This period also saw a proliferation of stupas and temples with developments in stucco techniques. Wooden monasteries of this period intricately decorated with wood carvings of the Jataka Tales are one of the more prominent distinctive examples of traditional Burmese architecture that survive to the present day.{{cite web |last=Cooler |first=Richard |url=http://seasite.niu.edu/burmese/Cooler/Chapter_4/Part3/post_pagan_period__part_3.htm |publisher=Northern Illinois University |language=en |title=The Post Pagan Period – 14th To 20th Centuries Part 3}} One prominent example is Shweinbin Monastery, built in 1895 in the tradition of Burmese teak architecture.{{cite web |url=http://www.seasite.niu.edu/burmese/culture/wilsonpages/mandalayregion/mandalayregion.htm |title=Part II - Mandalay, The Burmese Heartland|last=Wilson|first=Constance|work=Northern Illinois University|accessdate=13 July 2015}} The monastery's construction strictly adheres to traditional rules of Burmese monastic architecture and includes all of the designated pyatthat-crowned pavilions.{{cite web|url=http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/ra.pdf|title=Religious architecture|last=Ma Thanegi|accessdate=13 July 2015}}{{cite book|last=Ma Thanegi|title=Myanmar Architecture: Cities of Gold|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|date=2005|pages=100|isbn=9789812329165}}

File:Mandalay-Palace-from-Watch-Tower.JPG|alt=Aerial view of large compound with wooden tiered buildings with red and gold decorations|The royal palace of Mandalay

File:Shwe In Bin Monastery, Mandalay, in about 1900.jpg|alt=black and white photo of a monastery compound with two connected multitiered wooden roofs|Shweinbin Monastery in about 1900

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Burma was part of the British Empire by the end of the 1880s, and this ushered in a period of colonial architecture.{{cite web | url=http://www.colonialarchitectureproject.org/index?/category/2600-burma_myanmar | title=British Empire / Burma (Myanmar) | Colonial Architecture Project }} Rangoon, now known as Yangon, became a multi-ethnic capital.{{Cite book|title=A Sacred and Public Space|last=Seekins|publisher=Meio University|pages=1}} As large, colonial buildings were built throughout the city, social disruption in Burma spawned nationalist rallies and anti-colonial protests.{{Cite book|title=Myanmar|publisher=World Book, Inc.|chapter=The Konbaung Dynasty and the Anglo-Saxon Burmese Wars}}

Yangon's central business district, along the Yangon River, contains many colonial-era buildings. One example is the Ministers' Building, built as the Secretariat Building in 1902 to house the British administration. Other downtown structures are the Bogyoke Market (formerly Scott Market) and the Strand Hotel, built in 1896 by Aviet and Tigran Sarkie.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City: 1988 and the Transformation of Rangoon|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=258}} Prominent buildings include Yangon City Hall, built between 1926 and 1936; the Customs House; the High Court Building (built in 1914 and converted to the High Court head office in 1962); the 1920 Inland Water Transport Authority Building, and the former Myanmar Railways headquarters.

Towards the end of the colonial period, a more syncretic style developed. Yangon City Hall is one of the better known examples of this syncretic Burmese architecture. It features traditional tiered roofs called pyatthat, and was designed by Burmese architect U Tin, who also designed Central Railway Station.{{cite book| last=Falconer| first=John| year=2001| title=Burmese Design & Architecture| isbn=962-593-882-6| publisher=Periplus| location=Hong Kong|display-authors=etal}}

File:Convocation Hall, Universität Rangun, Myanmar, (Auditorium).jpg|alt=Weathered concrete facade of a building|Convocation Hall, brutalist style in the University of Yangon

File:Thakin Kodaw Hmaing Mausoleum.jpg|alt=small decorated concrete structure|Mausoleum of Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, with art deco decorations

File:Insein General Hospital 2.jpg|alt=repeating balconies of building|Insein General Hospital, current style completed in 1991

File:Yangon Technological University.JPG|alt=large building with curved roofs|Yangon Technological University, completed in 1999

Following Burma's independence in 1948, various architects created a new style with the attitude of the modern and independent nation. In the 1950s, the American architect Benjamin Polk designed the Pitakataik (also known as the Buddhist Tripitaka Library) for the University of Yangon featuring the brutalist bare concrete style due to shortages of other construction materials. In the 1960s, the Burmese architect U Kyaw Min designed the mausoleum for independence hero and poet Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, featuring art deco decorations with the brutalist style. Soviet architects Kaleriya Kislova and Viktor Andreyev designed the Inya Lake Hotel in the Soviet style of rest and relaxation, using the shape of a submarine for the hotel. This more modernist style of repeating units was also used earlier in 1958 for the Yangon Children's Hospital by Burmese architect U Tun Than.{{cite web |title=The unknown modernist gems of Myanmar's architecture |last=Sebambo |first=Khumo |website=Design Indaba |url=https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/unknown-modernist-gems-myanmars-architecture |date=2015 |language=en}}

File:Shwedagon Pagoda 2017.jpg in Yangon]]

File:Tachiliek Pagoda.jpg, Myanmar]]

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is a stupa and a focal point of Buddhism in Myanmar. At {{convert|99.4|m}} high, the stupa is covered with gold leaf and plate.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=A Sacred and Public Place|journal=Meio University|pages=5}} It is surrounded by smaller shrines, and is topped with a gem-encrusted seinbu (diamond bud) and a seven-tiered hti{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=A Sacred and Public Place|journal=Meio University|pages=1–4}} representing Burmese spirituality. Every four or five years, its gold is repaired or replaced. The stupa, built by a Theravada Buddhist society, is said to contain strands of the Buddha's hair.{{Cite journal|last=Edwards|title=Grounds for protest|journal=The Institute of Postcolonial Studies|pages=197}}{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=A Sacred and Public Place|journal=Meio University|pages=2}}

Built to be walked around, visitors pass astrological representations of the eight days of a Burmese week. The platform includes devotional centres at the cardinal compass points and dozens of smaller stupas, including the Golden Elder. Bodhi trees, images of the Buddha and other spiritual figures, and the 16-ton Singu Min Bell (formerly known as the Maha Ganda Bell) decorate the exterior.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=A Sacred and Public Place|journal=Meio University|pages=3–4}}

The pagoda has been a centre of Buddhist devotion and a forum for political activism. During the anti-colonial demonstrations of the nationalist Thakin Party in 1938 and 1939, "strike centres" were set up around the pagoda. In 1988, as the Burmese Socialist Programme Party was collapsing, Shwedagon was a platform for pro-democracy political demonstrations. On 26 August 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi spoke before a large audience about democracy at the pagoda's west gate.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=255}}

File:Great Audience Hall, Mandalay.jpg, 1903]]

The Mandalay Palace is an example of wooden architecture in Myanmar, which emphasizes exterior aesthetics rather than interior space.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=349}}

The Mandalay Palace was constructed as part of Mindon Min's founding of Mandalay between 1857 and 1859. Large parts of the palace were reconstructed from the palace at Amarapura, which was relocated to the new city.{{cite web | url=http://www.lib.washington.edu/myanmar/pdfs/MP0001A.pdf| title=Mandalay Palace | publisher=Directorate of Archaeological Survey, Burma | accessdate=2006-08-22 | year=1963 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128074542/http://www.lib.washington.edu/myanmar/pdfs/MP0001a.pdf | archive-date=28 January 2018 | url-status=dead }}{{cite book|title=List of Ancient Monuments in Burma (I. Mandalay Division)|publisher=Office of the Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma|location=Rangoon|date=1910|page=2|volume=1|url=https://archive.org/details/listofancientmon01burm}} The master plan called for a 144-square block grid patterned city, anchored by a 16 square block royal palace compound at the centre by Mandalay Hill.{{cite book | title=The Management of Secondary Cities in Southeast Asia. Case Study: Mandalay | author=Kyaw Thein | publisher=UN-Habitat | year=1996 | isbn=9789211313130}} The 413-hectare royal palace compound was surrounded by four 2 km (6666 ft) long walls and a moat 64 m (210 ft) wide, 4.5 m (15 ft) deep. Along the wall were bastions with gold-tipped spires at intervals of 169 m (555 ft).{{cite book | title=Mandalay and Other Cities of the Past in Burma | url=https://archive.org/details/mandalayandothe00ocogoog | author=Vincent Clarence Scott O'Connor | pages=6–9 | publisher=Hutchinson & Co. | year=1907}} The walls had three gates on each side, twelve in total, each presenting a zodiac sign. The citadel had five bridges to cross the moat. Some characteristics of the palace (such as cardinally-placed gates and a central palace structure) can be traced back to the early Pyu period. The primary east–west axis was created from the palace buildings themselves.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=339}} Illustrations from 11th century Pagan depict wooden buildings similar to those at the palace, and handiwork later found at Mandalay.

Only a section of the original palace remained after a 1945 fire, with examples of traditional stucco used in Burmese construction. The palace's Flower Distribution Centre contains several wooden, semicircular arches which may have been inspired by 19th-century European buildings. The stucco on these arches appears to represent rays of sunlight or lotus petals.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=342}}

In addition to its wood carvings and stucco, tiered roofs (pyatthat) are a feature of the palace. Inside, covered hallways lead to a small throne room which is topped by a pyatthat. Many pyatthats on the palace, like those other Burmese structures, are parallel to monasteries and throne rooms. There is also a pyatthat over the Great Audience Hall. Due to the tropical climate, frequent renovations of the wood-and stucco palace have been necessary; some of its original teak has been reinforced with concrete.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=346}}

File:Shwenandaw Kyaung, Mandalay 06.jpg carvings of the Shwenandaw Monastery]]

Stucco, introduced during the Bagan period, is strongly tied to Mon heritage. Wood carving in Myanmar is a traditional art which has survived for centuries. Due to its tropical climate (necessitating the reconstruction of many buildings), the craft has been passed down from generation to generation. Without these renovations, the art of wood carving would have been lost and it would have been impossible to reconstruct traditional features.{{Cite journal|last=Moore|title=The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|pages=335 & 343}}

Gold cladding is a feature of traditional Burmese architecture, usually prominent in gilded or gold-plated exteriors.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}} The Bupaya, Shwedagon, Shwezigon and Lawkananda Pagodas have gold features.

During World War II, many historical structures were lost or damaged; much of the Mandalay Palace was destroyed in a fire near the end of the war.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gandawunshwebagan.com/mandalay/palace.html|title=Mandalay Palace – Myanmar Travel|website=www.gandawunshwebagan.com|language=en|access-date=5 February 2018}} In 1962, on alleged orders from Ne Win, the Rangoon University Students' Union was demolished (although the main campus still contains lecture and residence halls from the colonial period).{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=258}} Since the late 1980s, many colonial structures (including a block of cinemas) have been razed for new construction.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=270–272}}

Only a few colonial-era buildings and about 2,200 temples and pagodas remain in Myanmar.{{Cite book|title=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|last=John M.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=479–480}} As a result of these losses, many groups have united to preserve the remaining structures.{{Cite journal|last=Yang|title=Cultural Resilience Vs. Historic Preservation|journal=Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review|pages=75}}

The Yangon City Development Committee, established in 1990, has worked with the State Peace and Development Council to recondition many Buddhist monuments with plans for newer and more-challenging designs.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=265}} Pagodas and temples have been renovated to promote "monumental Buddhism", the renewal of Buddhist architecture for a sense of authenticity.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=273}} These newer Buddhist sites, a combination of modern and traditional Burmese style, are found throughout Myanmar and include monasteries, pagodas and the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University.{{Cite journal|last=Seekins|title=The State and the City|journal=Pacific Affairs|pages=273–274}} The crown umbrella atop the Shwedagon Pagoda, which was donated by King Mindon in 1871, was replaced in the spring of 1999.

The Yangon Heritage Trust, formed in 2012, is a non-governmental organization committed to preserving Yangon's historic architecture. The trust has had several preservation successes, due to its public-awareness campaigns. Agreements with government officials have saved the former Indian and U.S. Embassy buildings and Gandhi Hall.{{Cite journal|last=Girke|title=The Yangon Court Buildings|journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia|pages=72–104}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{colbegin}}

• "Art" (2016), Myanmar, Chicago World Book Inc.
• Edwards, Penny. (2006) "Grounds for protest: placing Shwedagon pagoda in colonial and postcolonial history." The Institute of Postcolonial Studies vol. ix, pp. 197–211
• Fiala, Robert D, "[http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/513/myanmar/bagan/ananda-pahto-temple Ananda Pahto Temple, Bagan, Myanmar]," Oriental Architecture
• Fiala, Robert D, "[http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/cid/131/myanmar/bagan Bagan, Myanmar]," Oriental Architecture
• Girke, Felix (1999), "The Yangon Court Buildings: Between Thick and Thin Heritage." Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia vol. xxx, pp. 72–104
• Miksic, John N. (1990), Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press vol.xxi, pp. 479–480
• "The Konbaung Dynasty and the Anglo-Saxon Burmese Wars" (2016), Myanmar, Chicago: World Book, Inc.
• "Military dictatorship" (2016), Myanmar, Chicago: World Book, Inc.
• Moore, Elizabeth (1993), "The Reconstruction of Mandalay Palace Palace: An Interim Report on Aspects of Design." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London vol. lvi, pp. 339–346
• Myer, Prudence R (1961), "Stupas and Stupa Shrines," Artibus Asiae vol. xxiv, pp. 26–34
• "The Pagan Kingdom" (2016), Myanmar, Chicago: World Book Inc.
• Pichard, Pierre (2013), Today's Pagan: Conservation Under the Generals. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, {{ISBN|978-3-642-35869-2}}
• Seekins, Donald M. (2005), "The State and the City: 1988 and the Transformation of Rangoon." Pacific Affairs vol.lxxviii, pp. 265–274
• Seekins, Donald M. (2013), "Sacred Site or Public Place," "Palgrave Macmillan US" pp. 139–159
• Stover, BA, Eric; Vink, PhD, Patrick (2008), "Cyclone Nargis and the Politics of Relief and Reconstruction Aid in Burma (Myanmar)," American Medical Association vol.vi, pp. 729
• Yang, Chiao-Yen (2012), "Cultural Resilience Vs. Historic Preservation: Managing Changes in Bagan, Myanmar." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review vol.xxv, pp. 75

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Category:Architecture in Myanmar

Category:Culture of Myanmar