Art and Culture / Architecture Part 3
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.
| 
