Cambodian Wooden Houses, 1,500 Years of Khmer Heritage

This splendid book reflects not only fifteen years of in-depth research on Khmer architecture, ancient and modern, but also a personal involvement, since the authors directly experienced the process of dismantling, transporting and re-building a period countryside house from Kompong Cham to Siem Reap. Two others were moved from Aranh and Kralanh.

A comprehensive manual for architects and builders, the richly illustrated publication details the phases and techniques of construction, the species of wood corresponding to specific parts of the house, and what makes the traditional Khmer house perfectly adapted to the climatic context. The Royal Palace architects have brought in their expertise, and in total 10 architect firms and institutions sponsored the book: ArchCam, Group Four, re:edge, cbvh, Five Arc Architect, Heritage Watch, Borey Angkor Landmark Banteay Srey, Norton University, and VISPAN.

But as always in Cambodia, techniques and know-how go hand in hand with a rich array of oral traditions, religious symbolism, legends and superstitions. It starts with the dedication of any new house project to Pisnuka, the mythical master architect of Angkor Wat. Nowhere better than in the building of a wooden house do Buddhist precepts and rural traditions interact and enrich themselves.

What makes the ritualistic aspects of the building process particularly fascinating — and a real challenge for researchers! — is that, contrary to the long tradition of Indic architectural treatises, building symbolism in Cambodia remains transmitted mouth-to-ear down to generations of builders, who often don’t see the point in expliciting them to the ones who are not in the know. 

To the exhaustive documentation used by the authors, we shall just add the following complements:

• Ien Sioen’s Treatise on Modern Architecture, established in 1954 and later edited by Madeleine Giteau, gives us precious information on traditional wooden house techniques at the eve of Cambodian independence.
• Botanist Pauline Dy-Phon has established a complete list of wood species used in Cambodian architecture, with their names in Khmer, in transliteration, in English and French, and in the scientific Latin classification.
• The ceremony for the completion of a Cambodian traditional house, ការឡើងផ្ទះ (laeng pteah, literally ​“climbing to the house”), briefly mentioned pp.155 – 156, is a beautiful moment involving the neighbors, the local pagoda with the ​‘achar” and monks, the blessing of the pillows like in the wedding ceremony when a couple is involved, and a feast thrown within the recourses of the family.

Preparing the leang pteah for a house in Peak Sneng, north of Angkor Thom, in December 2021 (photo DR)