Rural Khmer houses are a traditional house type of the Khmer people in Cambodia.
Typically, rural Khmer two-story buildings vary in size from by to about 6 by . The basic structure features a wooden frame and a roof erected before the walls on the upper floor are inserted. The roof frame defines the type of the house: a gabled roof (Phteah Rông Daol), a hipped roof (Phteah Pét), the Khmer house (Phteah Keung) with a roof shape sometimes called a bonnet roof or shikoro in Japanese. In Battambang province, most houses have open spaces beneath the roof. They are called Phteah Rông Doeung, which may be derived from thbal kdoeung, meaning that a rice mill was stored at the back of the house under a second awning.Francois Tainturier: Wooden Architecture of Cambodia. A Disappearing Heritage. A common feature in every type of house is a 5–10 cm gap, on all four sides, between the top of the wall of the upper floor and the roof.
Dwellings are raised on stilts that sometimes extend as high as off the ground. Thus, annual floods do not affect the main room in the houses of rice farmers, whereas rural farmers are able to use the ground level area beneath the house for working and to provide shelter for livestock. One or two wooden ladders, ramps, or staircases provide access to the upper floor. The simplest houses consist of only one room on the upper floor, partitioned off to provide a storage place for rice, a bedroom for the parents, and a further space for unmarried daughters.
The upper floor generally consists of one large room. The main part of this room, the area where visitors are received, is defined by four central pillars; in this space there will be a figure of Buddha, a television, and a battery-operated electric light in the centre attached to the pillars. The parents' sleeping space is situated either to the left or the right of the central entrance; textiles are often hung to separate this area from the rest of the room. To the back of the upper floor, on the left, is a space for the girls, whilst the boys have a space reserved for them on the right. This arrangement may vary from one family to another, but children are always separated by gender and placed at the back of the house. Other variations in position relative to the main central area are possible, but this room, with a figure of Buddha, television and battery-operated light, always remains the most important area.
Despite indoor and outdoor temperatures of and up to 80% relative humidity the old rural Khmer houses are very comfortable, both at ground level and on the upper floor. In spite of the absence of electric or mechanical air conditioning, a draught-free environment appears to be attained simply by means of natural ventilation.
Khmer house
The original Khmer house is a stilt house, or pile, house. The structure consists of evenly spaced wooden pilings that extend from the ground to the eaves or the roof ridge historically called ridge-post framing. No provision is made at ground level for any form of wall cladding or protection against wind and rain; by day this area provides shade and serves as a living space for the inhabitants and their livestock. The upper floor, which is closed on all four sides, provides sleeping accommodation during the night; clothes, furniture and objects of value are stored here. A gable roof with an open truss completes the structure. This is now what most common houses look like.
Depending on social status or financial possibilities, this basic structure may vary. Such variations can often be seen in the partitioning of the upper floor: the division between the parents' room, or the area set aside for the children, may be extended to include a large veranda, thus providing a separation from the private part of the house. According to the size of the building, further variations may be found: to avoid too great a span width, and economise on material, larger buildings no longer have a simple pitched roof.
Based on the framework and depending on the size of the building, 1 – 3 pitched roofs are placed alongside each other; the central roof will be noticeably smaller and narrower. A hip roof is another variation of the typical roof of a Khmer house; this construction requires a large amount of material and is complicated, so it is rarely seen. The shape of the roof defines the different house types. The Khmer house is an example of indigenous materials used with a traditional design called vernacular architecture.
The rural Khmer house: a functional dwelling The rural Khmer house is a perfect example of a dwelling whose simple structure serves its main functions. As well as providing a living and working area, the building serves as a shelter, which is of vital importance in the everyday life of a home in a rural setting that is exposed to the elements. During the day, the house functions as a large umbrella. Work and life go on at ground level, where the most effective shade is provided. This area is used for eating and resting, as well as craftwork and various other tasks such as the repair of farm equipment.
As the space below the building is dry and easily accessible, some less-used areas at its outer limits are used for storage; for example, people may collect and store wood here until they are able to build the next house for their relatives. People do not stay upstairs during the day; they only sleep here at night. A separate room beside the main living space, which is often a step lower than the upper floor, is reserved for cooking.
Spatial organisation of the house Typically, the kitchen is situated at the back of the house, often some steps lower and attached to the main building; it is not uncommon for there to be two entrances to this room, one from the upper floor and one directly from the ground level. Sometimes the kitchen is in a separate building near the house.
Much attention is paid to certain details, especially in a new house: the main beam of the roof and the main pillars are partially wrapped with glittering metal bands that invite good spirits to protect the house.
Traditional rural Khmer house The typical rural house is the basic structure from which all variations have developed. Construction elements are made of wood; rounded posts are used for piles, whilst joists are made of squared beams. Simple carpentry is used to join horizontal and vertical elements; the use of screws, which would increase expense, is avoided. Panels of homemade palm matting cover the sides of the house; fixed to the wooden structure in a simple fashion they merely provide protection against the elements but have no influence on the stability of the construction. Palm matting is also used for roofing.
Traditional house in a settlement The house pictured here is situated in a settlement. Typical characteristics of such a settlement are: The private sphere of each household is restricted to the area occupied by their dwelling; Delimited by the stilt structure of the house, it is at ground level that daily life – work, eating and family interaction – takes place. Livestock is kept here, in simple pens. These typical wooden buildings surround an open space (approximately 150 m2), where there is a communal source of water, which forms the centre of the settlement.
The image on the right shows a 107-year-old house and is still owned by the same family. It has a wooden structure, with bamboo walls. The roof is thatched with rice straw. The lifespan of such houses is obviously not very long, probably not more than 100 – 120 years.
Traditional waterside Khmer house These houses stand in water, either temporarily or permanently, and are genuine pile buildings, with no foundations. Wooden diagonal struts that strengthen the piles standing in the water ensure the stability of the building.
Further developments using modern building materials Modern rural houses differ from simple rural houses above all in the wall cladding and roof covering. Wood is still used for the main structure, the only difference being that the piles stand on individual prefabricated concrete foundations. Instead of the original homemade palm matting, wooden boarding is used for wall cladding. Windows and doors remain as structural openings, but sometimes they are equipped with shutters.
Clay tiles or corrugated tin roofing replace the conventional roof covering that simply provided protection against the sun. Tiles are not homemade and have to be purchased. The use of modern building materials and the consequent alteration in the basic structure of the building increases the need for ventilation.
Walled rural house Today's population has an ever-greater need for security and prosperity. In contemporary houses, the ground level, which was previously an open area simply defined by the open framework of the building, is now walled in. The walls are made of brick and are rendered on the outside and inside. The interior is now no longer an open space but divided into separate rooms by dividing walls. The window and door openings, so important for efficient natural ventilation, are now closed with wood-framed glass windows and a solid wooden front door.
The upper floor is still made of wood and built in the same way as the traditional wooden houses. However, the walled construction of the ground level means that the load no longer has to be conveyed to the individual points of the supporting structure, but can now be distributed at random. Consequently, we now find constructions that differ radically from the typical traditional basic design.
Masonry Versus Carpentry Colonial architecture introduced the idea of solid, durable buildings that could be bought, sold and inherited. This was a radical cultural change. Such buildings were "grounded" by a system of walls requiring foundations rather than the traditional post and beam structure made of wood and raised off the ground. The Southeast Asian tradition of carpentry uses ingenious structures that are stable with a minimum of material. Carpentry for construction derives from three-dimensional thinking from boat building, basket weaving and even kite building.Grant Ross, Helen and Collins, Darryl Leon Building Cambodia: 'New Khmer Architecture' 1953-1970, Bangkok: The Key Publisher Co. Ltd., 2006
While the traditional wooden house was built on stilts with matting used to enclose the raised living area, the colonial house had thick walls in which window openings could be cut out. With colonial architecture, the wall and the mason are predominant. With traditional architecture, wooden post and beam and the carpenter come into their own. This section "Masonry Versus Carpentry" is an excerpt from the book Building Cambodia: New Khmer Architecture 1953–1970.
Access Access to the upper floor is a special feature of Khmer houses and very varied. The simplest form may be a wooden ramp or ladder, whilst staircases can be of wooden filigree, spiral, or partially built in masonry. Whereas this means of access would formerly have been handmade, nowadays prefabricated concrete elements are widely used.
Household and family structures If there is a kitchen it is located at the back of the house, generally a few steps lower than the upper floor. Often the kitchen is situated in a separate building near the house, usually behind it. Toilet facilities consist of simple pits in the ground, located away from the house. When filled they are covered with earth. Any livestock (pigs and poultry) is kept in cages, on the ground level. Rice farmers have water buffalo, which are kept in the area around the house.
Houses and health