Rural Khmer houses are a traditional house type of the Khmer people.
Typically, rural Khmer two-story buildings, varying in size from 4 metres (13 ft) by 6 metres (20 ft) to about 6 by 10 metres (33 ft). The basic structure consists of a wooden frame, and the roof is 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.[1] 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 3 metres (9.8 ft) off the ground. In this way, 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 36 °C (97 °F) 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
^Francois Tainturier: Wooden Architecture of Cambodia. A Disappearing Heritage. ISBN 978-99950-51-02-0
The Traditional Khmer Housing refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings by the Khmer people since the ancient time and evolved...
of a wooden frame with gabled thatch roof and walls of woven bamboo. Khmerhouses are typically raised as much as three meters on stilts for protection...
Khmer architecture (Khmer: ស្ថាបត្យកម្មខ្មែរ), also known as Angkorian architecture (Khmer: ស្ថាបត្យកម្មសម័យអង្គរ), is the architecture produced by the...
contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Khmer Rouge (/kəˌmɛər...
Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Khmer Republic (Khmer:...
contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Khmer people (Khmer: ជនជាតិខ្មែរ...
also Central Vietnam, Northeastern Thailand and Laos. Khmer cuisine can be classified into rural, elite and royal cuisine, although the difference between...
was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea, Pol...
article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. Khmer (/kəˈmɛər/...
some Western academics that early claims of atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge government (1975–1979) in Cambodia were much exaggerated. Many scholars...
article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Royal...
article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Communist...
contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. The Khmer Loeu (Khmer: ជនជាតិខ្មែរលើ...
the Khmer Rouge. It was established following the Khmer Rouge's capture of the capital Phnom Penh, effectively ending the United States-backed Khmer Republic...
for decades. The Khmer people see the Montrey as a Neak Mean Bon (one who received a heavenly mandate). Say Bory in his thesis on Rural administration of...
article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. Pol Pot (born...
'Palace cuisine') is one of the three types of Khmer cuisine, the other two being elite and rural cuisine. Khmer royal cuisine has evolved over the centuries...
Cambodians (or Sino-Khmers) are Cambodian citizens of Chinese ancestry or Chinese of full or partial Khmer ancestry. The Khmer term Khmer Kat Chen (ខ្មែរកាត់ចិន)...
areas of Indochina and maintained more than a singular centre of power. The Khmer Empire was established by the early 9th century. Sources refer here to a...
Tou Samouth (Khmer: ទូ សាមុត; c. 1915 – 20 July 1962), also known as Achar Sok (អាចារ្យសុក), was a Cambodian politician. One of the two founding members...
You may need rendering support to display the Khmer text in this article correctly. Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Mainland...
Vann Molyvann House is a major landmark of the city of Phnom Penh built in 1966 by Khmer architect Vann Molyvann as his private house and architecture...
Matak (Khmer: ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 1914 – 21 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of...
The Cambodian Civil War (Khmer: សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: Sângkréam Sivĭl Kâmpŭchéa) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the...
Siem Reap (Khmer: សៀមរាប, Siĕm Réab [siəm riəp]) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province...
Global Information