Buddhist Monastery Temples

The most common form of Buddhist architecture seen in Thailand is the wat, or monastery temple. Although wat architecture has seen many changes in Thailand in the course of history, and there are many differences in layout and style, most monasteries adhere to the same principles. With few exceptions, a Thai temple usually consists of two parts: the phuttawat, the area dedicated to the Buddha, and the sanghawat, the living quarters of the Buddhist monks.

Roof Forms

Multiple roof tiers are an important element of the Thai temple—a technique reserved only for the roofs of temples, palaces, and important public buildings. Temples typically have two or three tiers, although royal temples may have four. The use of multiple roof tiers is more aesthetic than functional. Because temple halls are large, their roof areas are also quite large, and multiple tiers have the effect of lightening the roof's massive appearance. The lowest tier is the largest, with a smaller middle layer and the smallest tier on top. Individual layers themselves have multiple breaks as well—a double-tiered roof might have two to four breaks in each tier, for example—that further lighten the effect and create dynamic visual rhythms. 

In northern temples, the roof area tends to be larger, sweeping low toward the ground to cover more of the wall. The lower tiers telescope farther to the entrance. In central Thai temples, the lower tiers telescope just a short distance beyond the top roof at the gable ends.

Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakan at Wat Pho, Bangkok.

Thai Buddhist monasteries, or wats, are known for their elaborate tiered roofs.

Roof Finials 

Roofs of Thai temples are typically decorated with finials attached to the bargeboard, the long, thin panel on the edge of the roof at the gable ends. The most common finial is called the lamyong, sculpted in a serpentine shape and resembling the feathers of Garuda, a mythical bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The lamyong is surmounted by a large, curving ornament called the chofah, which represents the beak of Garuda. Temples may also be decorated with sculptures and paintings of other mythical beings from Hindu and Buddhist iconography, including the many-armed gods Vishnu and Shiva, the elephant god Ganesh, the naga or serpent deity, and the ghost-banishing giant Yaksha. A roof with multiple breaks or tiers will have identical finials at the bottom of each section. 

Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai

The roofs of wats were commonly decorated with finials of mythical creatures.