Md. Ekram Hossein

Architecture of Arakan

Architecture (ARC)

Shelter

Illustrative

Gudam ghor is a house, made almost entirely out of clay. It can be built according to a number of shapes or pongs such as - I-pong, L-pong, U-pong and T-pong. 

Gudam ghors are generally built on higher ground and not on low-lying terrain. The walls are made of clay with cane, bamboo or wood being used for the frames and fences. Om fata (nipa palm leaf) and bamboo thatch are used to make the roofs, though nowadays corrugated iron is a more common roofing material. Floors are made of wooden floorboards.

This kind of building is generally single storeyed but wealthy people often make their gudam ghors with two levels. A kitchen is attached to the back of the house on the ground floor but in a two storeyed gudam ghor it can also be on the second floor. There is often a balcony in the front of the house. Gudam ghors are expensive and cost between 10 and 15 million Kyat to make. The clay walls keep the interior cool in the summers and insulate it from fires as well.