– Bodhi leaf style entrance refers to the Bodhi Tree (ေဗာဓိေညာင္ပင္) under which Buddha got his enlightenment.

– Eight groups of main columns refer to “Noble Eight Path” (မဂၢင္႐ွစ္ပါး)

– Four bamboos in each column group refer to “Four Noble Truth” (သစၥာေလးပါး)

– Double layered roof above the buddha statues is inspired by Burmese traditional monasteries with many layered roofs above the shrine room. The benefit of double roof is its stack effect which allows the hot air to go out from the building and so the cooler air can enter the room.

– While designing for the room layouts, the environmental effects (like sunlight and wind direction),religious believes (like Buddha statue location) and privacy were carefully considered. As we were to design a small monastery with walking meditation space and a room with shrine and sleeping space for a monk, we first think about the passageway where one can do the walking meditation smoothly. For the shrine and sleeping room, we tried to create a quite and private space by placing the room at the center and locating the door at the back rather than at the front. Moreover, the bathroom with toilet is placed separately at the west side of the building so that it can be cleaned by someone without disturbing the monk and at the same time, preventing the direct sun rays from the west.

– We used BAMBOO, which is environmentally friendly and fast growing, for the main structure and roofing. This can reduce the sun heat through roofing. The walls are done by putting LIME plaster over bamboo meshes. Lime helps to stabilize the internal humidity of a building by absorbing and releasing moisture. This makes for a more comfortable environment.