Mayan architecture demonstrates which nature and construction can live in harmony. The Mayan culture lived from 2,000 a. C. (Before Christ) between three great nations: Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. In Mexico, the Maya built their settlements in Yucatán and Campeche, mainly, and despite the more than 20 centuries since their conception, their vestiges make clear the mastery of pre -Hispanic architects to find balance with all the natural elements of their environment, from the jungle, the animals and even the stars.
Although The disappearance of the Mayan culture remains a mystery; Its architecture, on the other hand, is so tangible and impressive that it is worthy of being studied and recognized, inside and outside its mother land. Next, we collect some data that every design lover must know about Mayan architecture and its intricate relationship with the natural.
Mayan architecture is famous for its architecture in staggered pyramids.David Peterson / Pexels.
What are the main characteristics of Mayan architecture?
Mayan architecture is characterized by its worldview And, therefore, their aesthetics, territorial systems and designs took place from two basic concepts. The first and most important was allowing construction between nature to live with it; This allowed pyramids, temples and homes to be part of the Yucatan Peninsula ecosystem, Guatemala and Honduras. The second premise was Grant meaning to your buildingsthus the famous and distinctive Mayan plasticity arose, whose design keeps more secrets than it appears.
The need that the Maya had to give meaning to their architecture resulted in the invention of a construction trinomial made with platforms, the roof in brackets (even, there is registration of messulated vaults) and the crest. The particularity of this system is that allowed the construction of the iconic staggered pyramids: The platforms, with the broad base and their subsequent bases, formed the body of construction; In addition, the number of platforms was related to Mayan culture and belief.
For example, there were constructions with nine large steps, which represented the levels of the Mayan underworld, the Xibalbá; others, with 13 steps, the levels of the Mayan sky; or with seven, the mystical number of the earth. The roofs in brackets were the Mayan invention that consisted of stacking stone slabs to form the ceiling and support the following platforms; Finally, the crest was the superstructures as an architectural plume or coronation of the Mayan constructions, which were perfected and lightened, and whose function fell on the decoration with religious motifs through red, green and yellow paintings.