Tibetan Thangka Art

Museum for And Studio

Set against the foothills of the mountains, the Lhasa Thangka Museum is structured akin to a Tibetan monastery, fostering a profound connection with the surrounding mountains and sky. The combination of internal and external viewing paths inspires visitors to feel and appreciate the cultural characteristics of Tibet. The detail design respects the heritage of the local culture and reproduces the traditional artistic features with a modern architectural language.The museum aims to be a window for the dissemination of Thangka art, it will treasure and promote Thangka and Tibetan culture

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Tibetan Thangka Art by and Studio

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Unique Properties

Set against the foothills of the mountains, the Lhasa Thangka Museum is organized in the manner of a Tibetan monastery, with an emphasis on dialogue with the mountain and the sky. The detail design respects the heritage of the local culture and reproduces the traditional artistic features with a modern architectural language.The museum aims to be a window for the dissemination of Thangka art, it will treasure and promote Thangka culture and Tibetan culture.

Tags

museum, thangka art, concrete, brass, glass curtain wall

Production Technology

The project is organized in two paths: the external one, which takes up the path of the Tibetan monastery, a climb between the different volumes, which recalls the ascent of the mountain, to lead to the high square, where During the “Sho Dun” festival, you can admire a large Thangka suspended against the tower; the other interior, which organizes the exhibition spaces and the objects on display following the path of the believer in search of enlightenment. In order to get as close as possible to the zero carbon objective, quite a lot of work has been done on the search for local materials and producers and reducing CO2 production and energy consumption. We convinced our Client not to import materials from elsewhere, avoiding long supply transportation, favoring local manpower and materials. To protect the environment, quarries are now banned in the region. We therefore chose to reinterpret the traditional stone walls with double ventilated concrete walls. We used pressed clay, a local ancestral technique, to create the floor of the exhibition spaces.

Design Challenge

At first we wanted to use the local stone, following the vernacular architecture. However quarrying is now prohibited in this region in order to protect the environment. We have therefore chosen to reinterpret the traditional stone walls with double walls in concrete. We chose concrete instead of steel and metal cladding in order to avoid any importation of materials.

Project Duration

The project started in February 2019 and finished in May 2022 in Lhasa, China

Operation Flow

We designed this museum to promote learning and meditation. The light work and scenography are designed to sublimate the centuries-old paintings, which will serve as inspiration and testimony for future generations. The museum itinerary was designed in collaboration with the curator and a local monk. The use of natural light as an architectural component has guided the design of the spaces. Zenithal light, claustra and fissures occasionally pierce the walls and roofs of the exhibition halls.

Research

At the genesis of this project, a great collector contacted us to promote and exhibit this art from the Buddhist religion; a cultural and secular approach unprecedented in Tibet. Exploring Lhasa guided by a monk and by the client allowed us to immerse ourselves in this ancestral culture. For us, it was a question here of conceiving a poetic, spiritual project, intimately linked to this context. Through our architect's eyes, we have transcribed our learning of Buddhist culture to create a museum deeply rooted in the local reality; a secular place where the boundaries between art and spirituality merge.

Inspiration

Two years ago we were approached by the largest holder of Thangka art collection in the world to study for a museum project in Tibet. We have the ambition to reconcile modernity and tradition. For this we took an initiatory journey to learn Thangka art, local culture, in its expressions of volumetric and architectural composition. The progression through the Potala Palace inspires the journey around the volumes of our project.

Image Credits

Photo and Video by: Arch-Exist Photography

Project Overview

Tibetan Thangka Art Museum has been a Silver winner in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design award category in the year 2023 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Silver Recognition

and Studio was recognized with the coveted Silver A' Design Award in 2024, a testament to excellence of their work Tibetan Thangka Art Museum.

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