Prospective Bhutan by Mehr

Prospective Bhutan AN ARTICLE / by Mehr 23rd of May, 2020

The following is a Summarization of the Analysis and Understanding of Bhutan as a country on the precipice of development. This Article was written in my Second Year Fourth Semester Design Studio which had a central idea of exploring place and memory. To look beyond obvious appearances and really see what exists beyond it. Identifying Place; Creating, retaining and placing memories.

Introduction Lying in the Eastern Himalayan Mountain Range thrives a landlocked country comprising of a world within itself. Informally known as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, the Kingdom of Bhutan is best known for its idyllic natural setting, radiant culture and the eminent concept of “Gross National Happiness”. The name “Bhutan” is derived from the word “Böd” which in its literal meaning refers to The Borderland. This explains the setting and the context of the country, which is situated in between the borders of China and India – periphery demarcated by the majestic Himalayas. The small country comprises of about 40,000 square kilometers of area and while there is no reliable census, the population of Bhutan is estimated to be around 800,000 people. While the country is relatively small in size as compared to its overpowering neighbors, the people are its biggest asset and its their happiness that makes Bhutan the treasure it is today. One isn’t wealthy when one has money, but when one is truly happy - the people of Bhutan center themselves around this concept. ‘Gross National Happiness’ is the term coined to this motto and is strictly followed by every single person residing in Bhutan. Because they understand and value spiritual satisfaction over physical wealth, the people of the country are more spiritually enlightened and thus have a deep sense of connect with their past and present. The moment one enters the Kingdom of Bhutan, he or she finds themselves segregating the surroundings into Nature, Culture and Community. These three are the primary subjects that interconnect with each other and have a strong impact on the lives of the people. While nature is omnipresent across the country on a large scale – from hills to the mountains, the rivers 1

and the forests, it also exists as a representation of a singular tree reappearing in the multiple courtyards that comprise in a Dzong – which in return connects this natural element to that of culture, for this tree is now an element of tranquility, a place to meditate under, a reminder of the life of Buddha and the growth towards enlightenment. Their idea of culture also depicts itself through art which one finds on the walls of their houses, the facades of the buildings, the constant existence of a religious space in a neighborhood and the string of prayer flags that one finds everywhere - a common hope that connects the country together – which brings about a reflection on their community, manifesting through their common beliefs, practices, activities and ultimately, tie all the three. But to really understand the country and its people, one must put them through a lens which details out the things that need to be observed, calculated and taken in account before any creation is done. There are five lenses through which we have observe Bhutan. These include: Identity, Social Context, Religion, Materials and Disaster. While these lenses act as entities of their own, a tool to systematically calculate and analyze data, they are all interconnected with each other and cannot do without the other. Leaving even one of the lenses aside can create a major impact on decisions to be made while designing for Bhutan. The first lens is that of “Identity” which deals with the basic question of what makes a space what it is. It is the measure of how easily a space evokes a clear mental image in the mind of any person observing it. It is not alone in the way we see things, but how we perceive them and make them a part of our memory. The way we perceive things is very important for that is what leads us towards an inclination of what and how we choose to create when we finally do. Bhutan indeed does a beautiful job by evoking the five senses with colors, performances, art, rituals, nature and much more. What it also does evoke the sixth sense, to be in a space and understand it’s past, present and the possibility of various futures. The people of the country run by this sixth sense and it is in fact one of the most profound teachings of Buddhism. Therefore, Identity becomes a significant aspect that is inevitably thought of whether or not one wants to. The second lens is that of the “Social Context”, this lens deals with how one interprets their surroundings and what one chooses to take from them when designing for a particular group of people. If one is able to identity why, how, what for and how many people are utilizing or are engaging in a space, it gets easier for one to understand why and what has to be created there. This includes activities, functions, typologies, footfall, proximity of religious spaces and the significance of them. It is important to understand the mindset of the people you’re designing for, their values, traditions - to understand the needs of the people, the room for change in their lives and their idea of happiness. That is what social context deals with.

The third lens elaborated is that of “Religion”, for a country like Bhutan, this has a major role to play. With a population that has about 80% Buddhists, most of their individual journeys and every-day life activities are influenced by their need to attain enlightenment. It is the very basis for the communitiesfrom the dawn of time, religion has not only influenced, but dictated the way communities have been structured, functioned and eventually prospered. It appears in bedroom walls as iconographies, altar rooms in houses, miniature stupas on the streets and well-defined Lhakhangs and Dzongs. It plays a major role in defining who they were, who they are and who they want to become and therefore a deep understanding of this enables one to understand how this can re-interpreted while designing and yet be a constant part of their life. The fourth lens is that of “Materials and Processes”. One cannot know what to create if one is not familiar with the tools and resources available to create it. Materials are the building block when bringing a design to life. For Bhutan which brims with art and spirit that influence the way houses, government buildings and religious structures are constructed and built – it’s important to know the different materials used in a building, the pattern and repetition of those materials in a neighborhood and that across the city. Each building material carries a unique experience with it, to understand what it means for the people of Bhutan, their idea of vernacularity and what is the possibility of the introduction of a new material are all important factors that are looked at under this lens. The fifth and the last lens is that of “Disaster Mitigation and Climate”. The hilly terrain of Bhutan is highly disaster prone while constantly being subjected to adverse climate, that is why it is important to understand this before designing. People need spaces that do not self-destruct easily in the time of an earthquake, that are climate appropriate and can stand through the wrath of time. That is why it acts as a binder in connecting all the lenses together. If one is able to create something that cannot stand for a long time, all of the above falls useless. All five of these lenses together give a deep understanding of Bhutan and a reflection on the roots of why it exists the way it does and including the possibility of what it could be. The future of Bhutan cannot be created on when one hasn’t understood its past and present and therefore, the following pages give a deep insight on Bhutan and what exactly makes it what it is today.

Elaborating Social Context as a Lens The Social Context is a significant aspect when it comes to the understanding of a place, it influences how one interprets his or her surroundings and what one chooses to take from them when designing for a

particular group of people. When we look at a country like Bhutan which has a rich collection of cultural and social activities, it is very important to derive what all we choose to take from it when designing for the people of the country. If we’re able to identity why, how, what for and how many people are utilizing or are engaging in a space, it gets easier for one to understand why and what has to be created there. A lot of factors affect the Social Context of Bhutan, these include activities, functions and the typologies of buildings and spaces. The footfall of a certain place also plays a major role in gaining a deep understanding of the Social Context. Social context works differently on all three levels. These levels include Building, Node and Settlement level. To understand the social context of a settlement it’s important to understand the basic element that it is comprised of. The basic elements are not conclusive within themselves but are the foundation to a greater list that makes up a settlement. Therefore, we start with the building level; the compartmentalization of the rooms, the placement of the altar, the immediate surroundings – this includes the adjacent curve of the river, the proximity of the religious spaces, the number of farmlands etc. and the socioeconomic background of the people living in the house. On the node level, this means the typologies of different buildings placed in a node – this could be religious, commercial, official or residential and the function it performs. It also takes in account for the footfall of the various buildings in that node, the road network and the line of visibility of all the different spaces when viewed from the site you’re designing on. The settlement level majorly includes the road network, the pattern in which the built area is placed alongside the river, the positioning of the focal points and the clusters of typologies around it and the overall response to the setting of these spaces and their interaction with nature. One finds references to the social context of the place in the most basic elements, for example the arrangement and the number of rooms in the house. Does the house have an altar? – That would define the influence of religion on the people living in the house. How big is the altar in context with the number of people living in the house? – How much has the religion influenced them. Does iconography repeat itself on the walls of the house? Does iconography not exist in the house? How many people live in the house? How many children? How many of those are women? How many of the women are working? – All of these questions arrive when one is only questioning the Social context inside a building. The moment you step out of it, Natural factors like the proximity of the river, engagement in agricultural practices, proximity of the farmlands and the line of sight with the hills come into place. One also has to take in account of their neighbors and if there is a close relationship with them, what does that say about the placement of the houses?

It is essential to understand that if the above questions arise from a singular building, the collection of these for various other buildings would help us understand how the social context in a node works. The node is based on a focal point, one decides what is the focal point in a node based on the connection of spaces that lead to it and the arrangement of spaces around it. While we have already dived into a certain a typology of a building, a group of various typologies performing different functions define the social context of a node. How many religious buildings exist in this node? Is it a commercial Hub? Or a residential area? Can one have a clear of line of sight with the Dzong from their house? What kind of activities take place in that node? For Example, is there an existence of an Archery ground? The moment you have the answer to these questions, it is easier to understand the needs of the people living in that particular area and hence, easier to design according to those needs and for the people. Because we know that the social context is engraved in to the basic element of Architecture in Bhutan, it is very interesting to note that a singular understanding in that lead us organization of a node. If we take one step ahead, we realize this organization in a group of buildings can lead to an entire understanding of the settlement pattern of Bhutan. A road network in a singular node when connected to multiple leads to a series of interconnection of road networks leading to the understanding of the proximity of various focal points – of various nodes. Similarly, a built feature that is a response to the social context when repeating itself through the entire city becomes a pattern and this is important when it comes to understanding the entire mindset of the city, of the country in itself. We know that we’re designing for the people of Bhutan and if we do not understand the culture, art, traditions and the mindset of the people of Bhutan, we will never be able to create something that they accept and make themselves a part of. That’s why it is essential to understand the social context and what we choose to take from it when deciding the future of Bhutan and for the people of Bhutan.

References Anon., 2017. "Bhutan - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org,. [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan [Accessed 8 4 2022]. Anon., n.d. Bhutanese - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage. [Online] Available at: https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Afghanistan-to-Bosnia-Herzegovina/Bhutanese.html [Accessed 8 4 2022].