Architect Petrusjka Mangaard Skjerning
Architectural heritage of ladakh
LOBDING PA |
TIBET heritage fund, leh india _2015
SUKU PA |
TIBET heritage fund, leh india _2013
Suku Pa. The house is approximately 200 years old, but as we have seen often in the Old City of Leh, the house has been abandoned in the 1970’s when the borders to Ladakh opened for truism. The local Ladakhi population had until then lived quite isolated lives however connected to the world by the Silk Route. In the 1970’s the need for Guest housing rose and people therefore moved out of the denser city center and out to the borders of the city, where they built guesthouses - many build in concrete. The old historical houses were abandoned or rented out for guest workers from e.g. Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. The historical houses are all built in local, vernacular materials found in Ladakh: sundried clay bricks and timber (poplar and willow - two of the few tree species that can grow in the Himalayan climate). The vernacular houses need some maintenance, but as the owners left the houses, the maintenance has not been regular and therefor we see a large decay within the original building mass. The documentation of these houses is extremely important as it conserves the information of Ladakhi/ Tibetan cultural heritage for the future, when many of the buildings disappear. Leh is situated at 3,500 - 3,700 meters above sea level in the Himalayan part of India close to the border of China. Ladakh is often referred to as “Small Tibet” as the Ladakhi tradition is very close to Tibetan, and H.H. the Dalai Lama is spiritual leader in Ladakh as well as he is for the Tibetans.
TSASKAN PA |
TIBET heritage fund, leh india _2013
Tsaskan Pa is a Buddhist house - it is easily seen as it has rows of Tibetan prayer flags attached on the roof. The house is approximately 200 years old, but as we have seen often in the Old City of Leh, the house has been abandoned in the 1970’s when the borders to Ladakh opened for truism. The local Ladakhi population had until then lived quite isolated lives however connected to the world by the Silk Route. In the 1970’s the need for Guest housing rose and people therefore moved out of the denser city center and out to the borders of the city, where they built guesthouses - many build in concrete. The old historical houses were abandoned or rented out for guest workers from e.g. Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. The historical houses are all built in local, vernacular materials found in Ladakh: sundried clay bricks and timber (poplar and willow - two of the few tree species that can grow in the Himalayan climate). The vernacular houses need some maintenance, but as the owners left the houses, the maintenance has not been regular and therefor we see a large decay within the original building mass. The documentation of these houses is extremely important as it conserves the information of Ladakhi/ Tibetan cultural heritage for the future, when many of the buildings disappear. Leh is situated at 3,500 - 3,700 meters above sea level in the Himalayan part of India close to the border of China. Ladakh is often referred to as “Small Tibet” as the Ladakhi tradition is very close to Tibetan, and H.H. the Dalai Lama is spiritual leader in Ladakh as well as he is for the Tibetans.
SABOO PA |
TIBET heritage fund, leh india _2013
Saboo Pa is a Buddhist house. The house is approximately 150 - 200 years old, but as we have seen often in the Old City of Leh, the house has been abandoned in the 1970’s when the borders to Ladakh opened for truism. The local Ladakhi population had until then lived quite isolated lives however connected to the world by the Silk Route. In the 1970’s the need for Guest housing rose and people therefore moved out of the denser city center and out to the borders of the city, where they built guesthouses - many build in concrete. The old historical houses were abandoned or rented out for guest workers from e.g. Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. The historical houses are all built in local, vernacular materials found in Ladakh: sundried clay bricks and timber (poplar and willow - two of the few tree species that can grow in the Himalayan climate). The vernacular houses need some maintenance, but as the owners left the houses, the maintenance has not been regular and therefor we see a large decay within the original building mass. The documentation of these houses is extremely important as it conserves the information of Ladakhi/ Tibetan cultural heritage for the future, when many of the buildings disappear. Leh is situated at 3,500 - 3,700 meters above sea level in the Himalayan part of India close to the border of China. Ladakh is often referred to as “Small Tibet” as the Ladakhi tradition is very close to Tibetan, and H.H. the Dalai Lama is spiritual leader in Ladakh as well as he is for the Tibetans.