Early Buddhist Architecture in the Western Himalaya

To this day only a few scientific studies in the field of architectural and building research were conducted in the Western Himalayas which specifically address the early sacred buildings of the Kingdom of Purang-Guge (10th to 14th Century). Most of these studies have neither yielded concrete and detailed results nor resulted in comprehensive publications. Thus far it was in the context of previous projects supported by the FWF that a comprehensive set of data was collected in several field researches and afterwards elaborated on. These data have created the sound and basis for the systematic and scientifically exact evaluation and presentation of this field of study. While the previous projects focused mainly on the documentation and the preparation of plans, the presently proposed project will focus on the publication of the collected material. A first monograph dealing with the three-storey temple in Wanla has already been finalised and is now ready for printing. Work on two volumes in collaboration with Prof. Jaroslav Poncar and Dr. Christian Luczanits on the Monastery in Alchi is prioritised. The first volume consists in an expanded reissue of the publication on the Sumtsek, the second volume will cover the entire monastic complex of Alchi and especially the Dukhang in all its construction stages. Following the patterns of the monograph on Wanla, the foundations for the remaining monographs covering the complete data of the temple districts and buildings will be laid. It is planned to focus on the temple of Sumda Chung as the second monograph of the prospective series of publications. In order to first analyse and then include all the sacred buildings covered, it is necessary to complement the existing plan material as well as some two- and three-dimensional presentations with regard to certain quite different aspects (e.g. construction, reconstruction, historic development, studies of geometry). As a final result the various monographs will be merged into a single comprehensive publication, which is aimed at providing an extensive survey of the early Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalaya (10th to 14th Century). Besides the monographs a permanent overview is given on the homepage http://www.archresearch.tugraz.at. The final goal is to develop a typology of the early Buddhist sacred architecture in the Western Himalayas from the 10th to the 14th century. A sufficient number of documented buildings exists so that the typological correlations can be explored and historical changes of the respective building can be systematically presented. Finally, to contribute to the preservation of this extremely valuable cultural heritage, the analysis will also focus on the assessment and presentation of the present condition of the respective buildings. Various methods of historic preservation will be worked out that also take the regional social, cultural and religious circumstances into account. A catalogue of measures to ensure the preservation will be suggested for each monument.

The existing data material, which has been collected in previous projects supported by the FWF, has been complemented and revised during the field research in Western Tibet, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. After years of vain efforts it was gratifying to get finally permission for the field research to Western Tibet to measure most buildings in Tholing (Red and White Temple, Mandala Temple, Golden Temple) and Tsaparang. They are considered as prototypes for the early Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalaya (kingdom of Guge 10th-14th century). After lengthy negotiations it was also possible to measure the hole monastery complex in Alchi and the temples of Mangyu and Sumda Chung in the region of Ladakh, so plan material of excellent quality could be elaborated. An approach in interdisciplinarity during the fieldresearch in Dangkhar was able with the Institute of Applied Geosciences of the TU Graz University of Technology and the Institute of restoration from the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Due to this additional survey the spatial connections can be seized and it arise exact explanations about the constructive principles, loads, thickness of walls and ceilings. Damages have been documented spatially and due to the emerging of the interior and the exterior it is possible to draw conclusions on the correlation of edificial damages and construction principles. Hence it is possible to investigate the proportional principles in detail which had assumedly been used as geometrical planning system. The 2d-plans and a 3d-model are already present. The elaboration of the data is permanently completed and regularly published on the newly arranged homepage under http://www.archresearch.tugraz.at. The principal goal of the architectural research is the development of a methodology for the conservation of monastic Buddhist buildings. Most of the monastic buildings in the Western Himalaya are in an ever-deteriorating condition. Finally, the sustainable use of the religious monuments can be seen as the best guarantee for socio-cultural continuity and the conservation of the cultural heritage as a whole. The results of the scientific research can provide the basic principles for the building conservation. As a final step we started to publish the gained data in five volumes about the "Buddhist Architecture in the Western Himalayas". The first volume was printed 2013: "The ancient monastic complex of Dangkhar". The second volume is in immediate preparation for the springtime 2015. The third volume is dedicated to the monasteries in Tholing, Nyarma and Tabo. http://lamp.tugraz.at/~karl/php/verlagsliste3.php?id=397&BRSR=0&m=