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Bhutanese Architecture
Bhutanese architecture consists of Dzong and everyday varieties. Dzongs in Bhutan were built as fortresses and have served as religious and administrative centers since the 17th century. Secular lordly houses emerged as a distinct style in the late 19th century, during a period of relative peace in Bhutan. Throughout its history, Bhutan has mainly followed the Tibetan tradition of Buddhist architecture. Traditional architecture The Driglam Namzha codifies the traditional rules for the construction of the dzongs as well as ordinary buildings. Under the direction of an inspired lama the fortress is constructed by citizens who historically participated as part of their tax obligation to the state. Modernly, however, traditional structures are built by wage laborers, straining the government's ability to repair and preserve dzongs in particular. Traditional architecture remains alive in Bhutan. As recently as 1998, by royal decree, all buildings must be constructed with multi-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paro Province
Paro Province ( Dzongkha: སྤ་རོ་; Wylie: ''spa-ro'') was one of the nine historical Provinces of Bhutan. Paro Province occupied lands in western Bhutan, corresponding approximately to modern Paro District. It was administered from the Paro Dzong in the town of Paro. The ruling governor was known as the Penlop of Paro, or ''Parob'', a chief contender for power before the establishment of the monarchy. By the 19th century, the Penlop of Paro effectively controlled the western half of Bhutan. History Under Bhutan's early theocratic dual system of government, decreasingly effective central government control resulted in the ''de facto'' disintegration of the office of Shabdrung after the death of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1651. Under this system, the Shabdrung reigned over the temporal Druk Desi and religious Je Khenpo. Two successor Shabdrungs – the son (1651) and stepbrother (1680) of Ngawang Namgyal – were effectively controlled by the Druk Desi and Je Khe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building stone such as marble, granite, and limestone, cast stone, concrete blocks, glass blocks, and adobe. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can substantially affect the durability of the overall masonry construction. A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or bricklayer. These are both classified as construction trades. Applications Masonry is commonly used for walls and buildings. Brick and concrete block are the most common types of masonry in use in industrialized nations and may be either load-bearing or non-load-bearing. Concrete blocks, especially those with hollow cores, offer va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhabdrung Rinpoche
Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; ; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), the founder of the Bhutanese state, or one of his successive reincarnations. Ngawang Namgyal The lineage traces through the founder of the country, Ngawang Namgyal, a high Drukpa Lineage lama from Tibet who was the first to unify the warring valley kingdoms under a single rule. He is revered as the third most important figure behind Padmasambhava and Shakyamuni Buddha by the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Ngawang Namgyal established the dual system of government under the "Great Tsa Yig" legal code. Under this system, political power was vested in an administrative leader, the Druk Desi, assisted by a collection of local governors or ministers called penlops. A religious leader, the Je Khenpo, held ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngawang Namgyal
Ngawang Namgyal (later granted the honorific Zhabdrung Rinpoche, approximately "at whose feet one submits") (; alternate spellings include ''Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel''; 1594–1651) and known colloquially as The Bearded Lama, was a Tibetan Buddhist ''lama'' and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state. In addition to unifying the various warring fiefdoms for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinct Bhutanese cultural identity separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived. Birth and enthronement at Ralung ''Zhabdrung'' Ngawang Namgyal was born at Ralung () Monastery, Tibet as the son of the Drukpa lineage-holder Mipham Tenpa'i Nyima (, 1567–1619), and Sönam Pelgyi Butri (), daughter of the ruler of Kyishö () in Tibet. On his father's side, Ngawang Namgyal descended from the family line of Tsangpa Gyare (1161–1211), the founder of the Drukpa Lineage. In his youth, Ngawang Namgyal was enthroned as the eighteenth Drukpa or throne-holder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dzong In Trongsa
Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery ( dz, རྫོང, , ) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation. Characteristics Distinctive features include: * High inward sloping walls of brick and stone painted white with few or no windows in the lower sections of the wall * Use of a surrounding red ochre stripe near the top of the walls, sometimes punctuated by large gold circles * Use of unique style flared roofs atop interior temples * Massive entry doors made of wood and iron * Interior courtyards and temples brightly colored in Buddhist-themed art motifs such as the ashtamangala or swastika Regional differences Bhutan Dzongs serve as the religious, military, administrative, and social centers of their district. They are often the site of an annual ''tsechu'' or religious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a pedestal, or along the top of an interior wall. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown, as in crown moulding atop an interior wall or above kitchen cabinets or a bookcase. A projecting cornice on a building has the function of throwing rainwater free of its walls. In residential building practice, this function is handled by projecting gable ends, roof eaves and gutters. However, house eaves may also be called "cornices" if they are finished with decorative moulding. In this sense, while most cornices are also eaves (overhanging the sides of the building), not all eaves are usually considered cornices. Eaves are primarily functional and not necessarily decorative, while cornices have a decorative aspect. A building's projecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain Gutter
A rain gutter, eavestrough, eaves-shoot or surface water collection channel is a component of a water discharge system for a building. It is necessary to prevent water dripping or flowing off roofs in an uncontrolled manner for several reasons: to prevent it damaging the walls, drenching persons standing below or entering the building, and to direct the water to a suitable disposal site where it will not damage the foundations of the building. In the case of a flat roof, removal of water is essential to prevent water ingress and to prevent a build-up of excessive weight. Water from a pitched roof flows down into a valley gutter, a parapet gutter or an eaves gutter. An ''eaves gutter'' is also known as an ''eavestrough'' (especially in Canada), ''rhone'' (Scotland), ''eaves-shoot'' (Ireland) ''eaves channel,'' ''dripster'', ''guttering'', ''rainspouting'' or simply as a ''gutter''. The word ''gutter'' derives from Latin ''gutta'' (noun), meaning "a droplet". Guttering in its ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongue-and-groove
Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface. Before plywood became common, tongue and groove boards were also used for sheathing buildings and to construct concrete formwork. A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded.Tongue and GrooveWoodworkDetails.com/ref> In expensive cabinet work, glued dovetail and multiple tongue and groove are used. Each piece has a slot (the ''groove'' or '' dado'') cut all along one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the ''tongue'') on the opposite edge. The tongue projects a little less than the depth of the groove. Two or more pieces thus fit together closely. The joint is not normally glued, as shrin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked on an overland trip through Europe and Asia to Australia, following the route of the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition. The company name originates from the misheard "lovely planet" in a song written by Matthew Moore. Lonely Planet's first book, ''Across Asia on the Cheap'', had 94 pages; it was written by the couple in their home. The original 1973 print run consisted of stapled booklets with pale blue cardboard covers. Tony returned to Asia to write ''Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip'', published in 1975. Expansion The Lonely Planet guide book series initially expanded to cover other countries in Asia, with the India guide book in 1981, and expanded to rest of the world later on. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valleys Of Bhutan
The valleys of Bhutan are carved into the Himalaya by Bhutan's rivers, fed by glacial melt and monsoon rains. As Bhutan is landlocked in the mountainous eastern Himalaya, much of its population is concentrated in valleys and lowlands, separated by rugged southward spurs of the Inner Himalaya. Despite modernization and development of transport in Bhutan, including a national highway system, travel from one valley to the next remains difficult. Western valleys are bound to the east by the Black Mountains in central Bhutan, which form a watershed between two major river systems, the Mo Chhu (Sankosh River) and the Drangme Chhu. Central valleys are separated from the east by the Donga Range. The more isolated mountain valleys protect several tiny, distinct cultural and linguistic groups. Reflecting this isolation, most valleys have their own local protector deities. Throughout the history of Bhutan, its valleys and lowlands were the object of political control. During the emerge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. Use as paint Whitewash cures through a reaction with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form calcium carbonate in the form of calcite, a type of reaction generally known as carbonation or by the more specific term, carbonatation. It is usually applied to exteriors; however, it has been traditionally used in interiors of food preparation areas, particularly rural dairies, because of its mildly antibacterial properties. Whitewash can be tinted for decorative use and is sometimes painted inside structures such as the hallways of apartment buildings. However it can rub off onto clothing to a small degree. In Britain and Ireland, whitewash was used historically in interiors and exteriors of workers' cottages and still retains something o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
