Page 24 - JCAU-5-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Style evolution rules of Tibetan dwellings

with hemp ropes at the connection for reinforcement. The main building materials shifted from only wood to wood,
width of a room is approximately 4–5 m due to the size of stone, and bricks, resulting in significant changes to the
the materials used. architectural style. There are several specific features of
In the construction, the main façade or exterior wall of these transformed buildings.
the building is generally made of hard cedar wood boards. First, in terms of plans, villagers typically added floors to
Given the abundant rainfall in the region, most dwellings in maximize the space for tourism, leading to the emergence
Jiuzhaigou Valley adopt a double-slope roof. Some dwellings of L- and T-shaped layouts. Inner corridors connected
have no ridges between the two roof slopes, and the ends the original space with the added space, with the outer
are separated and interleaved, with the gap in the middle corridors built in the added part. As a result, the traffic flow
serving as a smoke exhaust channel (Liu, 2005). The roofs became more complex, and cross-shaped intersections
are covered with small planks of wood, and to protect the appeared inside buildings, such as Changqing’s house
lower compressed earthen wall, rainwater is not diverted and Segezuolailai’s house in Zharu Village. In addition,
to the edge of the eaves but collected in a drainage groove due to the shift towards tourism, agricultural and
made of a whole piece of wood on the eaves (Chen & Liu, pastoral production spaces were replaced, and traditional
2008). Windows with a long-pattern lattice are commonly Tibetan residential features were changed. For example,
used as casement windows. The doors are relatively small, the livestock pens on the ground floor were phased out, the
and the door and window eaves are undecorated (Yuan, outdoor flat roof on the second floor decreased in size, the
2022). The overall dwellings maintain their original wooden building mass was weakened, and the scale of the staircase,
color, with neither paint nor decoration on the surface. The which was moved into the house, increased.
simple construction method and original color make these
residential buildings blend seamlessly with the natural Second, in terms of structure, dwellings during this
environment (Hou, 2021). period saw improvements in their structural designs
and artisanship. The ground floor was still dominated by
3.1.2. Partially reconstructed A dwellings rammed earthen walls, while the upper floors adopted
Partially reconstructed A dwellings refer to brick and penetrating and mortised wooden frames with wooden
wood (or brick and concrete) dwellings built by villagers, boards separating the space internally. The overall span of
with a lifespan of approximately 40–60 years, from the the houses increased, with some having as few as 9 pillars
opening of the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area in 1984 to the and others having as many as 40 (Chen & Tian, 2022).
1990s (Figure 8). For these dwellings, the functions of the Third, in terms of materials, villagers began to use
livestock pens and human habitats are separated, and the materials such as red bricks to replace traditional wood,

A B C D

Figure 8. Illustration of typical dwelling features of partially reconstructed A dwellings. (A) Appearance; (B) construction; (C) structure; (D) floor plan
showing functional zones. Source: Photos and drawing by the authors

A B C D

Figure 9. Illustration of typical dwelling features of partially reconstructed B dwellings. (A) Appearance; (B) construction; (C) structure; (D) floor plan
showing functional zones. Source: Photos and drawing by the author

Volume 5 Issue 2 (2023) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0880