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Architects: Ji Architects
- Area: 820 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Hongyue Wang
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Lead Architect: Wenhui Lu
Text description provided by the architects. Commissioned by Tsenpo Museum, Jí Architects has designed a plan to expand the existing 500㎡ campuses with an additional space of 800 m2, so as to meet the ever-growing needs for exhibition and cultural exchanges. The Tsenpo Museum was founded and built by the 9th H.E Chakme Rinpoche in Jizha township of Nangqian county, YushuQinghai Province. Its main volume, modeled after Yumbu Lakhang Palace of the first King of Tibet during the Tubo period and constructed by piling one stone on another with the craftsmanship of Shannan, Tibet, stands as the visual center of the entire architectural complex of Tsenpo Museum. Most of its exhibits are Buddha statues, thangkas, and Tibetan folkloric articles.
In the south of the museum lie the supporting facilities, including guest rooms, canteen, kitchen, library, and courtyard. The expansion is conducted within this area to add more space for office, exhibition, and cultural exchanges, including a 150 m2 meditation center and an equally-sized exhibition hall, also with a hope of possibly preserving a partial courtyard.
Both the old and new museum campuses are jointly built by Tibetan people and Lamas utilizing primarily the local stone materials. One campus is built in traditional Tibetan style, whereas the other, stripped of conventional decorations, adopts simplistic stone facades coupled with transparent curtain walls of glass to cater to the varied needs of modern life. Such a conflict and contrast bears resemblance to the changes of local society that some local cultural elements have perished with the arrival of imported ones, and that cultural conflict and cultural fusion take place between the traditional and the modern as well as the native and the import after the construction of the new campus, Tsenpo Museum conducted an exhibition themed “Something in the Air” by the modern artist ZhaoYao, in the hope that the locals would come to realize the interesting clashes arising from the introduction of new elements.
In the face of traditional architecture, we’d like the modern counterpart to take on an attitude of not compromising while respecting the tradition. The new campus has created some visual voids and platforms via the mutual displacement between several volumes, enabling people to sense the visual centerpiece of Yumbu Lakhang at all times, be they in the courtyard or the new space. Meanwhile, a structural reservation from the old building is used for placing a glass box in the optimal position facing the holy mountains. The box is eye-catching and humble—during the day, wreathed by the snow mountain, it becomes semi-hidden in the surroundings through its reflection against the sky, whereas in the dark, silent night, it transforms itself into the brightest lighthouse beside the National Highway 214 that runs towards Tibet.
Previously named “Gangdai”, meaning “the tribe of meditation”, Nangqian witnesses a millennium history of meditation by its local residents. The glass box suspending above the old building is the meditation center, the largest space in the new campus, which features a panoramic view of the three holy mountains. Yangqin Meditation Cultural Association organizes regular cultural exchange events here. In this space, people can enjoy Zen tea, dance, music, or simply do nothing but sit still with their faces towards the rolling holy mountains for a couple of hours, an afternoon or even an entire day, listening to the sounds of nature and perceiving the changing scenery around.
Time in Nangqian runs slow, so soundless that its passage seems hardly perceptible; Time in Nangqian can also go fast, as the vagaries of the weather offer one the experience of four seasons in the course of a single day. In the morning, the dazzling sunlight casts a deep shadow over the white walls and window holes; in the afternoon, the building merges itself with the glowing snow into one being, as its glass box reflects Yumbu Lakhang and the snow-capped mountains, constantly changing its colors along with the uncertain weather and drifting clouds. This place is the window of communication between Tibetan people, lamas, and the outside world, and also serves as a holy land for us “intruders” to gain a slice of Tibetan culture.
