Guiding the change in transforming townscapes of Bhutan

Abstract

Bhutan stands at the threshold of a crucial change as its rich traditional towns gradually undergo physical and ideological transformations. The paper closely looks into the existing traditional town structure of Bhutanese towns and evaluates the factors leading to this change. Initially, addressing issues at the town level, the paper pins down vital changes at the building level which remain crucial to the transforming townscapes.

Keywords:

• Bhutan
• Built form
• Vernacular architecture
• Conservation

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the kindness of the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, Bhutan in permitting the use of illustrations and graphics from the ‘Structure Plan of Trashiyangtse’, namely figure nos. 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 22, 23 and 24, which were made by her for the Government of Bhutan. These images appear in a project work of her firm, The Structure Plan of Trashiyangtse.

The author highly appreciates the efforts made by Mr Tshering Dorji and his team for enabling her to understand Bhutan’s towns and related urban issues. Sincere thanks also to Ar Abhijeet Saboo and Ar Shashwat Naidu for their constant support and encouragement, as well as Mr. Abhinay Rao for his prompt help.

Finally, sincere thanks to the Editor, Dr Michael Brett-Crowther, for his enriching comments and guidance to develop the final paper, and to Ms Manjusha Misra for offering the opportunity to present an account of Bhutan’s vernacular architecture in this monograph.