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Understanding arga as a building material in Tibetan architecture
Pimpim de Azevedo
Centre for Sustainable Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London, London, UK
Contact: [email protected]
Fig. 1: Arga singers applying arga material to the roof of Gamposhar in Lhasa.
Introduction
Traditional buildings and indoor environment
Arga material analysis
Tibetan traditional construction uses materials that are
suitable to face the harsh and dry climate of the Tibetan
cultural region, extreme fluctuation of temperature
between day and night, and cold winters.
Tibetan houses using traditional materials have been
replaced in the past two decades by buildings using
new materials and these may not be appropriate to
face the local climate.
Although studies have been made elsewhere in China,
little is known about the indoor environment of Lhasa
traditional and new buildings and how the different
types of materials and their thickness affects the indoor
environment.
Can traditional buildings face climate change? Are
traditional construction techniques a sustainable
approach to climate change?
Arga is a building material characteristic of Tibetan
architecture used in the Lhasa area to make the roofs
waterproof, but little is known about its composition. It
has been to be micrite [1]. Some authors [2, 3] disagree
as to whether arga has intrinsic waterproof qualities or
whether it attains waterproof qualities as a result of the
technique of its application. Microscopy, thin section
analysis, ATR-FTIR, and chemical tests will be used to
characterise 18 arga samples from different locations.
Fig.3 Arga roof construction process, showing the tools used during
the application, with a sample of raw arga in the inset.
Conclusions
Little is known about thermo-hygrometric properties of
Tibetan buildings with little to no distinction being made
between traditional Tibetan architecture and new
buildings built with modern materials.
It is important to understand if traditional buildings
using traditional construction are more suitable to face
climate change.
This work will contribute to understanding of traditional
Tibetan building materials and their properties. It
specifically focuses on arga, a type of traditional
material used in the Lhasa area.
Fig. 2: FTIR spectra of four arga samples, all four showing peaks
characteristic of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) and silicates, with CaCO 3
being predominan t.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to CSH and Zentrum fur Bucherhaltung for supporting this
research and to Tibet Heritage Fund f or the permission to use the photos.
References
[1] Alexander A. and Catanese A. 2007. Leh Old Town Conservation Project Ladakh, Indian Himalayas , Issue 1, October, e-conservation magazine
[2] Muya - Qujie Jiancai 2009. Residential Building of Tibet (Xizang Minju),
Beijing.
[3] Jiang, H., Gasu, Pengcuo Langjie, Wang, M. 1994. Xizang Budalagong
Xiushan Baokao, (Report of the repairs on the Potala Palace in Tibet), Beijing.