Editing Dzong architecture

{{Short description|Type of fortified monastery of Bhutan and Tibet}}
{{Contains special characters|Tibetan}}
'''Dzong architecture''' is used for '''dzongs''', a distinctive type of fortified monastery ({{langx|dz|རྫོང}}, {{bo|w=rdzong}}, {{IPA|dz|dzoŋ˩˨|}}) [[architectural style|architecture]] found mainly in [[Bhutan]] and [[Tibet]]. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of [[courtyard]]s, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation.
[[Image:Tashichho Dzong, Bhutan 02.jpg|thumb|[[Tashichho Dzong]] in [[Thimphu]]]]

==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 [[Motif (visual arts)|motifs]] such as the [[ashtamangala]] or [[swastika]]

==Regional differences==
===Bhutan===
{{See also|History of 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 festival.

Typically half of the rooms inside a dzong serve administrative purposes (such as the office of the ''[[penlop]]'' or governor), while the other half is dedicated to religious purposes, primarily the temple and housing for monks. This division between administrative and religious functions reflects the idealized [[dual system of government|duality of power]] between the religious and administrative branches of government.

===Tibet===
[[File:Tibet Gyantse.jpg|thumb|[[Gyantse Dzong]]]]
{{Further|List of administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region}}
Tibet used to be divided into 53 prefecture districts also called ''dzongs''.<ref name=Tibet>''Le Tibet'', Marc Moniez, Christian Deweirdt, Monique Masse, Éditions de l'Adret, Paris, 1999, {{ISBN|2-907629-46-8}}</ref> There were two [[dzongpen|dzongpöns]] for each dzong, a [[lama]] and a layman. They were entrusted with both civil and military powers and are equal in all respects, though subordinate to the generals and the Chinese [[amban]] in military matters,<ref>[[Sarat Chandra Das|Das, Sarat Chandra]]. (1902). ''Lhasa and Central Tibet''. Reprint (1988): Mehra Offset Press, Delhi, p. 176.</ref> until the expulsion of the ambans following the [[Xinhai Revolution]] in 1912.<ref name=Tibet/> Today, 71 [[List of administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region|counties]] in the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] are called ''dzong''s in the [[Tibetic languages]].

==Siting of dzongs==
[[Image:TrongsaDzong.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Trongsa Dzong]], the largest dzong fortress in [[Bhutan]].]]
Bhutanese dzong architecture reached its zenith in the 17th century under the leadership of [[Ngawang Namgyal]], the 1st [[Zhabdrung Rinpoche]]. The Zhabdrung relied on visions and omens to site each of the dzongs. Modern military strategists would observe that the dzongs are well-sited with regard to their function as defensive fortresses. [[Wangdue Phodrang]] dzong, for instance, is set upon a spur overlooking the confluence of the [[Sankosh River|Sankosh]] (Puna Tsang) and [[Tang Chuu|Tang]] Rivers, thus blocking any attacks by southern invaders who attempted to use a river route to bypass the trackless slopes of the middle Himalayas in attacking central Bhutan. [[Drukgyel]] Dzong at the head of the [[Paro, Bhutan|Paro]] valley guards the traditional [[Tibet]]an invasion path over the passes of the high Himalayas.
[[Image:Wangdue Phodrang Dzong.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Dzong at [[Wangdue Phodrang]], Bhutan.]]
Dzongs were frequently built on a hilltop or mountain spur. If the dzong is built on the side of a valley wall, a smaller dzong or watchtower is typically built directly uphill from the main dzong with the purpose of keeping the slope clear of attackers who might otherwise shoot downward into the courtyard of the main dzong below (see image at head of article).

[[Punakha Dzong]] is distinctive in that it is sited on a relatively flat spit of land at the confluence of the [[Mo Chhu|Mo]] and [[Pho Chhu|Pho]] Rivers. The rivers surround the dzong on three sides, providing protection from attack. This siting proved inauspicious, however, when in 1994 a glacial lake 90 kilometers upstream burst through its [[Ice jam|ice dam]] to cause a massive flood on the Pho Chhu, damaging the dzong and taking 23 lives.

==Construction==
[[Image:Bhutan architecture dzong roof.jpg|thumb|upright|Roof construction at Tongsa dzong.]]
By tradition, dzongs are constructed without the use of architectural plans. Instead construction proceeds under the direction of a high [[lama]] who establishes each dimension by means of spiritual inspiration.

Dzongs are built using [[corvée]] labor applied as a tax against each household in the district. Under this obligation each family provides or hires a decreed number of workers to work for several months at a time (during quiet periods in the agricultural year) in the construction of the dzong.

Dzongs comprise heavy [[masonry]] curtain walls surrounding one or more courtyards. The main functional spaces are usually arranged in two separate areas: the administrative offices; and the religious functions - including temples and monks' accommodation. This accommodation is arranged along the inside of the outer walls and often as a separate stone tower located centrally within the courtyard, housing the main temple, that can be used as an inner defensible citadel. The main internal structures are again built with stone (or as in domestic architecture by rammed clay blocks), and whitewashed inside and out, with a broad red [[ochre]] band at the top on the outside. The larger spaces such as the temple have massive internal timber columns and beams to create galleries around an open central full height area. Smaller structures are of elaborately carved and painted timber construction.

The roofs are massively constructed in [[hardwood]] and [[bamboo]], highly decorated at the [[eaves]], and are constructed traditionally without the use of nails. They are open at the eaves to provide a ventilated storage area. They were traditionally finished with timber [[Roof shingle|shingle]]s weighted down with stones; but in almost all cases this has now been replaced with [[corrugated galvanised iron]] roofing. The roof of Tongsa Dzong, illustrated, is one of the few shingle roofs to survive and was being restored in 2006/7.

The courtyards, usually stone-flagged, are generally at a higher level than the outside and approached by massive staircases and narrow defensible entrances with large wooden doors. All doors have thresholds to discourage the entrance of spirits. Temples are usually set at a level above the courtyard with further staircases up to them.

<gallery>
Image:PunakhaDzong.jpg|[[Punakha Dzong]] and the [[Mo Chhu]]
Image:Simtokha Dzong 20080907.jpg|[[Simtokha Dzong]] near [[Thimphu]]
Image:Bhutan architecture dzong courtyard.jpg|Courtyard and tower of [[Rinpung Dzong]] at [[Paro, Bhutan|Paro]]
</gallery>

==Modern architecture in the dzong style==
Larger modern buildings in Bhutan often use the form and many of the external characteristics of dzong architecture in their construction, although incorporating modern techniques such as a concrete frame.

===University of Texas at El Paso===
The campus architecture of the [[University of Texas at El Paso]] (UTEP) is a rare example of dzong style seen outside the Himalayas. Initial phases were designed by El Paso architect [[Trost & Trost|Henry Trost]], and later phases have continued in the same style.<ref>For more details see the ''[http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?PageContentMode=1&tabid=30289 UTEP Handbook of Operations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210043029/http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?PageContentMode=1&tabid=30289 |date=2012-02-10 }}''.</ref>

In the United States, this style became known as Bhutanese Revival and Neo-Bhutanese Revival. The style was first introduced in America in 1917 by El Paso architect Charles Gibson using photographs from an article on Bhutan in the April 1914 issue of the National Geographic Magazine. Upon the suggestion of Kathleen Worrell, the wife of the dean of the State School of Mines and Metallurgy (today’s University of Texas at El Paso), Gibson’s initial designs appeared on the front page of El Paso newspapers. The governing board of the University of Texas System purchased the designs from Gibson and awarded them to the architectural firm of Trost & Trost. Henry Trost, assisted by the school’s faculty, completed the final designs of four Bhutanese Revival buildings at the school’s Paso del Norte campus.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Texas School of Mines to be Built in El Paso |newspaper=El Paso Herald |date=6 January 1917 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=Jay C |title=Trost and Trost in El Paso |journal=Texas Architect |volume=37 |issue=2 |date=1987 |pages=34–39 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|55025820}} |last1=Hoover |first1=Austin |title=New Mexico State University: the architectural legacy of Trost and McGhee |journal=New Mexico Architecture |volume=30 |issue=4 |date=July 1989 |pages=29–33 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vierra |first1=P. J. |title='Maybe It Will Turn Out Better Than We Had Expected': The School of Mines and the Legal Foundation of the University of Texas System |journal=The Southwestern Historical Quarterly |date=2018 |volume=121 |issue=4 |pages=361–387 |doi=10.1353/swh.2018.0024 |jstor=26432380 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=John Claude |last1=White |title=Castles in the Air: Journey and Experiences in Unknown Bhutan |journal=The National Geographic Magazine |volume=25 |issue=4 |date=April 1914 |pages=365–455 }}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
Image:UTEP CampusBldngs1.jpg|To the left is the College of Business, to the right the College of Engineering
Image:UTEPAcademicServicesBldg.jpg|[[UTEP]]'s Academic Services Building
Image:UtepLibrary.jpg|[[UTEP]] Library
</gallery>

==UNESCO tentative listing==
In 2012, the Bhutanese government listed five dzongs to its tentative list for [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] inscription in the future. The five dzongs are [[Punakha Dzong]], [[Wangdue Phodrang Dzong]], [[Paro Dzong]], [[Trongsa Dzong]] and [[Daga Dzong|Dagana Dzong]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5695/|title = Dzongs: The centre of temporal and religious authorities (Punakha Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Paro Dzong, Trongsa Dzong and Dagana Dzong)}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Architecture in Tibet]]
* [[Architecture of Bhutan]]
* [[Driglam namzha]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|last=Amundsen |first=Ingun B |url=http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/jbs/JBS_05_02.pdf |title=On Bhutanese and Tibetan Dzongs |journal=Journal of Bhutan Studies |volume=5 |date=Winter 2001 |pages=8–41}}
* {{cite book |last=Bernier |first=Ronald M. |title=Himalayan Architecture |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |year=1997 |isbn=0-8386-3602-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/himalayanarchite00bern }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dzongs}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110924003753/http://www.bhutan2008.bt/en/node/323 Dzongs of Bhutan]
* [http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=2842070 Designs for Trashi Chhoe Dzong Precinct, Thimphu, Bhutan]
* {{cite web |url=https://www.TritiumSoft.com/shelkar-dzong-%3E-tibet |title=Satellite Imagery & GPS Coordinates of Shelkar Dzong near Mount Everest in Tibet}}

{{Dzongs of Tibet}}
{{Tibet related articles}}
{{Bhutanese society}}
{{Bhutan topics}}
{{Architecture of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzong Architecture}}
[[Category:Dzongs|!]]
[[Category:Architecture in Bhutan]]
[[Category:Architecture in India]]
[[Category:Tibetan Buddhist architecture]]
[[Category:Architectural history]]
[[Category:Architectural styles]]
[[Category:Dzongs in Bhutan]]
[[Category:Dzongs in Tibet]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Bhutan]]