T 64

4.1 OFFICE SPACE

INTRODUCTION:
Offices will play the most important part of the
complex. The secretariat office complex shall
have offices for different levels of officers.

The Flow chart indicating the categories of

officers in the government departments and the
movement of files in a department

The files in a section of the department of the

secretariat originate from the assistants and pass
through the office superintendent, section
officer, under secretary, deputy secretary, joint
secretary, additional secretary, secretary and
minister concerned. The decision on these
subjects is taken at the appropriate level of
officers. There are separate sections for
receiving and dispatch of this flow of files in the
secretariat. Apart from the movement of files
officials of the secretariat have contact with the
public. The public will have contact with the
secretaries of the ministers and if required the
secretaries will direct the public to the ministers.
They will not have direct access to other staffs
except on personal matters concerning the staff.

 The complex will have a chamber for

the ministers which include the main
office (approx. 60 m²) personal
secretary office (12 m²), library,
lounge(approx. 25m²), support staff
office (approx. 15m²), conference hall
for __ people etc.

 Secretary, additional secretary and joint

secretary will have individual rooms
with attached toilet, waiting and
Personal assistant room. The secretary
can also be provided with an attached
conference room.

 The staff, including officers with ranks

below deputy secretary up junior clerk
shall have semi-private rooms or work
stations as per their departments and
rank.
The flow diagram indicates the contact
access relationship with the ministers, and
other officials.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

 T 65

GENERAL OFFICE SPACES: involved.

 The systems are extremely flexible,
 The general office may be placed on an allowing the workstations to be
open planning or office-landscaping configured in a variety of shapes.
concept, involving a system of  The basic workstation is the
workstations. fundamental building block in
 The workstations include desk surfaces, understanding the anthropometrics
files, acoustic partitions and a host of considerations for the planning and
other optional components to suit the design of the general office layout.
nature of the particular work tasks

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


 Space on each side should not be less
than 4'-
 Round conference tables offer the
compactness. On the other hand, if
status is an issue, or if one wall within
the space is an audio-visual wall, this
table shape can be less than satisfactory.
 The same problems can arise with a
square conference table, in both
instances, however the total seating
around each table shape must be viewed
in the context of chair size, chair
spacing, and tasks to be performed at
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 68
the table.
 Rectangular and boat-shaped conference
tables lend themselves toward formal
settings where status and hierarchy are
important. Both table shapes are also
important.
 Both table shapes are also more suitable
in a room where an audio-visual wall is
placed at one end of the space, or where
speakers are making presentations.
 The boat-shaped table also offers great
visibility of others seated at the table, as
well as ease of circulation around its
perimeter.
 T 69

Meeting room

Max. Area per person = 2m2

Min. Area per person = 1.5m2

- long
-

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

 T 70

4.3 ASSEMBLY HALL

Total area of assembly hall:

 Seating density is 1.4m².

 Circulation 30%
 Space for speaker and typists extra

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


The principal constituents of Assembly
building are:
 A council chamber, with associated
lobbies
 A speaker and deputy speaker suite
 A number of committee rooms
 A multipurpose hall
 Offices
 A public reception and information desk
 Record room
Elected members’ accommodation
The core of any assembly hall is the
accommodation for those elected by the public.
Apart from the council chamber itself, space is
needed for the party leaders and for informal
gatherings of the members.
Assembly hall
Few local government bodies emulate the House
of Commons in their council chambers. Their
forms are mostly segmental or horseshoe and
the seating provides at least some
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 71
accommodation for documentation, more like a
large boardroom. Some provision for the general
public is essential, preferably well separated it is
usual to have one or more lobbies immediately
outside the chamber for informal discussion.
Speaker’s suite:
Office for speaker with retiring room and
attached toilet is required. Some provision for
entertaining important guests is essential, and
this is often combined with the office. This need
easy access to some form of catering facility.
Committee rooms
Local government business is conducted
principally through numerous committees and
sub-committees. Meeting rooms of various sizes
are required. For this reason, if for no other, they
should be well designed and fitted out.
Public reception and information
The receptionist deal with, other staff members
who come to the enquire. A few small interview
rooms are available for such consultations
adjacent to the counter.

4.4 LOUNGE AREAS
They are important parts of a corporate
complex. These spaces help the people working
in the office to relieve their stresses and
rejuvenate. Long working hours and the extent
of stress and anxiety that builds up in the
officers needs to be relieved or it becomes
somewhat of a menace. So, this factor makes the
design of lounge spaces crucial for the architect.
Lounge areas shall be of different kinds, serving
different purposes. The various purposes served
by lounge spaces shall be:
 Lounge shall be provided near the
ministers chambers for his use during
informal meetings or small gatherings
of intimate nature.
 Lounge areas shall be provided in
various departments as per their size and
need to improve inter departmental and
intra departmental communications.
 Lounge area shall also be provided with
the cafe restaurant and shall be used for
general discussions, catching up on the
latest news or just reading a magazine
etc.
 In the club, the lounge shall be a more
intimate area with different clusters of
closely placed furniture for officers to
sit in a friendly circle and discuss the
events of the day while sipping on a cup
of coffee or a drink.
 In the rest house, the lounge shall be
linked with the dining space so as to
make it like a den complete with a small
library, multimedia facilities like TV,
music system etc.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 72
4.5 WAITING AREAS
They play an important role in conveying to the
visitors the stature of the corporation. The
waiting areas become exceedingly important as
visitors spend a lot of time in these areas. So, it
is important to design these areas such that they
are successful in communicating the ideals of
the corporation. The waiting areas shall have the
following purposes:
 Waiting areas shall be provided for the
office and shall be
comfortably designed keeping in mind
the status of visitors coming to meet
him.
 Offices of the secretary and the
additional secretary shall also have
waiting areas but not as lavishly
designed as that of the ministers office.
 Offices of the joint secretary shall have
smaller waiting areas. Officers below
the joint secretary shall not be provided
individual waiting areas.
 Different departments shall have
waiting areas, dedicated or shared as per
the requirement and size of the
department.
 It is important to understand the spatial
arrangement in the lounge spaces and
waiting areas. A minimum of 10 feet
diameter of area called the conversation
circle is preferred for intimate yet
comfortable conversations.
 There should be about 3 ft. Or about 1
meter of space between the wall and the
sitting furniture for a person to walk
from. A 30 inches space shall be
provided between the furniture and a
writing table for movement.

 The minimum width of the living room
should be 11-12 ft. However, if possible
the width should be at least 14ft.
 Planning consideration should include
adequate floor and wall space for
furniture groupings, separation of traffic
ways from centres of activity and ease
of access to furniture and windows.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 73
 When the lounge is combined with the
dining areas, there should be an offset
into an alcove or it should be clearly
identified as an entity in itself.

provided in order to accommodate
seating for 5 around a 56 in-diameter
cocktail table.

required to accommodate a grouping of
6 or 7 persons.
 A corner arrangement for two
 To assure adequate space for
convenient use of furniture in the living
area, not less than the following
clearances should be observed: 60
inches between
 face seating, 24 inches where
circulation occurs between furniture, 30
inches for use of desk, 36in for main
traffic, 60in between television set and
seating.
 T 74

4.6 RESTAURANT AND DINING SPACES

In a corporate complex, the restaurant shall be Dining Areas:

basically used in the lunch time and during
breaks. But, as this space will not be functional
for the whole day, it is vital that it be designed
in such a way that it can be collaborated with
other recreational services like the lounge for
more efficient use. The various design
considerations for the restaurant space shall be:
 Restaurants should be planned so that
variety of seating arrangement can be
achieved.
 Ambience is an important part in
restaurant design
 Decoration, lighting should be a integral
part of restaurant design
 Large regular spaces should be broken
up in small more intimate areas.
 Changes of level not usually favoured
by caterers but acceptable providing,
they may positive contribution to
design. But, one should not involve
more than 2 or 3 steps and main
restaurant should preferably be the same
level as the kitchen.
Area Requirements:
 Per Seat: 1480mm-2150mm
 Ratio of service area to total area: 25-
50%
 Net kitchen area: 15-25%
 Service aisles- not less than 900mm-
1350mm
 The dining area location and space
allowance are usually determined first. In
the building, the restaurant shall be used by
the working staff for in-between-work
breaks.
 In the club, the restaurant shall be used for
more leisurely use. it will be used for
informal sitting, like in a lounge bar.
 In the rest house, the restaurant data shall be
used for designing dining space for the
guests. But, in the rest house, the dining
space shall be combined with lounging area
to create a semi formal eating space which
can be used for intimate as well as group
meetings.
There can be various arrangements in dining
spaces and restaurants. There are restaurants
with eating tops, individual sitting tables and
large tables like in a community mess or a
combination of the above. In an office like the
one in consideration, a combination of eating
tops and individual tables shall be preferred.
Also, the area shall be designed with the lounge
in one side so as to improve the efficiency and
operation time of the restaurant.

Restaurant and Kitchen Design:

 While designing a restaurant there are
several critical dimensions that the
designer must consider;
 Aisle circulation must be adequate in
width
 Clearances to consider inclusion of chair
depth from edge of table and clearances
between chairs
 While laying out chair and table
arrangements, a designer must anticipate
the potential conflict between a patron
leaving a seat and a tray-carrying waiter.
 Cafeteria in a commercial area should
be 16-18 sq.ft./per seats.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


4.7 FIRE
INTRODUCTION SERVICES
View of fire hazard
Fires are potentially more damaging to a
buildings occupants than burglars. A fire may
cause not only loss of property but also the lives
of property. However it can be avoided by put
off the initial stage and preventing it to spread in
the adjoining area. Smoke is the first indication
of the fire and should not be taken leisurely. Fire
alarm system will help in detecting and locating
the fire in the initial stage. A wider
interpretation of fire safety may be deemed to
cover the following aspects:
 Fire prevention and reduction of number
of outbreaks of fire,
 Spread of fire, both internally and
externally.
 Safe exit of any and all occupants in the
event of an out-break of fire,
 Fire extinguishing apparatus.
CAUSES OF FIRE IN A BUILDING
Most fires are caused by carelessness.
Common instances of carelessness are:
 Careless discarding of lighted ends of
cigarettes, cigars, matches and tobacco,
 Smoking in unauthorized places.
 Indifferent maintenance of machinery
including overloading and under or over
lubricating of bearings.
 General indifference to cleanness
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 75
 Incorrect storage of materials
 Faculty workmanship and inattention to
electrical installations
 Inattention of persons concerned with
inspection and patrol of the premises
under the jurisdiction,
 Inattention of persons concerned with
inspection and patrol of the premises
under their jurisdiction,
 Inattention of fire safety regulations.
Fire in building
TYPES OF FIRE HAZARDS
Fire safety of buildings should be considered
from three aspects and protection should
accordingly be provided against the following
three types of fire hazards.
PERSONAL HAZARD:
The consideration of personal hazard is naturally
of permanent importance and requires the
provision of liberally designed and safe
fireproof exits and escapes in all buildings and
particularly those having more than one storey.
INTERNAL HAZARD:
Internal hazard concerns damage or destruction
of the building and influences directly personal
hazard. Internal hazard is directly related to fire
load, which, in turn enables the building to be
the graded when considered along with the
duration of fire.
 T 76

EXPOSED HAZARD: ELECTRIC FIRE ALARM

It deals with the risk of fire spreading into a There consist of detectors, which are linked
building through the open air from fire in other together and are fixed in suitable position where
buildings, from stocks of combustible material fire is likely to occur. The detectors work on the
etc or into a division or compartment of a effect of fire i.e. generation of heat, smoke, and
building through the open air from a fire in other combustion gas. These produce an electric alarm
division or compartment of same building. inside and outside and may transmit the signal to
the local fire brigade. These work on electric
FIRE PREVENTING MEASURES
The only way to prevent damaging fires from
occurring is to eliminate or control potential
sources of fire, to separate from their
combustible material, or to eliminate the
combustible materials altogether.
Fire may not occur under any one of the
following conditions:

 Absence of components necessary for

combustion.

 Improper ratio of combustible material

to oxygen for the formation of a
combustion system.

 Heat source available is insufficient to

ignite a combustion system.

 Heat source not available for sufficient

time to ignite a combustion system.

 Fire retardant treatments are applied to

combustible materials for the purpose of Fire alarm system
retarding flame propagation and spread.
Example, fire retardant paints can be
used to reduce flame spread fuel DETECTOR
contribution and smokes development. These are generally of following types:

DETECTION OF FIRE 1. Heat sensitive detector

2. Photoelectric - cell smoke detector
It has always been economical and less time 3. Break link cables
consuming to detect the chances of life and to 4. Ionization detector
quench it in its smallest form. In order to 5. Optical detectors
achieve this fire alarm system, installations are 6. Ultraviolet flame detector
provided for warning the occupants of a
building of the outbreak of the fire and to call HEAT SENSITIVE DETECTOR
the assistance at the same time.
They have a fusible link device which when
They are as follows: personal observation subjected to heat melts and interrupts a current
and vigilence: In the day time only. following through it and a relay automatically
operate an alarm circuit. These devices rely on a
fixed temperature being reached and those that
rely on a rate of rise of temperature occurring.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


 Point heat detectors relying on fixed
temperature changes.
 Point heat detector relying on a rate of
rise of temperature.
PHOTOELECTRIC – CELL SMOKE
DETECTOR:
Photoelectric type smoke detectors use a light
emitting diode to project a light beam, which is
reflected by smoke as it enters the detector. The
smoke is detected when light sensors receive the
reflected light (scatter type) or when they sense
reduced transmissions of light beam
(obscuration type). They are:
 Most effective when slow burning,
smoldering fires are present.
 It may be powered by 9-volt battery or
can be wired in to the electrical circuit.
Photoelectric – cell smoke
detector
BREAK LINK CABLES
These consist of a flexible cable, which is cut at
2 Mt. intervals, and are re joined with low
melting point solder. Heat from fire will meet
the solder thus breaking the current passing
through it. The cable and a relay would operate
the alarm. The cable runs parallel to the ceiling
and 20 mm. below it at 3 Mt. intervals. Any
detection system must have an alternative power
source, which will operate even when the city
main fails.
IONISATION DETECTOR.
When a gas subjected to radioactivity (is
irradiated), the atoms of the gas take on negative
and positive charges of electricity, and this
process is referred to as ionization .If two
electrodes are placed in the
gas and connected to form an
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 77
electrical circuit, a small current will flow in
them .The magnitude of the current is affected
by the introduction of impurities in the
surrounding gas.
OPTICAL DETECTORS
There are two types of optical detectors.
Point detector.
Line detector.
ULTRAVIOLET FLAME DETECTOR
Ultraviolet radiation corresponds to wavelengths
to wavelengths in the region of 100A to
3800A. Transmission of UV radiation from
flame is responded by ultraviolet sensitive
cells/gas filled tube, which forms the main
component of UV detector. This detector
requires that flame or spark is seen by the
detector. Basically, the detector consists of gas
filled tube or photoelectric cell.
FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM
SPRINKLER SYSTEM:
Sprinkler
One of the first for establishing a successful fire
fighting, techniques is to be in a position to
extinguish the outbreaks as soon as it occurs and
it is sprinkler systems.
Manual sprinkler system
Manually operated sprinkler system consists of
perforated pipes and roses, but system had
several serious disadvantages.
Automatic sprinkler system:
This arrangement is adopted for important
structures like textile mills, paper mills etc. this
consist of a main water supply 100-150mm dia
 T 78

which are connected range pipes graded down in
size to 25mm with sprinkler heads at walls are
screwed to them. These are suspended from
ceiling or roofs. One sprinkler end serves about
9 meter square area of floor. The grid is
therefore 3mt X 3mt end. Sprinkler 1.5 Mt.
away from wall (max).
TYPES OF SPRINKLER SYSTEM:
There are five main types of sprinkler system:
1. Wet pipe
2. Alternate wet and dry pipe
3. Dry pipe

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


Sprinklers control valve assembly
TYPES OF PORTABLE FIRE
EXTINGUISHER
There are many different designs of fire
extinguisher. Among these a large group falls
naturally into those that use the pressure of
gas contained in a cartridge .
WATER (GAS CARTRIDGES)
Extinguisher in which
water is held in a container
at atmospheric pressure.
An antifreeze solution may
be added, provided that it is
chosen for its non-
corrosive properties.
PLATE-5.6.8(b) EXTINGUISHER
WATER (STORED PRESSURE)
In this case, the water held in the 9-liter
container is pressurized to a value of 10 bars by
means of dry air, applied by external means
through a captive Schrader type valve. An
advantage of this type of appliance is that by
realizing the grip type handle; the flow water
from the nozzle can be stopped and, if required,
started again by depressing the handle .
FOAM TYPE OF FIRE EXTINGUISHER
This system operates to blanket fire with
globules of CO2 gas and this effective for
petroleum fire, electrical fire and chemical fire.
A thicker layer ensures putting of fire however
due to heat the CO2 may escape cause fire
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 79
again. It comes in manly-operated steel cylinder
and is useful for small fire.
FIRE BLANKETS
They are made of asbestos wool or glass fiber
and are useful for smothering small fire.
BUCKET OF SAND:
These are useful in an emergency to smother
small fire.
GENERAL FIRE SAFETY
REQUIRMENTS FOR BUILDINGS
 In order that fire hazards (ice personal
hazard, internal hazard, and exposure
hazards) are minimized, IS: 1641-1960
recommends that buildings shall conform to
following general requirements:
 All buildings and particularly buildings
having more than one story shall be
provided with liberally designed and safe
fireproof exits or escapes
 The exits shall be so placed that they are
always immediately accessible and each is
capable of taking all the persons on that
floor, as alternative escape routes may be
rendered unusable and/or unsafe due to fire.
 Escapes routes shall be well ventilated.
 Electrical and/or mechanical lifts, while
reliable under normal electrical conditions
may not always be relied on for escape
purposes in the event of a fire, as the
electrical supply to the building itself may
be cut-off or
 Those relying on mechanical drive may not
have the driving powder available.
 Lifts shafts and stairways invariably serve as
flues or tunnels thus increasing the fire by
increased drought and there shall be such as
to reduce or avoid this possibility and
consequent spread of fire.
 False ceiling, either for sound effects or air
conditioning or similar purpose shall be so
constructed as to prevent either total or early
collapse in the event of fire so that persons
underneath are not fatally trapped before
they have the time to reach the exits.
 T 80

project acoustical needs are delineated and that

ACOUSTICS there is follow-through, particularly for
verification testing after the ventilation system
has been installed and balanced.
INTRODUCTION
Acoustics is the science which deals with the
sound insulation of buildings.

SOUND ABSORPTION
All materials have some sound-absorbing
properties. Adding sound-absorbing materials to
ACOUSTICS a space usually becomes an interior design issue
in the buildings. Many options are possible to
The acoustical design issues for buildings provide sound absorption on walls and ceilings.
involve the following principal issues: It can be done in many ways as follows:
 Site noise considerations, including the
control of noise transfer to another
building.
 Establishing noise standards for each
use space, including limitation of
excessive ventilation noise
 Room acoustics considerations.
 Sound isolation between various use
spaces.
 Vibration control for mechanical
equipment.

Planners should develop objective acoustical

standards for projects as an important
component of the project program.

As the architectural and engineering design of

the project evolves, the design should be
reviewed in light of the agreed upon acoustical
programmatic requirements project.

Since acoustics is typically not a code

requirement, a city or county building official
cannot be expected to comment on the
correctness of the acoustical design in the
contract documents. Therefore, it is the

groups, architects, engineers, and

others involved with the Sound absorption in walls is done by using open
project to assure that the cell acoustical foam and quilted sound screen.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


SOUND INSULATION
Everyone has experienced unwanted sound
intrusion a television in the next room, a loud
neighbor walking on the floor above, or a jet
flying over. Measures are often equired to
reduce intrusive noise. One of the most essential
techniques in acoustics is reducing the
transmission of sound through solid barriers in
buildings. This form of sound reduction is
referred to as Sound Insulation.
PRINCIPLES OF SOUND INSULATION
The reduction of sound energy from one
building area to another by absorbing it or
reflecting it with an intervening solid panel of
material is called sound transmission loss .
Typically, building materials attenuate more
high frequency noise than low frequency noise.
The higher the mass or weight of a wall, the
more force is required to make it vibrate. For
this reason a massive wall has higher TL at all
frequencies than a lighter panel.
Another way to increase the transmission loss of
a panel or construction, such as a wall, is by
increasing its thickness and isolating one side of
the construction from the other. This is
commonly done by using two
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 81
panels separated by an air cavity, and is known
as a dual panel
partition. Doubling the air space width increases
the TL by about 5 dB. Usually, the dual panel
approach is more effective and lower cost than
increasing wall mass.
These sound reducing partitions are needed
between spaces with different acoustic
requirements or spaces that require acoustic
privacy.
SOUND INSULATION
CONSTRUCTION
In the U.S., the standard way of describing
sound isolation of constructions is a metric
called STC, or Sound Transmission Class. The
STC rating of a wall, floor or ceiling is
determined by the components of the
construction and how they are assembled.
WALL CONSTRUCTION
A standard partition used to separate rooms in a
building is typically a single stud wall and one
layer of gypsum board on each side, and it has
an STC rating of 35. The acoustic

performance of the standard wall can be
improved by using light gauge (25 gauge) metal
studs instead of wood studs. There are some
conditions in a library where more sound
isolation will be required, which can be
accomplished by adding insulation within the
wall cavity, providing a second layer of gypsum
board on each side of the partition, or possibly
using staggered stud construction. These
program areas include conference rooms and
offices requiring confidential speech privacy.
Defects and Remedies In Wall Insulation
1. Air or sound leaks through cracks. A small air
gap can completely compromise the
effectiveness of the wall construction.
2. Air or sound leaks through normal openings
in the wall. Electrical and data outlet boxes or
other penetrations of the wall for plumbing or
sprinkler piping must also be carefully sealed
with flexible acoustic caulking.
3. It is important to seal both faces of a concrete
masonry wall with paint or plaster in order to
control possible sound leaks.
There are two types of operable partitions;
accordion and folding panel.
FLOOR CONSTRUCTION
Floor and ceiling assemblies perform two
acoustical functions. Like walls, they provide
acoustical separation between adjacent spaces
(airborne sound insulation), but they also reduce
impact sounds from an upper floor (impact
insulation).
Impact insulation and airborne insulation can be
upgraded by decoupling ceilings from the
structure and by altering floor
finishes. A base assembly
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 82
consisting of plywood sub floor joists and
gypsum board adding a lightweight concrete
topping slab, fiberglass batt Insulation, resilient
channels and a second layer of gypsum board.
The concrete topping slab reduces impact noise
from footsteps heard in the space below. Using a
carpet and pad or a resilient floor under layment
improves the impact insulation
.
MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL
SYSTEMS NOISE CONTROL
When designing a building, it is important to
control the noise and vibration of its mechanical
and electrical equipment. Without adequate
consideration during design, the very equipment
that provides thermal comfort and electrical
power can generate annoying noise and
vibration. Proven techniques are available for
mitigating noise and vibration from this
equipment. The recommended acoustical design
sequence for a building project is:
 Select noise criteria for each space in
the building.
 Organize spaces to avoid adverse
adjacencies of noisy equipment with
quiet spaces.
 Provide adequate noise and vibration
control for equipment.
SPACE PLANNING
Avoid locating mechanical equipment rooms
and electrical transformer rooms near spaces
(either vertically or horizontally) that require
low background noise levels. If this location is
unavoidable, it will be necessary to introduce
costly sound isolation methods such as a
floating floor or heavy masonry walls. A
floating floor consists of a second concrete slab
installed on neoprene pads and a layer of
insulation.

4.9 AIR CONDITIONING
INTRODUCTION
Air conditioning is basically required to reduce
the high and ambient temperature to one in
which working and living is tolerable. Science
of air conditioning may be defined as that of
providing and maintaining a desirable internal
atmospheric environment irrespective of
external conditions. Air conditioning involves
delivery of purified, dust free air at a normal
temperature with
average humidity
and a requisite
level of freshness.
The application of
air conditioning
may be considered
necessary to meet
a variety of
circumstances: -
 Where the type of building and usage
there of involves high heat gain from
sources such as solar effect, electronic
equipment etc.
 In a building which are effectively
sealed for example where double-
glazing is installed to reduce the
nuisance caused by external noise.
 In the core areas of deep planned
buildings where the accommodation in
the core is remote from natural
ventilation and is subjected to heat gain
from occupancy and machine.
 Where the purpose to be carried out
requires a close control of temperature
and humidity such as in computer suits,
museums etc.
COMPONENTS
Most air conditioning systems have five
mechanical components:
 a compressor
 a condenser
 an expansion valve or metering
device
 an evaporator coil and blower
 a chemical refrigerant .
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 83
Air-conditioning is a
necessity to achieve comfort
condition in the interiors
with 24ºC temperature and
50% Relative Humidity. It is
also important to protect
seat coverings / drops /
hangings / metal surfaces
from the moisture and the
fabrics from dust. One of
the primary aims of air
conditioning in assembly
hall n office of high officials is to furnish fresh
air and to distribute it properly.
AIR INTAKE SUPPLY
Air intake is provides near the floor and supply
in the ceiling for the following reasons.
 Dust always settles and by providing inlet
near the floor, it is likely to be filtered off
by the air- conditioning system.
 Cool air sinks. Receivers near the floor will
aid to this movement. The Coolest of air,
which has accumulated near the bottom of
the hall will be sucked in to be further
cooled.
 For even distribution in large halls is
achieved by providing mushroom shaped air
intake points under the seats or from the
side of the aisles.
 Some intake has to be from the ceiling of
the seating area in order to prevent
formation of pockets of hot air which can
produce radiant effect.
 In certain areas for example above the stage
the lighting load is very high. Some air
intake points should also be provided near
such areas.
 Air supply is at higher level. In large halls it
is impractical to supply air from the ceiling
as the air would have to cool all the space
supply in these cases can be from the side
walls
 The stage and the hall are treated as one for
air-conditioning but there should be no
drafts of air onto the stage as they disturb
the scenery
 Air is drawn though filters in the AHU to
remove in the odor and dust particles. .

 Separate AHU's for the main house and
Public rooms. To prevent mixing of smoke
filled air of foyer into the main hall
OTHER CONSIDERATION
 When heating is done Relative Humidity
usually falls below 40% and humidity has to
be increased by special humidifiers in the
AC equipment.
 Air sterilization removes the threat of
airborne infection in a theater. It consists of
triethylene 50%concentration one ounce per
hour per 3000 cfm of air.
 It is very important to sound insulate the
ducts Air speeds are kept less than what are
kept for other buildings.
 Controls like Thermostat and Humidistat are
to be provided in return air ducts.
 It is unpleasantly difficult for the body to
adjust itself to a wide difference between
temperature inside and outside. 8 deg
change is considered to be the maximum
acceptable for which there is no danger of
shock to human body.
 When audience / delegates arrive at the hall
they will raise the temperature of the hall by
about 6 deg centigrade in about 15 minutes.
The control instruments should measure the
change or appropriate temperature
difference should be kept beforehand.
AC PLANT REQUIREMENT
 App. Tonnage 1 ton for 30 cum of air.
 Area of plant room 2%.sqm+ 2.7m for
every 100 sq m of area
 Head room in AC plant Room is 3.6m
 AC plant room to be isolated from the
main building if tonnage exceeds 500
tonnes.
 AC plant room may not have windows
for the purpose of noise insulation i.e.
mechanical ventilation only.
Plant supports machinery on anti-vibratory
supports.
AIR HANDLING UNIT
The typical AHU is a steel sheet cabinet, which
houses the cooling coil and blower fan. The
motor is mounted on the outside of the cabinet
and drives the blower by pulley
belt arrangement. Depending
on their application AHU
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 84
vary in size from small to medium size
packaged unit large walk in models.
PROCESS
Refrigerant at low pressure and temperature is
passed through chiller to gain heat from coolant
thereby decreasing its temperature considerably.
This creates chilled water A.H.U sucks in air
from the conditioned space, filters it to remove
dust particles and then passes over the cooling
coils or chilled water tubes where the heat is
rejected. The cool air is drawn into the suctioned
side of the fan and discharged back to the
conditioned space. The refrigerant is now at
high temperature & low pressure. The
pressure of refrigerant is increased to easily
reduce its temperature. This is sent again to the
chiller at low pressure and temperature. Water in
the condenser gains heat of the refrigerant and is
send to cooling tower and recycled.
REQUIREMENTS
 Approx area 4.5 sqm for every 100 sqm
of area
 Central to the area air conditioned by
the AHU.
 Fresh air inlet to have louvers to make
air intake controllable
 Room to have trapped floor drain.
 To have an acoustically treated door.
Cooling towers are not to be located on
the ground as there may be
objectionable noise besides bad effects
on efficiency of its operation.
Compressor unit: this increase the pressure of
the refrigerant (Neon gas)Condenser Unit: the

temperature of the pressured refrigerant is
brought drawn by circulation of cold water in
the condenser.
Cooling Tower: The hot water generated due
to subsequent transfer of heat is pumped up to
the cooling water. There its temperature is
brought down by 3.4 degrees and can be
circulated. The typical type of cooling tower is
the atmospheric and natural drafts and the
forced drafts towers.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 85
Expansion Valve: As liquid flows through the
valve, its pressure are reduced immediately,
which towers the temperature of the refrigerant
enabling it to pick more heat.
Chiller Unit: The cold refrigerant chills down
the coolant (soft water in this case), thereby
gaining heat. The hot refrigerant moves to the
compressor unit and the chilled water moves to
the A.H.U.
 T 86

4.10 VERTICAL CIRCULATION

ELEVATORS
INTRODUCTION
In a building like Secretariat and Assembly
building lifts have to be installed even is the
building is double or triple story high. May not
for the general public but for the Ministers and
speaker and V.I.P it is necessary.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
There are two basic considerations mainly, the
quantity of the users of the lift in the peak hours
and quantity of service measured in terms of
waiting time of passengers at various floors. The
number of lifts and capacity of the lift is
governed by the factor of, number of
passengers, number of floors, floor area, and
floors height.

The various elements which form an integral

part of the lift and are essentially required for
the lift mechanism are as follows:-

 MACHINE ROOM: a room comprising

generators, control panels, machines, etc
required for the operation of an elevator.

 HOIST WAY OR LIFT WELL: a vertical

shaft in which the elevator is designed.

 LIFT CAR: the load carrying unit which

carries passengers and goods from one
floor to another.

 COUNTER WEIGHTS: these are the

weights which balance the weight of the
car; equals to the weight of the car plus
40% of the car capacity.

The most efficient method for locating the

elevators is to serve an individual building is to
group them together

A group has a lower average interval between

car arrivals than single elevator

Groups should be located for easy access to and

from a building entrance and should be located Plan and section of lift
centrally for the ease of
passenger transit throughout
the building.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


4.11 PARKING AREAS
Parking in a corporate complex shall be mainly
2 wheeler and light 4 wheeler parking. It is very
important to design a perfect parking space in
hilly areas where the site is small and the slope
is high. It should be kept in min that whatever
the layout of site may be, there should be
minimum levels within the parking. There are a
lot of ways of arranging a parking space. The
different layouts are discussed below.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 87
Different layouts of parking areas:
Common methods of parking on surface are:-
 Parallel parking
 30 degree parking
 45 degree parking
 60 degree parking
 Right angle parking
 Parking requirements vary according to the
size of the building.
 Parallel parking consumes the maximum
curb length, which decreases as the angle of
parking increases.
 The minimum curb length is consumed by
right angle parking, which accommodates
nearly two times the number of vehicles as
parallel parking.
 As the parking angle increases the width of
street used also increases.
 T 88

 From the point of view of manoeuvrability,

angle parking seems to be better than
parallel parking which usually involves a
backing motion.
 Diagonal parking is easier for the driver,
reduces the necessary driveway width, but
requires more total space.
 Delay of traffic is minimum in angle
parking.
 In case the parking requires columns, then
the space between columns should be either
5m, 7.5m or 10m which accommodates two,
three or four cars respectively.
 While the car park will almost always be
reached through a separate entrance & is
often some distance from the main area,
provision must be made for passengers to
alight safely & conveniently at the main
entrance.

Parking clearances

Minimum dimensions required per vehicle and the maximum slope of the ramp

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

 T 89

TURNING RADIUS:

The dimensions of various vehicles:

The office complex shall have to design the
parking for a limited type of vehicles. They shall
include personal cars of officers or official cars
as per their status in the corporation, garbage an
or food van at different times of the day and
two-wheelers for the low ranking members of
the corporation.
Dimensions for vehicles generally used in an
office building are given as follows:

Type of vehicle Length Width Height Turning radius

Car
- Standard 4.70 1.75 1.50 5.75
- Small 3.60 1.6 1.50 5.00
- large 5.0 1.9 1.50 6.00

Fire engine 7.64 2.50 3.30 9.25

Refuge collection 6.80 2.50 2.80 7.80
vehicle
Motorcycle 2.20 0.70 1.00 1.00

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


RAMPS
Ramps may be straight, curved or a
combination. No single ramp system is best for
all applications. The choice should be based on
the site shape and dimensions and parking
demand characteristics. Ramps may be one-way
or two-way. In some instances, site topography
allows direct access to several parking levels
from the street system. This is a desirable
arrangement since it leaves no space for parking
and provides more flexibility for traffic
distribution the street system and the parking
facility.
THE RAMP BREAK OVER ANGLE:
The ramps break over angle is the measure of
the ability of a car to break over a steep ramp.
The society of automotive engine calls for a
minimum of 10 degrees as a design standard. If
it go beyond this angle it will be difficult to park
the car. This angle should be maintained while
designing the ramp that break at an angle.
ANGLE OF APPROACH:
The angle of approach of domestic cars is below
15 degrees and the normal standard developed
in 1960 calls for a minimum value of 15
degrees.
ANGLE OF DEPARTURE:
A reasonable minimum value is necessary to
reduce the incidence of tail pipe and rear
bumper dragging. The standard calls for a
minimum
of 10
degrees.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 90
RAMP SLOPES:
The maximum ramp slopes should be 20
percent. For slopes over 10%, a transition at
least 8 feet long should be provided at each end
of the ramp at one half of the slope of the ramp
itself.
INFERENCES FOR PARKING AREAS:
There are a few points that shall be kept in mind
before designing the parking space. They are
summarized as following:
 The ramps break-over angle or the measure
of the ability of the vehicle to break over a
steep ramp; is a maximum of 10 degrees.
 Ramps over-angle more than 10 degrees
would make it difficult to park the vehicle
and so this angle shall be maintained during
the design of ramps.
 The angle of departure is also considered to
be 10 degrees. It is calculated to reduce the
incidence of the tail pipe and rear bumper
dragging.
 The maximum ramp slopes shall be 20
degrees. For slopes over 10 degrees, a
transition ramp of at least 8 feet shall be
provided at both ends of the ramp of a slope
half that of the main ramp.
 Parking shall be centralized on the site so as
to reduce the amount of hard spaces giving
more emphasis on the pedestrian
movements.
 The approach to the parking shall be kept no
wider than 5 meters.
 The area per car to be provided shall range
from 1.80x4.60 m to 2.50x 6.00m.But
slightly longer for longer parking.
 While the 90 degrees parking is more
economical in space requirements (20-22 sq.
per car), 45 degrees parking (23-26 sq. m)
can be more convenient.
 Dead ends shall be kept as short as possible
so that the driver can view vacant spaces.

4.12 TELE COMMUNICATIONS
The second technological area that has had a
major influence in the corporate industry
recently is telecommunications, including
electronic telephone systems, call accounting
systems, and video conferencing. With the
continued deregulation of the communications
industry, competition among the private
companies should reduce the cost and add
increasing numbers of features to intra-office
telephone service.
Electronic systems offer offices the same
advantages they do to residential customers:
quicker dialing data transmission (increasingly
important as officers generally carry portable
computers besides their official computers), and
expanded features. Of recently, the rend of e-
tendering has led to an increased pressure on
Indian telecommunication industry to device
faster and cheaper internet and intranet
connections and better technology is also being
sought for in the field of video-conferencing due
to increased international partnerships.
All major companies have a private telephoning
service or the EPABX (Electronic private
automatic branch exchange) system. This system
allows people within the corporation to
communicate free of cost. The system can
connect any number of phone lines from 4 to
32000 depending on the requirements of the
corporation. A number of sophisticated
telephone systems already have been developed
that:
 Contact typical services by dialing a
single number (reception, personal
assistant,
 Conference, restaurant or cafe etc)
 Place a call on hold, receive a second
call and transfer a call to the office
message centre
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 91
4.13 INFORMATION PROCESSING
Area in which technology has already advanced
rapidly is in information processing including
the use of company-wide reservation networks,
management systems, accounting, word
processing, and personal computing. Not
surprisingly, the industry has moved
dramatically away from non- electronic
equipment as cash registers and accounting
machines, replacing manual sorting and storing
with computerized and electronic equipment that
integrate conventional data processing
applications with such other systems as energy
control and communicating systems.
A second major area of information processing
is the broad category of property management
systems. Over the past decade, according to the
AH&MA survey, as the technology has matured,
the number of systems that perform a host of
management tasks at the property level has
grown 20 times. They ably and reliably perform
not only reservation functions but also room
management, from and back-office accounting,
and operational reporting including:
 Accounting, including night audit, city
ledger, accounts payable and general
ledger
 Travel accounting (record of
commissions to be paid)
 story and other marketing
reports
 Daily and monthly operating reports
 Payroll and related reports
 Inventory

4.14 SECURITY
THE THREE LINE OF DEFENSE
THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE: physical
barrier
 Perimeter barrier do not provide complete
protection. The only help in delaying
intrusion and thereby facilitating detection
and apprehension.
 If landscaping is designed into the plan to
hide the barrier maintenance is also for the
sake of appearance, an alarm system can be
added to the barrier.
 Barrier maintenance is also an important
factor which must not be overlooked.
 The type of barrier to be used must be
selected after a careful study of local
conditions and security needed of the
facility.
Security towers
Towers may be included in the facility design
for the security personnel
in observing the perimeter
of the site. There range of
observation can be
improved by increasing
the height of the towers.
However during bad
weathers the ability to see
any distance may so be
affected that the towers
are ineffective.
THE SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE:
building exteriors
 The most obvious entrance to the second
line of defense is through a door or a
window. Other openings may include
manholes, gates that lead to the basement,
elevator shafts, openings for ventilating and
skylight.
 The door is an inviting entrance for an
intruder because of convenience. Venerable
points at the door or the frame, the hinges
door panels and the lock. The door should be
installed such that the hinges are located
inside the doorway.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 92
 Ventilating shafts, vents or ducts along with
the opening in the building to accommodate
ventilating fans and air conditioning system
are good potential entrances.
 Fire escape, if not properly designed,
provides an easy access to the roof.
THE THIRD LINE OF DEFENSE: interior
control
 The value and importance of the items to be
protected, determines the type of control
necessary at the line of defense.
 Each item/area to be secured in a facility at
the third line of defense must be individually
analyzed to determine the type of protection
required.
 An effective and important type of barrier at
this line of design is a room or an area
within the facility. The design might vary
from a locked room to a vault type structure
with an alarm designed into it.
 Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
duct system within the facility must always
be considered in designing security
protection at the third line of defense.
 Use of microphones in the duct system as
well as the use of closed circuit television
cameras behind the grill or duct openings
into the room must also be considered. The
duct system acts as an ideal conduit system
for any wiring needed for microphones
closed circuit television or other cameras
and provide a method of concealment,
difficult to detect.

TYPE OF SECURITY DEVICES
On the basis of method operation, security
devices can be classified as follows:-
 Breaking of an electric alarm
 Interruption of a light beam
 Detection of sound and vibration
 Detection of motion
 Variation in electrical and magnetic
field.
 Observation with closed circuit
television
 Recording of pictures with cameras or
closed circuit television
Three type of protection that security devices
can provide are:-
1. Perimeter
2. Area, space or volume
3. Point or object
Interruption of a light air microwave beam:
A detector designated to signal an alarm when a
light beam is interrupted consists of a sender and
a receiver. An electric current flows when a
beam of light is directed at a receiving cell. An
alarm is activated when a beam is interrupted.
Detection of sound and vibration:
Devices activated by sound or vibration might
be installed on the perimeter of an area of a
facility, so that an intruder attempting to
penetrate the perimeter, activates an alarm.
Seismic detector is another devise is another
devise that works on the vibration principle and
senses seismic signals. Sensors of these types
can be buried in dirt; concrete and asphalt are
immune to all weather conditions. Landscaping
can be installed over the sensors. A
discriminator can be installed that is capable of
differentiating in between an intruder and
natural disturbances such as automobile, train
and aircraft traffic as well as earthquake and
other ambient noises.
Area space or volume protection:-
An area protection detector is normally used to
detect the presence of an intruder
anywhere within a protected
area. Commonly used
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 93
sensors are ultrasonic, microwave and infra-red
motion sensors- they sense the presence of an
intruder.
Point or protection:-
Point protection is utilized to detect and to
provide protection for certain targets such as
sages, files, vaults, or osher items of high value.
Sensors used for point protection are:-
1. vibration sensors
2. capacitance sensors
Closed circuit television:-
It is of great value for in areas which would be
hazardous to security personnel or where
temperature and climate would make security
personnel uncomfortable. A closed circuit
television operating unit consists of a camera, a
monitor, a control unit and necessary cable to
connect the two. One factor that must be
carefully considered in a camera installation so
that camera can operate under all types of
weather conditions.
1. Closed circuit cameras / television is best
suited for installation at entrances or gates to
control the entrance and exit of personnel as
a substitute for security personnel.
2. Remote controlled equipment can also be
obtained. This includes a remote controlled
plan and tilt pedestrian which make it
possible to change the position of the
camera from a distance, either horizontally
or vertically.
3. Recorded of pictures: the video tape recorder
can be integrated into a closed circuit
television installation so that all pictures
seen in the monitor are recorded.
 T 94

4.15 ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF TIBETAN ARCHITECTURE

INTRODUCTION: UNIQUE TIBETAN ARCHITECTURE

Tibet is a country of vast arid spaces enclosed by
mountain ranges. The traditional Tibetan
building is modest and blends into the huge
landscape. Even building as monumental as the
Potala palace results from a humble low key
architectural tradition.
Exterior decoration of Tibetan buildings is
confined to wood and metal. The stonework is
decorated very little if at all, this is because the
local stone was hard and difficult to decorate.

Vernacular architecture building structures are

simple, which meet the normal habitat needs and
are native to the place. Tibetan architecture is
clearly founded on the principles seen across the
Himalayan region but with individual
characteristics that make it unique as a culture
expression. There may be few apparent

character and content are generated from

practical needs the constraints of the building
material and harsh physical environment.
An important characteristic of Tibetan
architecture is its refined, rhythmic play of large,
Buddhism is the main religion. Tibetan
architecture contains Chinese and Indian
where a maximum form and colour is
influences, and reflects a deeply Buddhist
concentrated with astonishing impact and
approach.
richness.
China significantly contributed to Tibetan
The combination of crystal clear air, distant
architecture and culture especially in eastern
vistas and architectural character makes it
Tibet from the Tang dynasty onwards.
possible to discern building details and nuances
Complicated construction in wood emerged an
at considerable distances. This visual quality is
extraordinary craftsmanship with multiple layers
another important feature of expression.
of structural and decorative members filled with
complex spatial concepts. Tibetan architecture
seeks to link the cosmos and man through The religious buildings have high contrast
symbolism closely related to human needs and between interior and exterior spaces; the inner
spaces are over articulated and over decorated.
Every surface is covered with wall paintings,
Metalwork, woodcarvings, thangkas and
decorative textiles.

experience.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


A typical Tibetan building formed in unity with
the landscape. The buildings are decorated with
rich colour- deep red, brilliant yellow, intense
blues and green.
Tibetan architecture can be seen as obviously
symbolic in its overall architectural character:
orientation, planning and design, decoration and
artistic detailing. The mandala, a mystic circle of
great symbolic power, forms the base of all
architectural concerns.
Tibetan buildings may appear rather uniform. A
single building is normally square, rectangular
or trapezoidal in form, with a massive stone base
and battered wall built in fine masonry or with
simple mud bricks for the upper floors, topped
with flat roof. The strong sloping verticality of
external walls is cut in long horizontal lines
towards the top; the walls of monastic and other
religious buildings are bordered in a dark band
known as the benma frieze. In a number of
monastic buildings, the flat roof contrast with
the violently curved, Chinese style golden roof
of their most sacred structures.
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 95
Windows are usually grouped and become larger
and larger towards the top floors respecting the
principles for distribution of static loads and the
need for more and more light in the upper
domestic rooms. External building components
in wood are painted in strong colours.
Tibetan forts (dzongs) are austere and clearly
unapproachable with tall bastons and heavy easy
defendable and confined points of access.
The rural residential building consists of a main
house of one or two storeys with an enclosed
courtyard to the south, inside of which are
smaller structures and sheds.
An isolated residential building sits within a
strong enclosure; clustered houses are more
open in character, as if relying on the strength of
their neighbours. In rocky landscape, the village
clusters often from naturally fortified structures.
Townhalls:
Tibetan towns have an organic character. Long
and naturally curved streets were there, reason is
constraints of topography and environment.
PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS:
Location:
Tibetan architecture are the
qualities of protection,
merging into the landscape
and commanding a view.
Forts, monasteries and
ordinary houses chose
easily defensible locations,
good views.
 T 96

distant, hold within them

hierarchical society, the symbols and functions the space for ceremonies,
of authority occu lectures, music and dance
performance and
In Buddhism it is important to perform gatherings.
clockwise movement of sacred sites, buildings
and other constructions. Such routes are called To emphasize, the central
konsi and all major sacred places and all major space is of considerable
sacred places and objects have at least one kora. height, stretching up to 2-
3 stories.
Orientation:
Houses for the rural
Orientating buildings towards the south is a aristocracy were built in
general rule. the courtyard layout. The
courtyard was in the front.

MEASURING UNITS:

Tibetan buildings are carried out according to

firm rules and unique measurements.The
smallest measurement is karma(9.5mm). Four
karma makes one tsun. Seven tsuns minus one
Axial quality: karma makes one junga(256mm).

Tibetan townspace, a building seeks frontal or SPACE AND CONSTRUCTION:

façade symmetry. Residential mansions may
have single axis layout and massing, with
interior spaces of the main building organized
according to domestic functions in clear
hierarchical order.
Tibetan space is dominates by a layout of pillars
placed in a remarkably uniform grid, regardless
of building type. Tibetan architecture can
therefore adequately be called 'an architecture of
pillars', in which the grid is a consequence of the
length of the timber beams- between 2.0 to 2.2
meters- that could be transported on than
animals across height mountain passes to Lhasa.

A square room has 1,4,9 or 16 pillars, or more,

depending on its
size; a rectangular
room has 2,3,4,6 or
8 pillars, or more
.The basic domestic
unit of space is a
In monastic building complexes, exterior and one-pillar room
interior spaces are often organized with apparent with area of about 4
symmetry around the direction of access, even if by 4.4 metres.
the movement is asymmetrical.
Stone foundations
Concept of space: of even large
building are quite
Tibetan monasteries and large domestic shallow, normally
buildings have the courtyard layout. The not deeper than
courtyard serves to unify; its
continuous walls, controlling,
comforting and relatively

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE


300-400 millimeters below ground level, being
as wide as to 1.5 times the width of the wall at
its base.
In the loud bearing walls, often 1 to1.5 meters
thick at the base, inner and outer layers of stones
are separated with a wide gap filled with crushed
stones and clay. The clay acts as a strengthening
agent that cements together the two stone 'skins'.
The walls are built layer by layer, traditionally,
workers would build only three layers of stone
per day, allowing the construction to settle and
dry before continuing. The interior skin of stone
stands vertically and the outside face of the wall
slopes inward (battered wall).
Every course of stone is turned up towards the
corners, giving the stones near each corner an
increased capacity to accommodate lateral
disturbances, such as earthquake. A course
consists of a row aligned large stones, each
separated from the next by a layer of small
stones or chips surrounding it. Most stone work
is set in a mortar of specially selected clay. The
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 97
construction with alternating layers of small and
large stones gives the walls added strength to
limit any lateral damage.
The load bearing element of a Tibetan building,
are the thick external walls, thinner internal
walls which divide rooms are serve as horizontal
bearings and columns. The walls are made in
stone or clay blocks and columns secondary
construction are made in wood. Columns or
pillars were commonly made of hard wood
juniper usually about 200x200 mm in size.
Before transport to the construction site for
assembly the pillar, brackets and main beam
assembly would be mounted (upside down) and
adjusted, the final construction erected as parts
of prefabricated system. In large constructions
the pillars were made from several lengths of
wood sometimes expressed in a cross section in
the form of mandala.
Pillars are the most important elements of inner
construction, and when possible they were
traditionally made of monolithic tree trunks.

The top part of a Tibetan column ,the capital has
three components .The top is formed as a small
square block cut out of the column itself on the
horizontal bracket with a length about twins the
but
in final buildings is usually curved .On top of
long as the column itself tapered toward both
ends in more or less elaborate ways. The main
beam normally in pine and around 150x210 mm
in section is suppo
In cases where the ceiling height needed to be
higher than was possible with the standard pillar
and beam system, a composite frame work was
introduced. Tie beams, brackets corbels long
and short and stacked and cantilevered in layers
widening towards the top would sit on top of
the main beams, such composite beams could
add significantly to the room height and wood
mainly be used in spectacular central spaces of
CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE
T 98
important, usually monastic, buildings.
The beams in one room are often laid
perpendicular to the beam in adjoining rooms in
order to strengthen the rigidity of the overall
construction.
On the layer of beams and small timbers is
placed first a layer of cobblestones, on the top of
this comes a layer of yellow of mud about
100mm thick. The stones serve to separate the
wood from the clay in order to prevent the wood
the yellow mud come layers of clay of different
granular quality known as the arga.
Opening for doors and windows are formed as
part of the main load bearing construction, with
secondary door and window frames put in only
after the main structure is completed and
allowed to dry.
In high quality buildings all horizontal surfaces
mainly roofs and floors are always made with
arga clay.
 T 99

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS
THE BENMA FRIEZE

The purple benma frieze, unique feature of

Tibetan architecture is a structure decoration that
tops facades. It appears as a long horizontal band
terminating the white, red ochre battered stone
walls of monastic and religious buildings.
Painted purple, benma looks like velvet from a
distance.

WINDOWS

External windows range from narrow slots as

seen in the lower part of the Potala and Jokhang
walls to the large windows of mansion living
rooms and the P
Window always have load bearing wooden
element with secondary frames and shutters.

other to constitute one large wooden

construction often over several floors.

Broad, black trapezoidal frames both decorative

and symbolic border the standard Tibetan
window. The border is traditionally made of
special clay 22-30 mm thick and is applied to
stone wall as a final finish after the window is
put in place.

DOORS

A door opening may be large while at the same

time being located at the bottom of the tall heavy
stone wall. The heavy dimension elaborate
construction of door lintels are therefore often
necessary and not just for decoration .If a door
opening is very wide it is divided into several
doors separated by load bearing pillars, which
looks like a large unifying frame
work.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

 T 100

AWNING

Windows and doors exposed to the heavy rain

showers of a limited but intense rainy season can
be given elaborate awnings that cantilever up to
one meter out from the wall .The awnings are
intricate constructions much as are the large
constructions of tie beams, brackets and
consoles of the internal ceilings. The awnings,
covered in slate tiles, are an absolute necessity
and their prominent positions, intricate design
make them a major architectural element in
shaping a facade.

TEXTILES

A feature that gives Tibetan building a distinct,

friendly appearance is the use of textiles as
permanent elements of the exterior. The most
common expression, found in every house no
matter how simple, is outdoor curtains topping
the windows and door hangers in the warm
seasons. Tent canvas covering a courtyard is
also common with all building types, from
farmhouses to monasteries.

USE OF MAIN COLOURS

Tibetan architecture is colorful to an extent

almost overwhelming to the first time visitor
tradition symbolism color in Tibetan art and
architecture relates each of the five colors
properly ordered blue, white, red, green and
yellow - to one of the five main elements .Blue
symbolizes air or space , white symbolize the
Buddha condition or absolute emptiness ,red
symbolize fire , green symbolize water and
yellow symbolize the earth.

External walls of secular religious buildings are

white washed or left untreated. Monastic
buildings may also be painted in yellow ochre
or more commonly, in various shades of red and
orange.

Monastic and secular interiors frequently use a

blue of brilliant intensity on the secondary
ceiling beam and green only much more rarely.
Pillars and main beams are often painted red
yellow can substituted for gold on metal roofs
and other metals fixtures on religious buildings.

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

 T 101

Buddhist Symbols and symbolism are very one who is awakening or has awakened to the
different than what we in the western culture higher consciousness of purely spiritual
are familiar with. The most well known of are energies.
the eight auspicious symbols. They represent
good fortune, and are representative of the eight
gifts that the gods gave to Shakyamuni Buddha The conch shell symbolises
when he attained enlightenment. the Dharma Jewel and
teaches us that we should
These auspicious symbols are used as motifs. accomplish the Dharma
Jewel, the realizations of the
stages of the path, within our
THE EIGHT AUSPICIOUS SIGNS
mind. The conch is believed
to give the Buddha the
The umbrella symbolises the
ability to scare away evil
sky above and the world
spirits, banish dark energies,
below. The umbrella (the
and even stop natural disasters from occurring.
divine forces above) cast a
Buddhist stories tell of mythical heroes carrying
protective shade over the
a large white conch shell into battle as a symbol
world below. It represents
of their power and divinity
protection from suffering and
desire through spiritual
The endless knot
means.
symbolises an uncommon
The golden fish symbolises
realizations, namely his
harmony, happiness and
realization of omniscient
fertility indicating that
wisdom. In other words
under this umbrella we
what goes around comes
should always live in
around
harmony and peace. The
are interlinked, there is no beginning and no
origins of it can be traced
end, and everything is flowing.The Endless
back to a symbol of the
Knot is of great simplicity and balanced
Yamuna and Ganges rivers in India, the two
harmony, it symbolizes peace and movement.
main sacred water ways that are revered by the
Indian people. The victory banner
symbolises an overcoming the
The treasure vase lower energies of the world and
symbolises wealth and giving oneself over to the
teaches us that we should pursuits of spirit: knowledge,
enjoy the inner wealth of our compassion, meditation,
faith, moral discipline, our wisdom, and ethics. It was
study and practice of given to the Buddha as a
Dharma, benefiting others, symbol of his enlightenment.
sense of shame,
consideration for others, and wisdom. The great The Dharma Wheel
treasure vase provided the Buddha with long life indicates that, having attained
and an abundance of health. these two uncommon qualities
of Buddha, we are able to lead
The lotus symbolises purity all living beings to permanent
which indicates that we liberation from suffering,
should always strive to principally by turning the wheel of Dharma that
become a pure being by is by giving Dharma teachings. This is our final
practicing the Bodhisattva's goal.
way of life. It
is also a
sign of

CAPITOL COMPLEX OF TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE