In Central and Western Tibel, Tibetan housing inhabits both the plateau and elevated land. The variety of sites and slopes provides great diversity in housing. The most desirable sites are usually elevated, and face south. This instinctual tendency towards the availability of light and heat creates a marvelous aesthetic of tiered homes in the landscape, each overlooking the ones below and allowing views for those above. We chose this tiered site condition as our primary design case due to the clear geometric plan and site organization, and as a response to the clear sublime Tibetan mountain lanscape. The homes are readily adaptable to flatter land as well, where they can also be arranged harmoniously and in interesting patterns.

Heavy walls are not atypical in Tibetan homes, and their structural bearing capacity should be noted as a benefit during seismic events. For our design, we intigrated heavy gabion walls with concrete piers, creating an effect similar to that of confined masonry, a design with proven seismic effectiveness, and recommended in many nations. The gabions are squeezed between the piers, preventing movement of the stonework within. Our pier design is battered, not unlike that of many tradional Tibetan dwellings. The gabions, truly cages of metal with heavy ballast within, can really contain anything. With the current predicament of widespread rubble and debris from collapsed construction, this ballast can range from stone to broke blocks to bricks and clay tile, really, any found heavy objects.

Within the individual homes, we include a main floor level with a central oven, utilized for both cooking and heating. This is a common feature in Chinese rural housing, and found throughout Tibet also. Seating is placed around the oven for family dining and gathering. The second floor is accessible either through interior ladders of the walkway from the tier above. There is room for six people on the upper sleeping level.