A Study on the Types and Formation Mechanism of The Exterior Windows of Yunnan Tibetan dwellings
Description
The exterior windows of Yunnan Tibetan dwellings serve as crucial identifiers of their architectural culture, embodying profound regional collective memory. This study employs architectural typology as its theoretical framework to conduct fieldwork across more than 30 traditional villages in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. By integrating literature-based research, typological extraction, and schema analysis methods, the study systematically derives a basic typological hierarchy for components such as window eaves, window lintels, window faces, and window surrounds, and validates their generative logic through typological recombination and transformation. Research indicates that: (1) The exterior windows of Yunnan Tibetan dwellings can be categorized into two major types: those with eaves and those without; among these, the window eaves, window lintels, window faces, and window surrounds all exhibit a well-defined basic typological hierarchy; (2) The decorative patterns found on different components possess specific typological combinations and symbolic meanings; the ends of flying woods, the spacer baffles, and the various concentric circles of the window face are arranged according to a relatively strict "positional grammar," thereby constituting the implicit generative logic underlying the morphology of these windows; (3) The ecological adaptation to the local environment, the influence of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion, and the cross-cultural exchanges and integration among multiple ethnic groups in the confluence zone of Yunnan, Tibet, and Sichuan do not exist in parallel or as separate entities; but rather, they form a nested collaborative mechanism comprising the "foundation layer – structural layer – adaptation layer," which collectively constitutes the deep driving force behind the generation of window types. This study provides a typological foundation for the preservation and inheritance of Tibetan traditional dwellings and offers theoretical reference value for the renovation and design of vernacular architecture within the context of rural revitalization.