Bhutanese farm house

Bhutanese architecture is a remarkable adaptation of Tibetan architecture to different ecological conditions. As in Tibet, the walls of fortresses slope inwards and are whitewashed, with the windows becoming larger in the upper storeys. However, in Bhutan, the need to cope with heavy precipitation and the availability of wood have given its architecture a flavour all its own. Wood is widely used. The assembling of windows and doors is so complicated that the work is done at ground level, the finished elements being fitted into the upper walls later. Windows are characterized by trilobed crossbars at the top and by complicated lintels that carry symbolic meaning in all of their parts. Lintels and windows are painted with floral or geometric designs. The roofs of houses are pitched above a flat floor. They are mortised and covered with shingle held in place with heavy stones. These pitched roofs are completely original in style and help give an impression of lightness to the whole building.