Negotiating the Sacred Threshold

Master’s Thesis

Year: 2026
Location: Western Sichuan, China
Project type: Master’s Thesis
Focus: Landscape / Social Practice / Fieldwork

This thesis explores the transitional spaces between a Tibetan pastoral village, a prayer and gathering building, and a sacred lake. Through fieldwork, participatory mapping and workshops, it identifies four liminal nodes and translates them into light, seasonal and reversible spatial responses.

Partly frozen Sarljok Tso surrounded by forested mountain slopes during winter fieldwork.

Reconstructed map of the village, prayer ground, paths and seasonal shore of Sarljok Tso.

A resident points to a printed map, with fieldwork photographs, annotated maps and a diagram of paths, nodes and landmarks.

Seasonal rhythm workshop with pins and coloured threads, alongside children’s drawings and their translation into spatial preferences.

Four working nodes, three module heights, seating combinations and a foldable timber shade support with textile and rope details.

Node 2 axonometric proposals for everyday winter use, tourism season and collective events, with supporting design strategies.

Node 3 prayer forecourt movement diagrams and Node 4 lakeshore pause edge in normal and high-water conditions.