Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Architecture (MArch)
Department
Architecture
First Advisor
Stephanie Choi
Second Advisor
Christopher Roberts
RISD Fleet Library Catalog Record
Architecture
Abstract
This thesis investigates Tibetan nomadic pastoralism in the Himalayan region, where habitation is inseparable from seasonal migration and environmental conditions. Focusing on Ganzi County in Sichuan Province, where nomadic and settled lifestyles coexist.
The research positions "documentation" as both method and design driver, provides a possibility that architecture can mediate cultural continuity and coexistence between Tibetan nomadic pastoralism and its surrounding culture. By transforming documentation methodology into a design methodology, the mobility of architecture has become into a spatial strategy. Through a mobile marketplace, the project enables ongoing exchange between nomadic and settled lifestyles and among diverse cultural groups, positioning architecture as an active framework for sustaining and negotiating cultural life.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Zihan, "Fragments of the Grassland" (2026). Masters Theses. 1649.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1649
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