The Museum Complex in Tsas Soma
The tower stands in Tsas Soma, the garden where trade caravans once camped. According to THF, the land was given to the local community for this purpose in the 17th century by King Jamyang Namgyal. Around the museum, THF/LOTI built gates, a library, a kitchen museum and gardens, and renovated the old bakery next door. Solar panels installed in 2013 supply the complex with electricity.
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Museum Tower
The museum takes the form of a Tibetan-Ladakhi fortress tower with a contemporary edge. Its square ground plan echoes ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim places of worship, and each floor is encircled by a passage that leads to the stairway to the next.
The concept and design are the work of André Alexander of Tibet Heritage Fund, and local master masons and carpenters shaped the building from the first sketches. The walls are solid stone masonry in mud mortar, dressed by hand on site.
Visitors leave the tower over an iron bridge and step down into the garden.
Also in the Complex
Ladakh Gate
The main gate on the south side, facing the Main Bazaar. In Ladakhi-Tibetan style: a large double door between stone walls, under a black frieze that carries the museum's signboard in three languages.
Kashmir Gate
The north gate, opening towards the residential quarter and the Shia mosque. It is in Islamic style, with finely carved timbers on a stone platform.
Iron Bridge
Visitors leave the tower over an exit bridge inspired by Tibetan architecture, and step down into the garden.