76Houses: 1. Trapchisar

THE 76 HOUSES:

72. Bonshoe

This noble mansion was once considered the most beautiful and well-built house in Lhasa, so much so that the house built for the ennobled parents of the 14th Dalai Lama was modeled on it. THF building master Chimo Migmar-la, 78, was one of the masons who built this house in the early 1940s. Surrounded and dwarfed by new public housing blocks since recent years, and inhabited by poor families and pilgrims, Bonshoe House has been neglected and fell into disrepair. Heavy rains caused the collapse of a substantial part of the building, luckily, no one was hurt. THF is currently rebuilding the damage, and trying to bring out again over painted religious murals in the former family chapel room.

From the 1999 Annual Report:

Bonshoe House was so well-regarded in the city that when the parents of the 14th Dalai Lama came to Lhasa and were ennobled, the residence government built for them was modeled on Bonshoe. Bonshoe was also one of the first construction projects of THF master builder Migmar-la, who joined the stone masons as an apprentice. Unfortunately, Bonshoe was also one of several sites in 1999 which partially collapsed during the heavy summer rains. When THF was alerted by the Housing Department, German architect Beate Heyne developed a new frame work for the in-depth study and documentation of Bonshoe. Master Migmar-la and his master student, Loya, rebuilt the damaged walls and roof in traditional style. Total costs: US$3,314.


The collapse of the north elevation in 1999	THF masons have completed rebuilding the northern wall. THF staff Yutaka Hirako and Ken Okuma are inspecting the work sitting on the roof.