Néri Nyenchen Kawa Karpo : Remapping the Indigenous Sacred Landscape

Sacred spaces are often underestimated in their profound impact. They shape collective practices and landscapes through rituals passed down over generations. While not always designed by landscape architects, sacred spaces can be seen as unique landscape architecture practices. On the Tibetan-Yunnan border lies Mt Kawa Karpo, a profound pilgrimage destination of Tibetan Bön and Buddhist traditions. The site embodies an Indigenous sacred geography where history, myth, traditional land management, and ecology intertwine. It’s also the site of contestation under the pressure of climate change, conservation, and land-use conflicts. Rather than rewriting the landscape of Mt. Kawa Karpo with a traditional site design, the project reimagine the landscape as Mandala, invites it to speak for itself, emphasizing the agency of the site, as well as revealing the co-emergence of land and people.