What Is A Yurt?
Just a few weeks ago PURE Design was asked to design one of four spaces for the American Craft Council in the Minneapolis area. The four spaces were to be designed around earth, wind, fire and air. Our design team selected fire. During the collaboration process one of the young architects on our staff said what if we design the space around a yurt. I had no idea what a yurt was. I was surprised to learn about the history of the yurt and what it has developed into.
The yurt was the traditional dwelling of the nomads in Mongolia, a yurt is a tent-like structure, a domed home made from a wooden frame, formed by a number of joined wooden lattice walls. The roof is made from a central crown with roof poles radiating out and sitting on the top of the walls. The frame is covered in fabric or traditional skins.
Historical evidence suggests that yurts have been used by the nomadic people for over 2000 years. The design of the yurt is superb. The nomads needed homes that were portable, strong enough to withstand Siberian winds and insulated against the most extreme weather. The shape and lining material of the Yurt ensured that this was achieved.
Today there are companies that have dedicated themselves to building only homes with these principles. Still using all the ancient theory the yurt of the future includes hard wood furniture, luxury fabrics and sky lights for star gazing make the yurt a wonderful and enlightening experience. While we were not able to construct a yurt for this event, I found the history and future of the yurt fascinating and enlightening. I hope you do too.
