Planning’s been on my mind recently-it bloody well should be
as I’m upto my eyeballs in assignments for my master, but fret not-and it’s so
inevitable that whatever I learn in my classes I’ll inevitably relate it to
Mongolia’s (most likely) more abysmal state of planning at present, and
daydream about what I’ll do when I get back. A dangerous hobby for someone with
a power complex!
It occurred to me recently that the humble Mongolian ger, or
a yurt as everyone else is determined to call it, is one of the most flexible,
diverse, fluid and sustainable form of housing anyone has ever seen or utilised
safely. Despite its’ centuries old heritage and the lack of practical amenities
such as running water and a toilet, it has continued to be used today all over
Mongolia and some European countryside and camp sites calling themselves
‘boutique camp resorts.’
I say fluid because the interior is always the same in
almost every ger and all Mongolians know exactly where everything goes-where
you place your chest, bed and kitchen. In fact you can fit a it in there and
yet there’s always space to move around and locate yourself in different parts
of your home.
It’s diverse because there are many different versions of it
depending on what tribe you belong to or what part of the country you live in,
as well as versions by Native Americans in the USA and other types in South
America. And yet, you can always instantly tell that it’s a ger, wherever you
find it.
I say sustainable because you can literally pack it up in an
hour and take to hundreds of kilometers away and unpack it in the same time,
without doing any damage to your environment. It’s also sustainable because
it’s made from natural materials that a herder can get hold of easily and use
and rescue over and over again. And for a particularly creative herder, he/she
can paint it lovely colours and patterns inside.
And most importantly, in my opinion, it’s flexible for so
many reasons it goes beyond the word flexible. It’s a home, a school, a
nursery, a guest room, an office, a travelling clinic, a hotel room, a storage
room-one man’s wealth, another man’s getaway. Besides being able to plonk it
pretty much anywhere, the fundamental idea of a mixed use space in planning as
a discipline, the issue of community and getting people closer at a local
level, the utility as basic housing and shelter, adaptability in any weather
and visual amenity conditions, and the cultural significance to its end users
all tick the boxes for a great solution in a planning conundrum. Surely there’s
an award that this humble example of great urban design should win?! If not
urban design, at least a nod from the neo-anti-capitalist-self
sustaining-freegan crowd, because by using it in a modern commune type of
living arrangements with water, toilet and electricity (candle lit living will
suffice the hard cores) it’s bound to re-start a revolution, no?
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| Original and still current use |
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| New settings-urban sprawl and ger districts |
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| Modern resort |
