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Living in Yurts – the very first Prefabricated Houses
Living in Yurts – the very first Prefabricated Houses
Recently I’ve been chatting with friends who live in a ‘yurt’ about my desire to make the transition myself and naturally I find myself drawing comparisons to our lovely Rotundas – weighing up the pros and cons of a simply canvas cylinder or a timber framed circular dwelling.
Our British climate mightn’t be particularly well suited to perpetual canvas living but a few hardy folk do indeed live in yurts through all seasons and are seemingly very happy. Since my very first introduction to circular buildings several years ago (and my ongoing passion for living, working and relaxing in the round) I’ve been fascinated by the history and the flexibility of the yurt. For those of you who aren’t overly familiar with the yurt, it’s a Mongolian structure (Genghis Khan and his horde used them) built primarily from latticed wood (to produce the cylindrical wall system) held together by a wooden band with a roof which is formed by long poles which extend from the top of the walls to arrive at a central point called the “crown” (which is a small circular opening, traditionally was used as a smoke hole) which provides both natural daylight and a beautiful focal point. The Yurt was born into existence by nomadic tribes who needed a house that could be easily constructed and moved, built with materials they had on hand (wool and wood) which was lightweight enough to be carried by a couple of horses and would be comfortable enough to withstand the winters but provide a cool retreat in the summer.
Estimated to have been created about 2,500 years ago, this central Asian design is still being used today as living spaces and quirky holiday retreats for the people all over the UK and I can see why.
An Eco-friendly round living space has enormous appeal for many of us and maximises the greatest use of floor area, is a natural and unobtrusive structure with minimal impact to the surrounding landscape and ground it’s sited on, they’re quick to erect and dismantle and they are warm and cosy when the fire is lit. The downsides, as far as I can see are that the yurt itself, being a central Asian design, isn’t particularly in-keeping with the British Countryside; there are very few (if any) windows and those that do are invariably old UPVC units from a brick-built domestic house, there are no electrics (so, no hair-dryer ladies I’m afraid) nor is there insulation and they need quite a bit of maintenance such as re-waterproofing the canvas and tightening the ropes. In fact, most UK holiday sites are required to take their Yurts down during the winter period which only really brings them revenue during the summer months.
Although I have a strong attraction to the traditional yurt I do firmly believe that after 2,500 years the yurt is due for a significant upgrade. Whilst in the process of looking for some land so my family and I can live off-grid and in greater harmony with nature, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Rotunda is in fact the modern (and upgraded) equivalent to the Mongolian Yurt, and it’s not a moment too soon. Our current civilisation (although many of us keen for a more sustainable living arrangement) has a requirement for a supply of electricity for modern day appliances and would expect to have a structure which mightn’t need to be removed and reassembled numerous times as the Mongol travellers did. Our climate can be bitterly cold in the winter months and thus, it would be advantageous to have a fully insulated building which would retain the heat and not lose it all though a single layer of canvas. Most notably, the Rotunda is a timber-clad building making the most of the British Larch which we source locally. A design which is more in-keeping with the British countryside but is also reminiscent of Swedish log cabins, traditional barns and lodges which provide more stability, durability and the option of modern day appliances and in-house entertainment (which could of course be powered by alternative energy sources)
So, thank you Yurt for the beauty and joy which you’ve provided for 2,500 years but personally I’d place my bets on the new equivalent which is much more suited to our climate, addresses our need to conserve energy and provides a more long-term living arrangement.
Yurt, my friend, you have evolved.
Blogpost written by Gemma Roe.
The Ergonomics of a Garden Office
er·go·nom·ics
Noun: The study of efficiency in working environments.
Let me fix my beady little eyes on you for a moment and ask the all important question… “What is a Garden Office?”
…A building at the bottom of the garden, you say? An insulated shed? (Hmm… another try perhaps…) some of you might like to think of a garden office as a high-spec modular building, the ultra modern alternative to a home extension…? Close… An eco-pod…? Well, yes; I suppose all of the above are true, because the simplest way to define it is a room or building being used as a place of work, in the garden. A garden office could be just about anything, old potting shed, an uber-modern prefab or a 30ft greenhouse (incidentally, there are some garden offices which do bear a striking resemblance a greenhouse if you’re looking for that kind of thing). With the wide array of Garden Offices available in the UK at the moment, the choice and varying specifications are staggering (granted, we’re one of the more unusual ones). So, what do you look for? What makes it appropriate for work? How can one vary so much from another? Surely they’re all meant to do the same thing, right? Not necessarily.
Any space where you will spend most of your working day or will spend your time doing those things that you plan on using your garden office for (a craft room, art studio, music studio, secluded hideaway…) must therefore be designed for that purpose. I remember installing a beautiful O-Pod in Kent for an artist who wanted a minimalist space and was absolutely thrilled with the natural daylight which flooded in through the roof-light dome, the sparse unfurnished whitewashed walls and simple engineered oak floor which gave him the perfect minimalist studio. The following week however, we designed and installed little 3m diameter classroom for a local primary school and fitted it with brightly painted floor to ceiling bookcases, low level desks, bright green 2ft high frog-themed chairs and high-level shelving which ran around most of the perimeter of the room. It was jam packed with toys and learning equipment, and it was designed to be used in this way.
One thing to consider when purchasing a garden office or outdoor home office is how you will furnish it, if the garden building manufacturer provides this service and what does it need to do to bring out your most productive side? From experience, I’ve worked in a circular garden office for several years and the energy in the space is nothing short of invigorating. It’s bizarre how busy and uplifted one can feel in a space with no corners. But don’t just take my word for it, pushing my esoteric claims aside for a moment, there IS a certain logic to using a circular garden office; let me explain why:
With a Curved Wall comes a Curved Desk
I remember reading an article by Laurence Llewelyn Bowen several years ago passionately divulging the infinite benefits of the ‘Radial Kitchen’ which held me in rapture. Such an odd concept, who’d have thought of a round kitchen…? But, it makes sense! Once you remove the corners and design your kitchen to a perfect circle, you have an astonishingly functional environment which curves around you like a flight-deck. Nothing is out of reach but nothing gets in your way. Deep cupboards make up the lost space where the corners once were and the flow around such an environment is just ideal. So incredibly functional. The same goes for a working office environment. A curved desk, along with curved shelves running above and alongside makes much more sense, ergonomically. You’re just one swivel chair away from perfect productivity!
Optimum Levels of Natural Daylight
Back in the Victorian era there were several Round Houses built in England as domestic homes for wealthy landowners who were caught up in a superstitious belief that the ‘devil could hide in corners’. As amusing as this might seem to us nowadays, there is a definite advantage to eliminating those dark shadowy corners and building in the round. Light, bright, airy spacious curves! The light simply bounces off the walls. We’ve found that with the addition of a double glazed roof-light dome in the centre of the ceiling, the natural daylight floods the room even when it’s in a shady position. This makes a circular space ideal for any creative pursuits, and will certainly save you needing to flick that light-switch on the way in to the garden office. You’ll find that as long as it’s daylight, the room will be light and airy. It’s something called ‘Solar Gain’ and my goodness, it works.
Excellent Acoustics
Whether this is due to the fact that there are no seams and/or corners which can allow for noise to leak from, or just that sound reverberates particularly well in a circular space, a round building promotes excellent acoustics and our little Rotundas are practically soundproof. We’ve tested it on several occasions, albeit not the most scientific of processes with one person jumping up and down like a crazed chimpanzee and shouting at the top of their lungs whilst several of us stand outside the door straining to hear them, but, I’m sure this goes part-way to explaining how we’ve come to this conclusion. Nevertheless, if you’ve got important conference calls which you need to make and you don’t want to be disturbed by your children playing in the garden or a Boeing 747 flying overhead, this might be something which could actually enhance your productivity.
Airflow and Energy Saving
Ok, a little more technical than the previous points but one of the most important! The ‘thermal dynamics’ in a round garden room means that the air circulates naturally and the heat is retained in the building as it rotates slowly. In essence, the warm air gently rises in the room and hits the cool surface of the roof-light dome in the centre. This then cools the air and it slowly drops down again in the middle of the space only to then circulate upwards again and it repeats this invisible merry dance, naturally. Providing you with a warm and airy environment which of course, can only provide you (and your pot-plants) with the most optimal productive garden office environment!
Fewer Chemicals in Construction
Worryingly unbeknownst to the majority of us, there are plenty of hidden ‘nasties’ out there in the modern built environment such as Polystyrene, Polyurethane, formaldehyde and other chemicals, plastics and resins which are known carcinogens. Sick building syndrome is a poorly understood phenomenon where people have a range of symptoms related to a certain building, most often a workplace, and it’s believed to be down to some of the toxins we’re breathing in though the walls, paint finishes and compounds released by everyday building materials. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the air inside your home is 2 to 5 times more polluted than the outdoors and this could also be the case with a new outdoor studio or garden office. In Australia, researchers watched what happened when a small law firm moved from their normal office building into a 5 Green Star-rated space. They found that sick leave was reduced by 39%, typing speed and accuracy improved by 9% and the lawyers’ billable hours increased by 7%. Workers also self-reported fewer headaches and eye soreness. Perhaps then, it’s worth noting which chemicals are being used inside the cavity of the garden offices that might have caught your eye? If it’s a petrochemical based polystyrene or polyurethane it might be wise to ask for a natural alternative. After all, an eco-pod or eco garden office filled with carcinogens but acclaimed for it’s aesthetics and air-tightness might be akin to smoking being hailed as ‘healthy’ in the 1920’s. We’ve still got a long way to go!
All in all, if you’re looking for a productive working environment, it’s the little things that we might overlook which could end up making all the difference. Natural Daylight, great air quality, high-performance (natural) insulation, great acoustics and curved furniture might be those little (but big) details which could make your work day in a garden office the most productive you could possibly imagine.
Blogpost written by Gemma Roe.
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