Review | Becoming Urban: The Mongolian City of Nomads

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The challenges of a rapidly urbanising Mongolia are dissected and addressed in a new book, reviewed by Katharine Heron

The author Joshua Bolchover credits his parents with his understanding that architecture is a social project, and his engagement in Ulaanbaatar is exactly that. Bolchover is an architect and Professor at The University of Hong Kong, where he leads a research group with design and research practices which argues for building as research. He co-established the Rural Urban Framework with John Lin in 2015.

Bolchover writes: “For thousands of years, Mongolians have lived in gers - circular structures of timber and wool wrapped in stretch white canvas and pulled taught with horsehair rope. The ger is a highly evolved design object, easy to disassemble in a mater of hours without any tools or fixings. The perfect dwelling for nomads who move up to 500 kilometres each year in search of seasonal pastures.”

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