Pacific Yurts - The original modern yurt
Aug 092007

More highlights from my East Coast tour…

When I spoke at Yestermorrow Design Build School in Warren, Vermont, a lovely woman named Renee came up after my talk and told me about seeing some unique yurts in Budapest. For those of you who don’t know, in Hungary yurts are considered a part of their heritage. The yurts (or yurt-inspired buildings) Renee had seen were in a kind of museum park.
I asked Renee to email photos, and here’s what she said:

I found this yurt about 30 minutes outside of Budapest, in a semi-rural neighborhood just outside the Socialist Monument Park. Rather than destroying the statues that commemorated their changing history after the war, the Hungarians raised enough money to collect and transport all the monuments from Budapest (get them out of mind of the population) and re-established them in a large walled park.

In this photo, I’m inside the wall that surrounds the park.

Aug 052007

Just arrived back from my East Coast tour, and what a great tour it was!  I love meeting yurt people and hearing their dreams and their stories. Here are some highlights from the tour…

My first stop was Northshire Books in Manchester Center, Vermont, voted 2006 best independent bookstore by Publisher’s Weekly. They deserve the title! An old Victorian house full of books and meeting spaces with an adjoining café, it’s at the heart of the cultural life in this southwestern Vermont town.

Stanley's yurts

Stanley's Tapered-Wall Yurts

Stanley McGaughey was at my Northshire talk. He’s still finishing up the final details on an amazing set of tapered wall yurts. Look for his story in our upcoming “Yurtspeak” newsletter!