Size Matters

A nice-enough (weather-wise) Sunday afforded the boys and I a chance to answer a question that’s been rattling around in my head for awhile now — what size of yurt should we design and build? To constrain myself (I do love to over-complicate things), I’ve been thinking of two options — either a 13’ diameter design or a roomier 17’ one.

Considerations

Given that this is the first yurt I’ve attempted, part of me really wants to build a smaller one, and keep it as simple (and inexpensive! I am on a pretty tight budget here) as possible.

But… I also don’t want something so tight that, within one or two overnights, I’m already kicking myself. This thing will have to (at first) sleep at least myself and two growing boys, then—over time—accommodate Mama as well.

I have ambitions for a small wood-burning stove too. It occured to me that the best way to get a feel for how spacious the 13’ would be is to chalk off a comparable diameter, maybe rough in some floor features and get the kids’ impressions of each.

Compasses

With a handful of household ingredients…

Simple ingredients

I measured out two different compass lines.

Chalk Compasses

… and then the boys and I got to work, on a nearby asphalt playground. With me as the “fixed” leg of the compass, and them taking turns as the “swing leg”, we sketched out full-scale models of each size option. Once we had the circular “floor” for each notated, we tried to rough in some of the fundamental feaures: cots or beds; stove; front door w/adequate clearance, and the like.

The 10yo begins a “cot” around his brother. The 13’ one, with allowances for floor features like a stove, ended up really comfortably only sleeping two, maybe three people.

The 17’ option shows a certain generosity of floor-space. With stove and skylight accounted for, we were able to basically double the sleep capacity. And have space remaining for a comfy chair. (Original photo enhanced for clarity.)

And the Winner Is…

No sense, really, in prolonging this. The 17’ yurt won handily. Really it’s the only size that makes any sense for our needs. The looks on the boys’ faces says it all, dunnit?

Sad Trombone. A perfectly cute 13’ diameter.

We have a winner! 17’ gives us a footprint that we can play around with a bit.

So that’s settled, and now we can move on with design. I also spent some time last week touring the Columbus Idea Foundry, and will soon be registered for a couple of their Intro to Woodworking classes (a necessary step on the way to obtaining a membership.)

I also have some pencil- and pen sketches that I’d like to share soon. Alas, it’s pretty late, and tomorrow is a Monday. I’m off to bed…

P.S. I am ditching Medium’s “Series” format for these entries, and just publishing each entry as a straight “Story.” Because… reasons. At some point soon, I will go back and retrieve the teensy-tiny bit of content that’s currently embedded in the Series and republish that as a Story, too.

P.P.S Designer extraordinaire and fellow CMMer Frank Rosile pointed out to me that this exact same design technique was employed by the founders of McDonald’s in laying out workstation/food flow and early restaurant layouts! Check out this clip from The Founder to see their technique in action.