If you’re at least a bit familiar with the ger or yurt then you’ll find this house quite familiar-looking. A traditional ger is a portable, round tent used by Mongolian nomadic groups. It has an opening at the center and the rest of the space inside is concentrated around this point. This house is structured in a fairly similar way, except of course it’s not a portable but a permanent dwelling. It’s located on Ganghwa Island in South Korea and it was designed by AtelierJun.

The house is small and situated at the highest point on a gently sloping siteThe floor plan is concentrated around a double-height living area

The owner wanted a small house and the initial plan was to make a single-storey home with an attic. After reconsidering the plans, a two-storey house was built instead. This gives it 99 square meters of living space inside which is enough for a cozy weekend house. Like we mentioned earlier, it has a rather distinctive design. The roof has no eaves and is flush with the exterior walls which gives the house a flat and very simple look. Also, you’ll notice that the roof is asymmetrical and tilted towards a central point above the living room. It has a skylight at the top that lets sunlight into the space below.

The skylight at the top of the roof lets sunlight into the house and in illuminates the upstairs areaThe roof is asymmetrical and flush with the walls, giving the house a tent-like lookAll the rooms except for the dry sauna are oriented towards South

The exterior of the house is very simple, featuring gray clay surfaces that cover up all the sides except for one. This particular facade is defined by warm wood accents and large glass windows and doors. The interior has white walls and light wooden floors which emphasize the bright natural light. The living room overlooks the garden to the South and has easy access outside. It gets plenty of light through the windows and the skylight above. The second storey is considerably smaller and has angled walls which makes it feel very cozy.

The living room and kitchen are combined into a multipurpose social areaThe area upstairs features a small balcony created inside the angled roofThe chimney is also flush with the wall, reinforcing the overall simplicity of the design