The art, the shows, the dancing, the fires and fireworks are all wonderful, but personally, my favorite part of Burning Man is visiting the camps and admiring the multitude of styles and designs of shelters. These shelters (most of them specific to Burning Man) are built to create shade from the blistering sun, as blocks against the wind that sweeps across the desert, and to protect Burners from the ubiquitous dust that gets over everything. Each year I’m in awe with how the artists transport these structures across the country and erect them in this stark desert, only to take them down again a week later.

This year the weather couldn’t have been better. The dust was minimal, the winds were mellow and the temperatures were fairly low. In fact, you needed a shelter warm enough for the very cold nights that affected most Burners this year. Here are a few of my favorite tiny houses of Black Rock City 2011.

A few years ago, the Hexayurt prototype was displayed at Burning Man. Now, you can find Hexayurt villages scattered all around the city. The reflective siding blocks out the sun and keeps the interior about 10-20 degrees cooler.

This was another version of a Hexayurt that could accommodate a taller person.

The owners of this shelter built this shade structure, the Otic Oasis, and a few other structures using interlocking pieces of wood without glue, nails or screws.

Another wonderful structure was a re-creation of the New Orleans French Quarter where you could snack on shrimp gumbo or pizza from the Black Rock Bakery.

Math Camp’s structure was based on geometry (of course).

Pandora Camp was built around a shipping container.

Lenny Camp had a lighthouse as a central beacon.

This camp began to take on a Wild West feel…

…while the Dusty Swan pub gave this camp some luck o’ the Irish.

Modified trailers were popular again this year, including this fiberglass trailer shaped like a toaster…

…a ladybug toy hauler…

…a trailer with it’s own bike rack…

…and a beautiful Airstream all decked out with a bright yellow shade.

If you don’t have a trailer, you can always sleep in a tent…or is it a fish?

Maybe you’d rather sleep in a shark?

This year, I saw a lot more wonderful desert-style structures like this Moroccan tent…

…and this yurt with a tie-dye theme.

Some traditional tents are altered, and scarves or curtains are added for shade and beauty.

Some tiny houses at this year’s event were REALLY tiny…

…including this one used for both shelter and storage.

Several structures were excellent for climbing around on, including this Asian inspired beauty…

…or this purple tea house.

This yellow pagoda had a great view of the city…

…so did this Sky Lounge.

This lifeguard shack was located on the Esplanade (the main road in front of the city) and came complete with lifeguards who rode around on motorized surfboards.

However, this structure has become one of our favorites. We climb it whenever we get a chance and are affectionately calling it “The White Spaceship.”

Photos courtesy of Christina Nellemann

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Designed and developed for Glastonbury Festival 2005, the podpad will stand up to the most severe of weather conditions. They are comfortable, weatherproof, cool, soundproof, secure, and safe with optional extras available to increase comfort. They are also a possible solution to a group base camp, on-site storage, as well as live-in accommodation.

The podpad is designed to accommodate two adults comfortably on either a double or twin beds. In exceptional circumstances, they can accommodate a family of three. The podpad is 8 feet by 6 feet with a wooden floor and a fitted carpet. They have raised beds with mattresses, shelving, windows with curtains, a mirror, light and a 12V socket. Podpads are also solar powered by a panel outfitted as a sunflower on the roof. This can be used for low usage items such as charging cell phones, laptops and iPods.

Podpads are usually offered for camping and festivals in small groups called podcamps, and also come in scaled up versions called the Luxpad, the Bunkpad and the Octopad. The Luxpad is 10 feet by 8 feet and has a higher roof, more storage and 240v power. The Bunkpad is the same size as the Luxpad and offers bunkbeds for families. The Octopad is a 16-foot octagon with a low roof. It’s supported by a center pole and can accommodate a large family or group.

Photos courtesy of Podpads, Rockness and NME

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Many of these camps had their own versions of tiny houses, and like last year’s post, I thought I would feature a few of my favorites.

This year, our neighborhood of 3:30 and Istanbul (see the Black Rock City map) was lucky to have the Neverwas Haul as a corner beacon. This “mutant vehicle” is styled as a steampunk Victorian house that you could actually live in. In Black Rock City, it’s helpful to camp near a larger structure so you can find your way back to your little home in the dark.

Next door to the Neverwas Haul was Michel Olson and Christy Horne with their handbuilt “turret” gypsy wagon named Sir James. This year, they created a shade shelter out of Sir James and their van with a tent on top for their teenage kids to sleep in. They spend most of their time as traveling storytellers, artists and metalworkers. They live for about 8 months out of the year in a “castle truck” they named Florence.

Last year, this gypsy wagon was unfinished. Now it has beautiful detailing and interior seating and sleeping areas.

Vintage trailers of all shapes, colors and sizes are very popular at Burning Man.

Elegant tents make wonderful shade shelters that stay nearly dust-free.

Domes are also successful shade structures, and many Burners love to pay homage to their mother country.

The group that sets up the raves every year, at the far end of the city, creates their own tipi village.

The Red Rooster Ranch might be a fun place to hang out during the heat.

How about staying for a week in a pink, metal tipi structure with a disco ball? (notice the “For Rent” sign?)

Or a tiny pink house on a big, blue truck?

Or a spaceship complete with a little, celestial visitor?

Black Rock City “houses” are created for maximum shade, comfort, humor and beauty. However, what impresses me most about these tiny shelters is the amount of work and ingenuity that goes into a design that really only lasts for a week. Each little home has to survive the city’s dust storms, brutal heat and 40 mph plus winds, but in addition to that they are also a welcoming sight in the otherwise inhospitable desert.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

My neighbor, Dale, lived in a tipi for five years while he saved up to build his own house. He set it up on the land of an acquaintance who owned a ranch in exchange for working on the ranch, and was able to use the bathroom and water supply of the ranch worker’s apartment. He ran an electrical cord under the ground from the apartment to run an electric blanket. “You can be comfortable anywhere if you have an electric blanket.” he said.

His tipi from Sacramento tent manufacturer, Goodwin Cole, housed a bed covered with sheepskins, a small dresser for clothes and a Franklin stove which kept the tipi warm in winter. For cooking, Dale used a Coleman stove outside on a picnic table.

Courtesy of Dale and Denise Barcomb

Dale said he chose the tipi, rather than a tent or trailer, for the romantic aspect of it. His background was in Anthropology and his study of the American Plains Indians gave him the knowledge he needed to live their way of life. He said the best part of living in a tipi was being woken up by the daylight coming through the canvas in the morning,  and because of the conical pyramid power of the structure, he slept very well. The worst part was the lack of a noise barrier and being open to the elements. “But living that way forces you to be a part of the outdoors,” he said. Dale and his wife, Denise, still use the tipi in their backyard for a summer getaway.

Nomadic people have used portable tipis for thousands of years. The word tipi (also teepee or tepee) comes from the Lakota word meaning to dwell or live. These simple, circular structures provide snug, low-cost shelter. Even though they look very basic, a well built tipi is precisely designed. Tipis consist of four elements: a set of ten to twenty sapling poles (depending on the size of the tipi), a canvas or hide cover, an optional inner canvas or skin lining, and a canvas or skin door.

Prior to the introduction of horses to North America, tipis were only about 8 to 14 feet in diameter, since the poles and buffalo skin coverings were pulled on travois from one encampment to another by dogs or women. Once the American Indian plains people acquired horses, tipi designs expanded into the shape and style we’re familiar with today. By the late 1800s, after the near extermination of the buffalo herds, tipi covers made from bolts of canvas provided by the U.S. government replaced the 10 to 14 buffalo skins needed for the earlier style.

Courtesy of Reese Tipis

Courtesy of Reese Tipis

Most tipis now are made of canvas and are about 16 to 20 feet across with ceilings 12 feet high. Many modern tipis include raised wooden floors for the sleeping area to keep bedding and clothes free from bugs, dirt and dampness. A fire pit or carefully vented small woodstove in the tipi center provides heat during winter months. In about an hour, two people can easily erect a 16 foot-diameter tipi with 22 foot-long poles. The conical shape of the structure makes it stable in the high winds that often blow briskly across the Great Plains, and closable smoke flaps keep driving rains outside. Tipis are routinely transported to powwows, barter fairs and rendezvous on a truck’s carrying rack. At Burning Man this year, I saw whole villages made out of tipis. They seemed to be very wind resistant and cool inside.

Courtesy of Earthworks Tipis

Courtesy of Earthworks Tipis

One aspect of tipis that lend to the romantic vision is the artistic details of the canvas or animal hide. In American Indian culture most tipis in a village would not be painted, but those that were often featured geometric portrayals of celestial bodies and animal designs. Sometimes tipis were painted to depict personal experiences, such as war, hunting or a vision quest. Many are also decorated with pendants or medallions. Traditionally these were embroidered with dyed porcupine quills; more modern versions are often beaded. Buffalo horns and tails, tufts of buffalo and horse hair, bear claws and buckskin fringe were also used to decorate tipi covers. These attachments are often referred to as “tipi ornaments”.

Reese Tipis

White Buffalo Lodges

Earthworks Tipis
Earthworks is having a sale of 20% off their tipis until December 1, 2008.

Tipi Living

Mother Earth News: That Good Ol’ Tipi Living

By Christina Nellemann

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On my trip to Burning Man this year, I noticed quite a few camps utilizing the Hexayurt. A model of this affordable “refugee” shelter was also on display along with the art on the playa, and I was suprised how cool it was in the boiling heat, and how sturdy it was against the notorious Black Rock Desert winds. The inside had room for a full-size futon, some chairs and a table, as well as a few bookshelves.

The Hexayurt, created by Vinay Gupta, is made from Thermax HD from Dow for permanent use and and with laminated hexacomb cardboard from Pregis for temporary use. The reflective material on the outside keeps out the heat. These units take a team of three people around an hour to assemble. They are assembled using a 6 foot wide, 600+ lb bidirectional filament tape, and anchored to the ground like a tent. No heavy lifting, ladders or scaffolding are required.

A Hexayurt is primarily an emergency structure which is self-contained and easily packed for transportation. They cost around $200 to $500 plus another $100 to add a utility package for water decontamination, heating and cooking, communal composting toilets and solar power.

There are three sizes available:
* Stretch Around $100 per unit, 6′ high, 72 sq ft
* 8 foot Around $200 per unit, 8′ high, 166 sq ft.
* 12 foot Around $300 per unit, 12′ high, 166 sq ft.

A Hexayurt can also be used for a temporary structure to live in while building a more permanent dwelling.

Based on work done at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Hexayurt village is intended to replace all the infrastructure which might be damaged after a major disaster such as an earthquake or flood — in other words, it is an autonomous building suitable for a family. Both the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Defense are planning on using the Hexayurt for refugees and military use.

Treehugger: The Hexayurt: Efficient, Emergency Shelter

The Sietch Blog: Interview with Vinay Gupta

By Christina Nellemann

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