Yes, a yurt, but a carefully evolved version, that could be hemp fabric, with adjustable and hinging shadescreens, as the same guy shows in the pix on his site, makes startling combinations that are quite solar appropriatr, with the right blend of solar protection, with adjustable shading screens, really quite advanced design.
Much like japanese cars, refined, improved, sensible and efficient.
The only thing with his rigid designed housing, the finishing, insulating and airbarrier would be a major headache.
Check out this interior, admittedly a marvellous space, but how many struts, angles, i would not want to insulate around all these protrusions. the structural details, this works best as a tent.
Refugee housing can make good use of these ideas, just enlarge the scale and you have a co housing camp, with resort sryle outdoor under cover cooking, eating, water tent.
The roof would be solar angled, with good bolt on provisions.
And privatr tent cabins work for me, i would love to pitch a lo impact tent cabin somplace nyself!
Anyone know of a lace in central america, i would love to go to nicaragua, where people still cook with wood, and develop a local solar cooking operatio0n, doing demonstrations, and build comfortable tent housing!
check out my website on ecodesign, refugee housing:
http://naturaldynamics.freeservers.com/http://www.walrus.com/~ddprod/michaeljantzen/processmhouse.html