By breaking away from the traditional building typologies that are designed to control the pedestrian, and instead offering a non-linear and non-gridded site plan, Ulaanbaatar Village encourages freedom of movement in a growing city that is increasingly auto-centric and congested. Nonhierarchical paths connect a series of public plazas that are flexibly designed to serve as places of repose or as sites for more organized retail or entertainment. Forty-one low- and mid-rise structures can be used in a variety of ways by residents and visitors alike. Architecturally, there are two types of buildings: those dedicated to residential and work space, and those that will house public programs such as a theater, a nightclub, a department store with a grocery shop at the ground level, an indoor playground, a haunted house (the site is adjacent to Mongolia’s National Amusement Park), and an observatory. People are encouraged to stroll around and through the buildings, to linger or pass through the plazas, in multiple meandering paths of movement and repose, enjoying key ideals of both urban and nomadic life: autonomy and discovery.

The Village responds to its natural surroundings in a multitude of ways. From a practical standpoint, the overall layout and the shape of the buildings modulate solar exposure as needed and provide wind-shielding where necessary. Visually, the undulating, angled rooftops and the warm colors of stained concrete and stone echo the majestic mountains nearby.