Nov 13, 2026

Beyond the Yurt

Rethinking Mongolian Architecture and Identity

Nandin and Lingchen Kong

Hosted by Nordic Asia Podcast

Summary

What can architecture tell us about Mongolian identity, history, and cultural belonging? In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Ning Ao is joined by Nandin and Lingchen Kong to explore Mongolian architecture, from its historical roots and traditional forms to its presence in contemporary society. How have Mongolian architectural traditions evolved in response to changing social and political contexts? What happens when traditional architectural forms meet modern urban development? And how does architecture reflect, preserve, and reshape ideas of Mongolian identity?

Nandin is a Mongolian architect and partner and design director at the architecture and design film, PLAT ASIA.

Lingchen Kong is a PhD candidate in Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

This episode is hosted by Ning Ao, a PhD candidate at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University, Sweden.

The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia), Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland), Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland), Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) and Centre for South Asian Democracy, University of Oslo (Norway).

We aim to produce timely, topical and well-edited discussions of new research and developments about Asia.