How the World Works - Building Houses from Around the World
IGLOO - ARCTIC
Climate:
Canada's Arctic region is located north of the Arctic Circle and the tree line. Short, cool summers and long, cold winters help to maintain permafrost (the ground is frozen all year) on the land. The southern part of this area has small hills; the northern part has mountains, glaciers, plains, and islands. Very little plants or trees grow in this area
Canada's Arctic region in green on the map.
Materials:
It is not easy to build in the Arctic using materials found in the environment. In a place with very few trees or bushes there is no wood, so almost all houses are now built using materials that are brought in from other places. Before this, people used ice to build their houses.
An igloo (Inuit language: iglu) or "snow house" is a shelter made from blocks of snow, generally in the form of a dome. Although igloos are mainly associated with the Inuit people of Canada's Arctic (as well as being found in Greenland), they are also part of the common Canadian identity.
An igloo (or iglu) is a shelter (a place for people to stay warm and dry) made from blocks of snow placed on top of each other, often in the shape of a dome (like half of a hollow ball). They were used in winter as temporary shelters by hunters when they were away from their regular homes.
How Does an Igloo keep you warm?
An igloo's snowbrick laying method
View of an igloo from the side
GER - MONGOLIA
Weather & Climate
Mongolia has an extreme continental climate. The winter is long and cold but summer is hot and short. In Mongolia there are 250 sunny days a year, often with clear cloudless skies. Mongolia is known as a country of "Blue Sky".
Location:
All about the ger:
The ger is suited to Mongolia's harsh terrain and lifestyle. It is a round felt tent covered in durable, waterproof, white canvas which can be moved from place to place. This is because the Mongolians were nomads. Nomads need to move access the country in all four seasons. Gers can be packed onto the back of their animals and moved around.
Building the ger:
The Mongolian ger has two key parts: the wooden framework and the felt cover. The wooden framework is known as khana, the central support columns as uni, the smoke hole is toono. Eighty - eight separate wooden poles each measuring around 1,5 meters are used for the ger frame, with just two central columns supporting the entire structure. It has a wooden floor. The door is always on the southern side facing the sun, providing more light inside the windowless home.
The two central columns are the only things holding up the whole structure and no matter how many people are in ger ( you would be amazed how many can fit in and even sleep in a ger), no one ever leans against either of the support columns. This is considered very bad luck.
The felt is resilient to Mongolia 's strong winds, while it dries quickly for when it rains or snow melts.
A Mongolian "ger"
Inside the ger:
A ger is divided into three areas. There are male and female sections and khoimor area at the back of the ger.
The male area is on the western or left side of the ger. Here is man keeps his horse equipment.
Women have the eastern side of a ger, where they keep kichen utensils, their own and childrens belongings.
The khoimer, which is directly opposite the door, is where valuable objects are stored or displayed, as well as a small Buddhist shrine. Most families also keep a collage of photographs of relatives and close friends at the back of the ger. This is the most important part of the ger and guests are often invited to sit at the khoimer.
The central post holding up the ger.
Amsterdam - House Boat
Climate:
Amsterdam is in The Netherlands, which is a country with a maritime climate that has mild summers and cold winters. Wind and rain are common throughout most of the year with July and August being the wettest months.
Materials:
Houseboats need to be waterproof, so the water does not get in and insulating, to keep people warm inside. It also needs to float on water.
People sometimes live on a houseboat because it is cheaper than buying a house on land or there is no more room to build houses. Some people live on a houseboat so that they can move around from place to place in their own home.
In Amsterdam, some of the houseboats are very fancy and some are even hotels!
History of Amsterdam houseboats
Some of these old houseboats in Amsterdam are over a hundred years old. The cargo ships were used to transport goods. The owner and his family lived in the small quarters below deck. After retirement, the shipowner would moor the ship and continue living on it.
After the second world war, these old transport vessels became the answer to the housing shortage in Amsterdam. Living on a boat might have been uncomfortable, it was still cheap. Because of shortage in housing, in the sixties and seventies, more and more people in Amsterdam started to live in a moored ship.
WOODEN HOUSE ON STILTS - BRAZIL (JUNGLE)
Climate:
The amazon jungle in Brazil has a tropical climate, which means it has warm temperatures (28ºC during the dry season and 26ºC during the rainy season) and high humidity (There is lots of water in the air). There is a dry season and a rainy season, when there are tropical storms, and hurricanes which can cause dangerous floods.
Materials:
The amazon jungle is full of trees and plants, so the houses are mostly made from wood, sticks, large leaves and sometimes stones at the base.
Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding, they also keep out animals and pests. The shady space under the house can be used for work or storage.
Lots of stilt houses are built beside rivers and lakes, so that they are close to a water source, but are safe from floods, insects and animals.
MUD HUT - KENYA
Climate:
Materials:
Building the hut:
The next step is the roof, which is also plastered with cow dung and then covered with grass that is collected in the bush. The cow dung is what makes the roof waterproof.
The houses are generally quite small but families can cook, sleep, eat, socialise and store reserves, fuel and even small livestock in there.
It is very dark inside as apart from a few tiny round holes in the walls, there are no windows. There are usually 2 beds – one for the parents and the other for the children. Each woman is responsible for her own hut and she is also in charge of renovations. The building process can take anything from a few days to a few weeks and depends on how many helpers there are and if all the material is available.
All houses together make up a boma that is usually surrounded by a large thorn fence. In addition, a much smaller thorn fence is built in the midst of the huts where the livestock can safely rest at night.
WOODEN CHALET - SWITZERLAND
Climate:
In Winter months Switzerland has heavy snow and is very cold. It is a popular place for skiing. The higher you are in the mountains, the colder the temperatures. At the top of the highest mountains, there is snow all year round. In lower areas, most of the snow falls from December to February.
Materials:
The mountains of Switzerland are covered in thick forest so there is plenty of wood to build houses. The local materials are wood and stone. Everything else has to be shipped in. The houses in the mountains have sloped roofs and huge eaves so the snow can slip and slide off easily.
Chalets in the Alps were primarily designed for comfort in cold weather. They were generally built on two or three floors with the lowest floor being a barn for keeping animals in.This meant that the heat generated by the animals would rise to the upper floors, helping to heat the rest of the house. The huge overhangs on the roofs meant that firewood could be stacked around the house, adding an extra layer of insulation as well as keeping the firewood dry. The overhangs meant that it would still be possible to move around outside even after several metres of snow had fallen.
The roofs themselves were often massively reinforced in order to bear the weight of thick heavy snow,which would have been allowed to lie on the roof, again to provide further insulation.
