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 (made stronger) in order to hold the weight of thick heavy snow,which would have been allowed to lie on the roof, again to provide further insulation.