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Architecture in the Arctic region
Page last revised: 27 December 2005 12:41
The people of the Arctic lived in an environment of extreme temperatures and varied resources, and the forms of architecture used in different regions reflect some of these variations.
The iglu, associated in stereotypes with the people of the Arctic, was actually the permanent winter residence only of people living in the central region between Labrador and the Mackenzie delta. In this area with very scarce wood, the iglu made use of the most abundant winter resource, the snow, to create a warm and comfortable dwelling.
The iglu was a hemispheric structure built from snow blocks cut from inside a predetermined circle. The first course of snow blocks was set, and then the walls built up in a spiral, eventually creating a dome. Snow was then packed into the spaces between blocks, sealing the structure. A door hole was cut in a side facing away from the prevailing winds, and sometimes additional structures were created as vestibules and storage areas outside the main structure. A raised sleeping platform for beds was created, and the interior was lighted with oil lamps. The heat generated inside the iglu tended to form a crust on the interior walls, but the inside remained generally free of excess moisture until the spring thaw.
Iglu Architecture (based on Nabokov and Easton 1989)
The more common dwelling built by the people of the Arctic region was an earth sheltered pit house, framed with either wood or whale bones, depending on the available resources. The house frame was constructed, along with an entrance ramp that often traveled first up, and then down into the dwelling, to conserve heat. The entrance ramp or tunnel was constructed either toward the east or south, away from the prevailing wind. The structure was then covered with earth and sod, creating a well insulated home for the harsh winters of the Arctic. There was great variety in the the kinds of houses used, and the following is an example of a winter house from the western Arctic at St. Lawrence Island.
Winter earth sheltered house, western Arctic region (based on Nabokov and Easton 1989)
During the spring and summer, the people of the Arctic left their winter dwellings and moved to summer hunting and fishing grounds, living in hide covered tents during the warm months.
Some people, including the Kuskowagamiut of central Alaska, constructed separate men's houses, in which men and boys over the age of ten slept, made tools, and conducted ceremonies. These were essentially large versions of the winter houses, with their dimensions expanded to provide room for all the men and older boys in the community. The Kuskowagamiut called this structure the kashgee.
Source: Nabokov, Peter and Robert Easton. Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
