Snow house construction

Before I went to Lapland, the igloo in my concept was associated with the Inuit, and it was piled in a spiral shape until it was folded into a compressive hemispherical structure. I can't imagine how a person can do it without support. Maybe the spiral is the mystery of the whole project. 20 kilometers away from rovaniemi, there is a "Xueyuan School" hidden in the snow. In front of Sammy's shelter, the firewood cut neatly on the bonfire stove was orderly, the fire was burning slowly, and the teapot hanging by the fire was steaming. Old Mr. Ward and his two assistants dressed in snow camouflage told us about the igloo architecture in Finland. Blueberry juice in a wooden Finnish cup by the fire is steaming. At that time, the outdoor temperature was about MINUS 20℃, but it was not cold because of fire, hot water and shelter. Our igloo started with a painting. This Finnish igloo is different from Inuit, so it can't solve the mystery of spiral architecture for me. This igloo is supported, and a detachable tripod is preset. This tripod is exquisitely designed, and several brackets can be quickly inserted outside the box to support an arc-shaped frame. And this box, in terms of shape and size, can make snow bricks quickly.

At the beginning of construction, it is necessary to clear a piece of snow of two or three square meters first, and then make large snow bricks around it. The tool for making snow bricks is a simple shovel or saw, and the snow bricks should be cut into movable sizes. Unless you want to build a igloo, don't be greedy. The igloo is too big to form an arc. Insert the bracket in the middle and start stacking bricks around the bracket. The first floor is mainly to control the size of the igloo. If the upper floors are to be connected by arc brackets, the snow bricks do not need to be absolutely the same size. When stacking the second floor, the bottom of the snow brick will be cut into an inward slope, and the snow brick will be tightened inward after being placed. Because of the support, you can safely build two floors, and continue upward in the same way until there is only one day left at the top of the snow. At this time, although this structure is supported by brackets, the last few pieces still need to be supported in the igloo, otherwise it is likely to be wasted.

Our Finnish igloo has a small door, so people can easily climb in. Inuit people who also live in the Arctic Circle will pay more attention to the climate. They will open a small window on the south side, and a plate-shaped snow block will protrude above the small window, which can block the snow from hitting the window and refract sunlight, so that it can shine directly indoors, not on the snow bricks in the north, because the sun angle around the Arctic Circle is too low in winter, and the light sometimes comes from the horizon in the south. Their population is even more strange, I don't know. A deep pit was dug under the hemispherical roof, which is the main part of the igloo, because the igloo is both built and chiseled.

Our igloo is finished. If we really want to spend the night in it, we need some extra camping equipment. Old Ward prepared a reindeer skin and a candle. The function of animal skin can be imagined, which can isolate wet and cold snow, and candles are not just for lighting, low hemispherical structure. It can store heat well, even if it is the heat of candles, white can also radiate heat, so even if it is just candles, it can make the igloo less cold. If the walls of the igloo melt slightly, water will also flow down the circular snow wall, which will make the igloo more sealed and stronger. It is said that in the past, when there were no candles, Inuit would chisel a stone bowl with stones, which was filled with oil fried by animals and made a wick with animal hair. After lighting, the house is still warm even if the temperature outside is MINUS 30-40 degrees. During the day, the igloo is very bright, and the space inside feels far less crowded than it looks outside, but inside, both of them sleep very crowded.

When the igloo was built, it happened to be the time when the sun went down. Because of the pure white snow fields and birch forests, the sunset glow was more colorful.

The igloo is a place where people in extremely cold regions have to choose to live, and it is also a secret place. In the vast snowfield, nothing can make human beings "disappear" safely and survive safely in the snow. According to the present concept, this should be a low-carbon house.