Igloo - snow house. Yarangi. How to build an ice eskimo igloo with a domed roof made of snow blocks. Igloo construction technologies with visual diagrams and photos What is the name of the snow house

Eskimo camps consist of several dwellings, which house three or four related families. Eskimo dwellings are divided into two types: winter and summer. One of the oldest types winter dwelling, widespread in the past throughout the territory of the settlement of the Eskimos, was a stone building with a floor deepened into the ground. To such a house, located on a slope, a long passage of stones led from below, partly buried in the ground; the last part of the passage is above the floor and covered with a wide stone slab, at the same height as the bunks in the hut. The house had the same plan as modern dwelling(see below): sleeping bunks in the back and bunks for lamps on the sides. The walls above the ground are built of stones and whale ribs or of whale ribs alone, the arcs of which are placed along the walls so that their ends intersect. Where there is absolutely no flowing forest, there the skeleton of the roof was made of whale ribs, on props. This frame was covered with sealskins, tying them tightly; put on the skins thick layer small heather bushes, and on top they strengthened another layer of skins.

In the central regions of the American Arctic, these stone dwellings were replaced by snow huts - igloos, which are being built to this day.

In Labrador, in the northern regions of Alaska and Greenland, igloos were also known, but served only as temporary dwellings when moving on hunting expeditions. Igloos are built from snow blocks. They are laid in a spiral, from right to left. To start the spiral, two plates are cut diagonally in the first row to the middle of the third and the second row begins; each next row is tilted a little more than the bottom one, "to get a spherical shape. When a small hole remains at the top, the builder raises the block previously given to him sideways from the inside, cuts it wedge-shaped and closes the vault with it. Having immured himself in the hut, he closes up the cracks with snow; they dig a tunnel leading to the hut and ending with a hatch in its floor; if the underlying layer of snow is shallow, then they lay out a corridor of snow slabs and cut an inlet hole in the wall of the igloo.

The outer entrance to the snow tunnel is about 1.5 m high, so that you can walk bent over or with your head bowed, but the entrance from the tunnel to the hut itself is usually so low that you have to crawl into it on all fours, and you can only stand up to your full height being inside. The hut is usually 3-4 m in diameter and 2 m high, so that standing in the middle, you can reach the ceiling with your hand. Large huts are built less often. A large snow house can be up to 9 m in diameter at the floor, with a height of about 3-3.5 m from the floor to the center of the arch; such large houses used for meetings and festivities.

For final finishing huts light a lamp-bowl with seal oil inside. From the heating of the air, the snow begins to melt, but does not drip, since the water formed from melting is absorbed by the thickness of the snow. When the inner layer of the vault and walls is sufficiently moistened, they let in the hut cold air and let her freeze; as a result, the walls of the dwelling are covered from the inside with a vitreous ice film (polar explorers who borrowed snow construction equipment the Eskimos call it glazing the hut) - this reduces thermal conductivity, increases the strength of the walls and makes life in the hut more convenient. If there was no ice crust, then it would only be worth touching the wall, as the snow would crumble and stick to clothes. Until the hut has survived in the cold, its strength is low. But due to warming up, a general precipitation of snow occurs, the seams are soldered and the hut becomes strong, turning into a monolithic snow dome. Several people can climb it, and it happened that polar bears climbed without harming it.

During the day in the snow hut it is quite light, even in cloudy weather (you can read and write); in sunny days the lighting is so bright* that it can cause a disease called snow blindness. But during the polar twilight, the Eskimos sometimes insert windows from thin lake ice into snow huts; small holes are cut for windows above the entrance. For lighting and heating the hut, lamps - bowls, or greasers are used; their light, reflected from the countless ice crystals of the dome, becomes soft and diffused. If the hut does not even have ice windows, it can be seen at night for half a kilometer, thanks to the pink glow of the dome.

If the vault begins to melt from the heat of the lamp, then they climb onto the dome from the outside and scrape off a 5-10 cm layer of snow from above with a knife to cool the hut and stop the melting. If, on the contrary, the hut cannot be heated, and frost forms on the inside of the vault, falling down in snow flakes, then the roof is thin, then snow is thrown on the dome with shovels.

Most of the hut inside, opposite the entrance, is occupied by a snow bed. For her, they try to use either the surface of the snowdrift on which the hut stands, or the natural ledge of the soil; if this is not the case, then they fold it from snow blocks. The bed is covered with a double layer of skins; the bottom layer is facing down with the hair, the top layer is facing up with the hair. Sometimes under the skins they put old skin from a kayak. This 3-layer insulating pad keeps heat out human body and prevents the snow bed from melting and at the same time protects the sleeper from the cold. Sometimes small recesses for things are cut out in the thickness of the bed on the side. These niches are plugged with small snow blocks. On the couch they sleep, eat, work and rest.

To the right and left of the entrance to the large sleeping couch adjoin small snow bunk beds; there are lamps on them closer to the couch, and meat lies near the door and garbage accumulates. In the middle there is a passage of a meter and a half wide.

The hut is usually occupied by two families, one lives on the right, the other on the left. Each housewife has her own bowl lamp, next to which she sits on a couch, cooks food, sews, etc. They cook food on the lamp, melt snow for drinking, dry clothes, etc. Usually two more small lamps are placed for warmth: one in a passage near the entrance to the hut to warm the cold air coming through the door, the other - in the far part of the sleeping couch. The lamp-bowl, or greaser, is cut out of soapstone, and its shape is different for individual groups of Eskimos.

The Eskimos are sleeping with their heads to the door; when they lie down, they put their clothes, except for their shoes, on the edge of the couch, under the skins. In a two-family hut, each family occupies half of the couch. Women lie down along its edges, small children are laid next to it, then men lie, and in the middle - large children or guests. Each family is covered with one blanket made from several deerskins. Sometimes fur sleeping bags are used. At night, the entrance to the hut is blocked by a large snow block, which stands in the passage during the day. Until the owners themselves push it away, it is considered indecent to go to them.

The reindeer Eskimos did not use bowl lamps, they lit their snowy huts with a smoky tallow candle, the wick of which was twisted from moss and dipped in melted reindeer fat. They cooked the food on fires from bushes. For cooking, they arranged a kitchen in front of the residential hut with completely sheer walls so that they would not melt from the flame of the fire; it happened that the Eskimos could not get fuel for several days, then they ate only frozen meat. In order to always have water for drinking, the reindeer Eskimos built snowy huts on the shore of the lake, in the ice of which they always maintained an open hole, protected by a snow cap. They had nothing to dry their shoes on, so they dried them at night in their bosoms.

Fire used to be mined by carving, hitting a piece of sulfur pyrites with a piece of iron; cotton fluff, fluffy willow bagels, and dry moss sprinkled with lard were used as tinder. Making fire by rotating a wooden beam was known, but rarely used.

If several families join together, then they build a common snow dwelling different ways: or separate huts are connected by snow tunnels, so that their inhabitants can communicate with each other without going out into the air; or make two rooms with one entrance; or they build several intersecting domes, then cutting out common segments, and in this way, instead of small isolated huts, a complex building of three to five rooms is obtained, in which several families live, in total 20-25 or more people.

The snow huts on the east coast of Baffin Island have been especially improved. Above the entrance there is a window cut in them, mostly of a semicircular shape, covered with a membrane of carefully stitched seal intestines; sometimes a peephole is left in the middle of the membrane so that you can look out, a plate of freshwater ice is inserted into it (it is obtained by freezing water in a sealskin). As soon as the hut is built, it is insulated with sealskins; often this old tire from the summer tent; it is held by short ropes or straps passed through the snow vault and fixed on the outside with bone sticks.

In a snow hut with an inner tire, the temperature can be raised to 20 ° C with the help of a fat pad, while without it - only up to 2-3 ° above zero. The passage to the hut consists of two, rarely three small vaults. On the left, a closet is attached for storing clothes and dog harness and a pantry, where they keep stocks of meat and fat. Such pantries are sometimes built on the right and in the far part of the hut.

Snow huts were undoubtedly known in the Thule era, as can be seen from a large number found snow knives used in the construction of the igloo, but, apparently, served only as a temporary shelter during movements. The development of snow huts is associated with the mobile life of seal hunters, who are often forced to break camps into sea ​​ice away from the coast; snow huts were also necessary for the reindeer Eskimos; they have achieved high degree perfection. Usually Europeans and Americans who go on long winter trips take Eskimos with them to build snow huts along the way.

In Alaska, the Eskimos lived in quadrangular semi-dugouts with a wooden base. To build such a dwelling, they dug a quadrangular pit more than a meter deep, at the corners of which pillars up to 4 m high were placed. Then the walls were built from boards. The roof was made by a fire, from thick logs. A window was left in the middle of the roof - square hole. The floor was covered with boards. In the middle of it was left a place for a hearth. A window served as a smoke hole. In northern Alaska, the kitchen was located on the side of a long underground corridor that led to the dwelling. Among the Kodiaks, the entrance to the dwelling was on the ground and was a square hole a meter in size. Outside, the dwelling was lined with sod and covered with earth.

The interior of the Alaska Eskimo dwelling was simple. The main furniture was bunks 1.5 m wide raised above the floor. The Eskimos usually slept across the bunks, with their feet against the wall. Several families lived in one dwelling. Each family had its own place on the bunk, separated from the other by a mat woven from grass.

Household items, supplies of fat in bubbles and other supplies were stored under the bunks of each family. Since ancient times there have been special storerooms. In the North, in permafrost conditions, meat stocks were usually stored in special pits; often these pits were dug on the side of the corridor leading to the dwelling. Sometimes the pantry was located at the entrance to the corridor. Pantries were also built in the form of scaffolds on wooden piles driven into the ground to protect supplies from both wolves and their dogs. A kayak, sled, skis, etc. were also placed on the platform.

In Greenland, apparently under the influence of the Norwegians and Icelanders, erected quadrangular buildings with more perfect styling stone walls, rising to a height of 2 m. They began to deepen them into the ground less. On the winter period in big house united 2-11 families. Depending on this, the dimensions of the present dwellings of the Greenlandic Eskimos ranged from 4 X 8 to 6 X 18 m. Often in Greenland the entire village consisted of one house 1 . Not far from the house, each family had its own stone barn, in which they kept stocks of meat and fish. Between the houses of the village there were pyramids and pillars made of stone; they replaced wooden poles and served to maintain leather canoes upside down at a certain height above the ground.

In the summer, the Eskimos lived and partly still live in tents; the poles for them, with the poverty of the forest, are often made up of several parts, and in those areas where there is no tree, the Eskimos for poles and for the shaft of harpoons are steamed in hot water deer antlers and put knee on knee until they get the right length; or make frames of tents from walrus and whale bones, tying them with straps. When pitching a tent, they put up two pairs of converging poles: one at the entrance, the second at the front edge of the bed; a horizontal longitudinal pole is tied to them, serving as a ridge; the rest of the poles are leaned obliquely in a semicircle against the second pair, and this skeleton is covered with a firmly fitted tire made of seal or deer skins. The floors of the tires at the entrance go one on top of the other so as not to blow. The bottom of the tire is attached with heavy stones.

In the Bering Strait region, the Eskimos live in summer not in tents, but in light wooden houses.

I first came across the video by accident. And then I dug around on the Internet and found instructions in Russian. This is also not superfluous, because the video is from Canada and it is in English.

The Arctic Training Center, located in the village of Puvirnituk, a few kilometers from Nunavik (Northern Quebec), teaches survival skills and the art of building an igloo. Teachers from the Inuit tribe teach the disciplines necessary for life in this inhospitable land.

Paulusi Novalinga, 56, was born and raised into an igloo. For many years he hunted and fished with his father, as their ancestors did, and traveled through the frozen desert on dog sleds. Now times have changed, but 12 years ago, Novalinga helped found a “survival school”, trying to save ancient skills from oblivion. The school accepts young village boys and trains people from the outside - the military, polar pilots, tourists.

Ideal material for building an igloo, deep, dense snow that fell during one good snowfall. Such a mass of snow does not have interlayers that could then cause the destruction of the building. In addition, it is better to take snow from the windward side of the hill, since under the influence of wind it fits into a denser mass.

Trying the “panak” (homemade machete) Nast, they choose the most appropriate place and cut rectangular building blocks. One such brick weighs about 10 kg, and the texture resembles foamed polystyrene.

On the snow crust draw a circle three meters in diameter. The first block is placed upright directly on this line, cutting the left edge so that it coincides with an imaginary vertical plane passing through the center of the circle. Then they take the next block, cut its right side so that it fits closely against the left side of the previous block, and move the blocks together. You need to carefully monitor which side of the block should look up, and which should look inside the needle. The Inuit believe that improperly laid blocks can invite a storm.

Having inserted the next block, it is necessary to cut out excess snow from the middle of the bottom face. To do this, the "panak" is inserted into the bottom seam and scrabbled there with a blade. Here it is - the secret trick in building an igloo! Each block should rest on the underlying row only with its bottom ribs, working like a small arch. Blocks spiral upwards. With each turn they are placed with an increasing slope inside the building. The upper blocks are already laid in an almost horizontal position.

Their own bonding bonds operate here, as the snow at the microscopic level is constantly in the process of melting and freezing. But here is the last block inserted, having irregular shape and the needle is ready. Novalinga became the winner in one of the competitions, having built such a dwelling in 20 minutes.

For the Inuit, the igloo is home and home, the center of their universe. But as an attribute Everyday life it is already being erased from their memory. Someday Novalinga will stop teaching others the secrets of igloo construction, and this art will fall out of the hands of the people, for whom it has been the basis of life for many centuries.

How to build an igloo

Material

Dig a trench in the snow, well-packed by the winds. This will help you cut the first snow blocks. Use a snow cutter or saw to cut out 30 x 60 x 45 cm blocks.

Foundation

Select the center of the future igloo and draw a circle around it with a diameter of 2-3 m. Lay out the blocks along this contour, adjusting their edges so that they fit snugly with each other.

Construction

Cut the top down to a slope that should start between the two blocks and extend half the perimeter of the bottom row. Align the top planes of the blocks so that they coincide with an imaginary line from the top outer edge of the blocks to the center on the floor of the future igloo. Each freshly laid block should rest on the base only with the lower ribs.

Output Shaping

Dig the entrance tunnel. It is better if he looks down the slope so that heat is better retained.

Last steps

AT middle lane Russia, in Siberia - an abundance of forests. It is not surprising that from time immemorial our ancestors built their dwellings from wood. The huts of African tribes, like tiles, are covered with palm leaves. In mountain settlements, dwellings and even fences are made of boulders.

What is the igloo, the national home of the Eskimos, made of, in the middle of endless snowy deserts? That's right, from what is there in abundance, that is, from snow. It is from the frozen blocks of water that the igloo is built. Photos of these structures amaze with their ideal forms.

Description of the snow house

The needle is domed, ideally correct spherical shape- a building made of bricks cut from compressed snow. The shape of the building was not chosen by chance. A ball is a geometric three-dimensional figure with the smallest ratio of surface area to internal volume. And this is important, since with a decrease in surface area, heat loss decreases.

In addition, the ideal spherical shape gives the structure of such a seemingly fragile material as snow, extraordinary strength. According to travelers, even for polar bear the problem is to break through the walls of this

The entrance to the house is a "dressing room" in the form of a tunnel. This design prevents the penetration of cold winds.

Procurement of material

Igloo - what is a similar structure in our time and in a modern city? Of course, no one offers to live in such a house, but why not frolic with children in the country, not to feel like a real conqueror of the north.

To get started, you need to prepare Construction Materials for the needle. What are bricks for the dwelling of the Eskimos, what are they? There are three options for their preparation.

The classic version implies the presence of a powerful and fairly strong snow crust. In this case, snowy (if it exists, of course) or regular saw bricks are cut out of snow with sizes slightly smaller than a standard block of gas silicate.

If the snow is wet, it is unlikely that it will be possible to cut it, but it is excellently molded. Craft standard bricks you can use a blank (a hastily knocked down rectangle from any material) or sculpt them manually, providing a standard size by eye.

And finally, if the temperature is below zero, the snow does not mold and the entire snow mass is loose, then a form is indispensable. Snow in the form will have to be laid and compacted, slightly moistening. After the block is rammed, the form is removed and the next one is filled in the same way. After a while, the bricks harden in the cold.

Construction process

The next step is to mark the "construction site". achieve even circle you can easily stick it into the center of the future structure and circle the circle with any piece of twine. After the outline of the needle is drawn, the first row is laid out from the prepared bricks.

You can just lay out row after row, but it will not be a completely natural needle. What needs to be done to build a building in accordance with all the rules?

All blocks in the first row different heights. The first lies down entirely, the value of all subsequent ones gradually decreases, and when the circle closes, their height goes to zero. Having built the first ring in this way, then you can simply take the blocks and stack them in a spiral.

When laying, it is necessary to ensure that each subsequent turn slightly collapses towards the center of the structure, forming a dome. The entire igloo house is built in this way, with the exception of the hole in the center of the dome. It is closed with a special block of a round conical shape from the inside of the building.

The hole - the entrance to the snow hut - in order to avoid the collapse of the wall, is made only after it becomes difficult to climb over the wall. Ideally, an assistant gives the builder blocks, and the entrance is cut through at the very end.

Finishing work

It is worth remembering that protection is not just from the cold, but from the severe northern frost - this is the task of the igloo. What is the quality of entry for her, therefore, is understandable. So, in order to prevent icy winds from penetrating the house, the entrance to it is built in the form of a tunnel, sometimes curved, so as not to leave cold air streams any chance.

What the needle is made of, the entrance is made of the same material. From the dome, two parallel rows of blocks are laid out and then built up. As in the case of the construction of the dome, each subsequent row is slightly closer to the center. This continues until the walls converge in a semicircle at the top.

And finally, after the dome and the entrance are ready, all seams are carefully smeared with snow. This finally seals the structure.

An igloo is a domed hut built of snow. Where there is no forest, this building can save you from the cold of a winter night. And if you build it in the forest, it is able to survive the whole winter thanks to its strength. The height of the igloo is usually one person's height, and the diameter depends on the number of people staying for the night. Skills on how to build an igloo should be worked out long before the planned trip to the steppe or tundra, because in case of extreme circumstances, especially in frosty and windy weather, efficiency is important when building a snow shelter.

igloo

An igloo is built with bricks made from compressed snow. Ideally, the shape of the building should be round, since the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe spherical hut allows you to reduce heat loss. In addition, this form gives strength to the structure, despite the fragile "building material". If the igloo is built in deep snow, the entrance to it is dug in the ground, and if the depth of the snow cover is small, a small corridor is attached to the hut, which protects the building from the penetration of the wind inside. Warming inside such a dwelling occurs with the help of a candle. The walls will melt a little, but not melt, forming a thin ice crust from the inside. The walls of the needle are capable of transmitting light and water vapor.

How to make an igloo out of snow: basic rules


Snow igloo

The tools used to build a snow hut are a knife, a saw, a shovel. If necessary, you can use an ordinary iron bowl. It must be taken into account that what smaller sizes dwelling, the warmer it is, so do not make it too spacious. If the group consists of more than 4-5 people, it is better to build two igloos. The cracks between the bricks need to be rubbed with snow. Once inside the needle will need to be removed outerwear not to sweat. Inside, it is advisable to use a waterproof fabric as a bedding. To cut blocks, you do not need to go far from the designated site, otherwise you can get tired. It is necessary to find the nearest snowdrift at least 1 meter high, and start cutting. In addition, you must follow the basic rules:

  • The construction of the igloo must be started before dark.
  • It is strictly forbidden to rebuild the shelter at night, as well as to leave it at this time of day.
  • The entrance must be located on the leeward side
  • Inside the shelter, you should always have a shovel or other tool to clear the entrance of snow.
  • Care must be taken when breeding open fire inside the shelter as there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • You can not take alcohol inside the igloo and sleep with the threat of freezing.
  • The entrance to the needle should be located below the floor level. This will ensure stagnation warm air, heavy outflow carbon dioxide and oxygen supply.
  • Tip: if you build an igloo on a slope, you will need to spend less effort on building walls, since fewer bricks need to be formed.

How to make an igloo out of snow with your own hands: material

The preparation of bricks from snow depends on its structure. If the crust is hard and durable, a saw (you can use a shovel or a hacksaw) cuts out blocks a little smaller than a standard gas silicate brick. Usually the dimensions are 60x40x15, but for the bottom row you need to make larger blocks for stability. Wet snow is difficult to cut, but it is sticky, and bricks can be stuck on. In order to designate the shape, you need to use a rectangular blank made from any material at hand. You can also do this manually, choosing the size by eye. Bricks from loose snow are difficult to make without a blank, as it will crumble. Snow is placed inside the mold, compacted and moistened. After removing the mold, the blocks will harden in the cold. Thus, you need to make the required number of blocks depending on the size of the igloo. You need to cut blocks from a snowdrift from the side where the wind blows. But still, dry snow with a density of 0.25-0.30, which has a uniform structure, is considered the best snow for building a snow shelter. Snow of a denser structure has greater thermal conductivity, weak adhesion and brittleness (at low temperatures).


beautiful igloo

Before you make an igloo out of snow with your own hands, you need to designate the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe building. A round area with a diameter of 3 meters is marked with a knife, marking its center with a stick. Immediately you need to mark the place of entry into the needle. As noted above, it must be arranged on the leeward side. But, if the parking is planned for a long time, the entrance is arranged at a right angle with respect to the windy side. The circle must be made as correct as possible, and no more than three meters, because otherwise the stability of the needle will decrease. After marking, the site must be leveled and compacted. layout snow dwelling should be such that the couch is placed opposite the entrance and above it.

There are two ways of laying bricks: ring and spiral. In the first case, the blocks are stacked row by row, in the second, only the bottom row consists of rectangular blocks, and all subsequent ones have the shape of a trapezoid. With spiral laying, after the formation of the bottom row, any three bricks are cut diagonally (you can cut any, except for those located near the entrance zone). The third block is cut in half. Then the laying of the second row begins: the brick is placed in the recess of the third, cut, brick, then the next one is laid.

Longer and wider snow bricks are laid in the bottom row, with a gap between them to avoid extrusion under the weight of the upper rows. Blocks with defects cannot be used.

To obtain the desired angle of inclination, you can cut the already laid bricks, or create desired slope before laying. To prevent the upper snow bricks from falling and increase their stability, you need to make a bevel between the upper and lower bricks, for which a cut is made inner corner top brick for its snug fit to the bottom. During laying, each brick is tightly fitted to the next one, while gradually being processed outer wall. All cracks must be overwritten with snow formed during fitting, it plays the role of cement. Around the bottom part of the igloo must be built from the remaining blocks of a barrier to protect against wind, which can blow snow between the bricks of the first row.

After that, the gaps inside the igloo are closed, a trench is formed up to the entrance with overlapping with its blocks. While it is being formed from the outside by one builder, the second builder paves the way to it from the inside. The inlet in the wall of the igloo is carefully cut with a hacksaw. The block cut out at the entrance will subsequently need to be moved to the inlet in order not to release heat, to protect it from snow drift and wind.


At the top of the igloo, a hole is formed by the vault of the last block row, which must be sealed with a wedge-shaped brick. In order for it to tightly close the hole, the size of the brick should be slightly larger than it.

After the igloo is erected, holes must be cut in its walls for ventilation against the accumulation of carbon dioxide.

The Arctic Training Center, located in the village of Puvirnituk, a few kilometers from Nunavik (Northern Quebec), teaches survival skills and the art of building an igloo. Teachers from the Inuit tribe teach the disciplines necessary for life in this inhospitable land.

Paulusi Novalinga, 56, was born and raised into an igloo. For many years he hunted and fished with his father, as their ancestors did, and traveled through the frozen desert on dog sleds. Now times have changed, but 12 years ago, Novalinga helped found a “survival school”, trying to save ancient skills from oblivion. The school accepts young village boys and trains people from the outside - the military, polar pilots, tourists.

The ideal material for building an igloo is deep, dense snow that has fallen during one good snowfall. Such a mass of snow does not have interlayers that could then cause the destruction of the building. In addition, it is better to take snow from the windward side of the hill, since under the influence of wind it fits into a denser mass.

The peoples of the north showed miracles of ingenuity by inventing their needles. For this building, material is used that is always at hand, and the simplest tool.

Trying the nast "panak" (homemade machete), choose the most suitable place and cut out rectangular building blocks. One such brick weighs about 10 kg, and the texture resembles foamed polystyrene.

On the snow crust draw a circle three meters in diameter. The first block is placed upright directly on this line, cutting the left edge so that it coincides with an imaginary vertical plane passing through the center of the circle. Then they take the next block, cut its right side so that it fits closely against the left side of the previous block, and move the blocks together. You need to carefully monitor which side of the block should look up, and which should look inside the needle. The Inuit believe that improperly laid blocks can invite a storm.

Chain arched vault

In cross section, the igloo has the shape of a chain arched vault. If a chain or a very flexible cable is suspended from its free ends, they take on a specific shape that can be described by a function called the hyperbolic cosine. This is the ideal shape for a vault that does not need additional columns or bracing to support its own weight. Such structures work almost exclusively in compression - no stretching, bending or shearing, therefore they are very strong and reliable, especially with material such as pressed snow. The chain arch vault was used by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí in his Casa Mila building in Barcelona. The giant 192-meter Gateway Arch in St. Louis has the same shape.
The weight of each row of bricks is neatly distributed over the row of blocks below it and the lower rows, which ensures the stability of the whole structure. In the December 1973 Arctic magazine, calculations are given according to which the stability of an igloo is determined by the ratio of height and diameter. His minimum value- 3:10. In other words, an igloo meter-eighty high and three meters wide (ratio 3:5) will stand quite securely, but an igloo one and a half meters high and seven and a half wide (ratio 1:5) will almost certainly collapse.

Having inserted the next block, it is necessary to cut out excess snow from the middle of the bottom face. To do this, the "panak" is inserted into the bottom seam and scrabbled there with a blade. Here it is - the secret trick in building an igloo! Each block should rest on the underlying row only with its bottom ribs, working like a small arch. Blocks spiral upwards. With each turn they are placed with an increasing slope inside the building. The upper blocks are already laid in an almost horizontal position. Their own bonding bonds operate here, as the snow at the microscopic level is constantly in the process of melting and freezing. But now the last block is inserted, which has an irregular shape, and the needle is ready. Novalinga became the winner in one of the competitions, having built such a dwelling in 20 minutes.

For the Inuit, the igloo is their home and hearth, the center of their universe. But as an attribute of everyday life, it is already being erased from their memory. Someday Novalinga will stop teaching others the secrets of igloo construction, and this art will fall out of the hands of the people, for whom it has been the basis of life for many centuries.


This igloo built his own with my own hands Popular Mechanics author Jeff Wise.

How to build an igloo

Material

Dig a trench in the snow, well-packed by the winds. This will help you cut out the first snow blocks. Use a snow cutter or saw to cut out 30 x 60 x 45 cm blocks.

Foundation

Choose the center of the future igloo and draw a circle around it with a diameter of 2-3 m. Lay the blocks along this contour, adjusting their edges so that they fit snugly with each other.


Construction

Cut the top down to a slope that should start between the two blocks and extend half the perimeter of the bottom row. Align the upper planes of the blocks so that they coincide with an imaginary line from the upper outer edge of the blocks to the center on the floor of the future igloo (1). Each freshly laid block must rest on the base only with the lower ribs (2).

Output Shaping

Dig the entrance tunnel. It is better if he looks down the slope so that heat is better retained.

Last steps

Push the last block sideways through the remaining hole, unfold it in horizontal position and stick in place (3). Cover the remaining cracks with snow. Make holes for ventilation.