Igloos without glue

  How to Build an Igloo - National Film Board of Canada

Even if you have seen it before ( possibly back in grade school) this National Film Board documentary is worth watching on youtube again. It illustrates the indigenous people, working in artic Canada with natural local material, building a useful shelter by shaping and fitting blocks of snow together without relying on a lot of rules or regulations, nor using fancy implements beyond an ivory knife. 


It is fascinating to see how they do it. The domed dry snow house requires a working knowledge of simple structural principles and a determination to build something that will do the job with very little fuss. These houses may not pass any buiding codes nor last beyond one winter's harshness; yet the builders are skilled people who have mastered a way of building perfectly good shelters, engineered with an understanding of the land on which they build and the materials that they availed themselves of.