Torfbær
Turf-clad house
Born in Iceland, Norway, Faroe Islands.
How it works
A timber or stone frame is wrapped in thick stacked turf and sod. The dense, air-filled earth is a deep blanket against Arctic cold and wind, and the living grass roof binds it together while shrugging off driving rain and snow.
In a modern home
Green roofs and earth-sheltered, heavily insulated walls for cold, windswept sites, using local turf in place of manufactured insulation.
What it answers
Source
Icelandic turf house tradition (National Museum of Iceland); on the UNESCO tentative list.
Follow the threads
Earth-sheltered cave dwellingshares high embodied carbon, store & slow heat, cool→Kutch circular mud houseshares storm, store & slow heat, cool→'Breathing' wallsshares high embodied carbon, store & slow heat, cool→Cavity brick wallshares high embodied carbon, store & slow heat, cool→Filler-slab roofshares high embodied carbon, store & slow heat, cool→Mudbrick catenary vaultshares high embodied carbon, store & slow heat, cool→