Buildings Made of Snow
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The igloo, of course, is the most famous of all snow buildings. They are mainly associated with the Inuit people, but have been found throughout the Canadian Arctic region as well as Greenland. Igloos are constructed of independent blocks of ice leaning on one other in a dome pattern. Although there may be extremely cold temperatures outside an igloo, amazingly the inside can be as warm as sixty degrees due to the natural insulation properties of the snow. But igloos aren’t the only type of snow buildings. From hotels to castles to entire villages, people are building all sorts of snow structures around the world. Here are five of our favorites:
SnowCastle of Kemi
During the last blizzard you may have made an awesome snow fort, but we can
tell you that you’ve got nothing on the town of Kemi in northern Finland. Every
December local builders spend five weeks constructing a castle, restaurant,
chapel, hotel, theatre, and play land for children. Regular snow is too soft
for this job so they make their own using sea water and snow pipes. The colder
the snow the better, they say. Local architects design a new version of the
castle every year, so it’s a unique
experience each winter. The SnowCastle stays open from January through the
beginning of April when it remains quite cold.
ICEHOTEL
If you happen to be visiting Jukkasjarvi, Sweden between December and April,
you may want to try out the ICEHOTEL. Each November, over 10,000 tons of ice
and 30,000 tons of snow are used to create a main hall, a church, and bar, and unique
suites for about 100 guests. When complete, it’s the largest snow-and-ice hotel
in the world! If you think that’s a dubious distinction, you should know that
there are also ice hotels in Canada, Finland, Norway, and Romania.
The Harbin Ice and
Snow Festival
Each January tourists from all over the world descend upon Harbin in the
Heilongjiang province in northeast China for the International Ice and Snow
festival. A “magic snow city” is constructed from snow and ice with life-sized
sculptures of monuments and buildings. Past festivals have featured cathedrals,
temples, and a replica of the Great Wall made completely out of ice. The
sculptures are enhanced with multi-colored lights that give the snow city its
magical glow in the winter night.
ICIUM Wonderworld of Ice
Borrowing Chinese designers from
Harbin, the ICIUM Wonderworld opened for its second season this December in
Finland. Last year, the buildings included snow re-creations of the Helsinki
Cathedral, the Beijing National Stadium, and the Chinese Temple of Heaven. More
than 350,000 cubic feet of snow and 21,000 cubic feet of ice were used to build
the sculptures. The buildings are presented more for display than functionality,
but last year there was also a Great Wall of China slide for kids of all ages.
The Ice Palace
The best Mardi Gras party isn’t
necessarily in New Orleans. If you want to try a chillier alternative, you
should join the thousands who visit the Quebec Winter Carnival, which has been
held since 1894. The centerpiece of the festival is Bonhomme’s Ice Palace,
where the opening and closing ceremonies are held. Each year there is a new
design, but the palace is always impressive. In the past, it has even included
a dungeon—so follow the rules or you could end up in snow jail!
Do you want to try to make your own snow buildings? Here are five tips to get you started:
- Bring out your kitchenware. A loaf pan or even plastic Tupperware can be helpful at packing your snow-bricks together to make the perfect snow fort.
- Color your snow. Add a little food coloring for some extra flare to your snow building.
- Be a designer and use a rake or stick to add patterns to your design.
- Time it just right. Snow that is not freshly fallen is firmer and better for complex construction.
- Bundle up and involve the whole family. If you and your family make a neat building in the snow, submit it to our flickr page.
