What can indigenous and or/historic methods add to a world that may be going overboard on new/old housing construction methods? Sure, concrete is one of those useful building techniques that is thousands of lost years old. Now that it has been re-found however, we’re discovering it’s far from what it has been cracked up to be — a preferred house-building method.
So why not look elsewhere for new materials? Perhaps in the Arctic, of which there is an impressive share in Canada. Igloos? A uniquely indigenous form of housing, but unlikely to survive a southerly trip.
What about pingoes1? Like igloos, pingoes are unlikely to serve any practical benefit in warmer climates.
Leaving aside the Arctic, heating and cooling techniques have evolved in all climate zones in past past centuries. Perhaps some or all of them are still useful even though they aren’t used so much today. Here’s one article that reports upon a timely challenge to recover yesterday’s climate management ingenuity, courtesy of the BBC: Homes Built With Clay, Grass, Plastic And Glass: How A Caribbean Island Is Shying Away From Concrete
Footnotes
- These are giant ice pimples, often with a volcano-like shape that bursts upwards in an arctic landscape. Read more about this northern landform in Wikipedia: Pingo
