Turf Houses – Biophilic Design on Steroids!

Goodness, I LOVE these!

The BBC brings worldwide attention to the turf homes that have gotten people from Iceland through the winter for many generations.  Their use of materials, placement in situ, and really the whole mindset behind their original design and subsequent use couldn’t be more biophilic.

Turf Houses, according to Waterson are “All things considered, it’s surprising Iceland’s settlers even survived. That they did can be attributed to one factor above others: torfbæir (turf houses), which were used for shelter since the days of the first Nordic settlers until the late 20th Century. These dwellings were built around basic timber frames, with blocks cut out of turf (grass and the soil up to 1m thick) arranged over a base layer of rock and packed in to form the structure’s walls and roofs. Today, they can still be found across the country, sticking out of the landscape grass-side up like tussocky tents.”

For more information see: Luke Waterson’s “Known as ‘Torfbaeir’, These Ingeniously Designed Homes Helped Settle One of Europe’s Least-Hospitable Environments.” (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221013-turf-houses-icelands-original-green-buildings)