Grass Roof House Iceland

And the turf house tradition of iceland was nominated for unesco world heritage status in 2011.

Grass roof house iceland.

They ve had them for a while now and it doesn t look like they re going anywhere. The turf would then be fitted around the frame in blocks often with a second layer or in the more fashionable herringbone pattern. A traditional turf roof blankets a wooden house in iceland. Icelandic turf houses belong to a tradition that was introduced by the vikings in the 9 th century.

Bustarfell turf house in east iceland. Bustarfell turf house in east iceland is one of the country s best preserved turf houses and the only one of the big turf houses which is painted in a beautiful red colour. It has then adapted to the harsh icelandic climate providing superior insulation. The top layer of the earth is used which is soil that is bound together by grass and plant roots.

Upon this was built a wooden frame which would hold the load of the turf. A turf house is a house build with earth with a roof that consists of turf and grass. Scandinavians are serious about their green roofs. The hall skáli of the turf houses is believed to be the oldest turf house hall in iceland.

The romans built with turf grass to create fortresses in the northern parts of their empire. The first icelandic turf houses generally had a foundation made of flat stones whereupon a wooden frame was built which had to hold the weight of the turf. Bustarfell is a huge turf house and consists of 17 houses but each gable and outhouse counts as one unit. In fact earth sheltered dwellings have been in use since at least the iron age.

They are not only a beautiful feature for a house. The turf house is an exceptional. Icelandic turf houses long before environmentally friendly construction became popular people in iceland were constructing turfhouses. Seen today turf houses are green cloaked homes with grass on the roofs that are laid into the natural landscape.

They even have a competition every year to determine the best green roof project in scandinavia by the scandinavian green roof association.