Grass Roof House Iceland

A traditional turf roof blankets a wooden house in iceland.

Grass roof house iceland.

Seen today turf houses are green cloaked homes with grass on the roofs that are laid into the natural landscape. The turf would then be fitted around the frame in blocks often with a second layer or in the more fashionable herringbone pattern. Upon this was built a wooden frame which would hold the load of the turf. The romans built with turf grass to create fortresses in the northern parts of their empire.

They ve had them for a while now and it doesn t look like they re going anywhere. 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. The top layer of the earth is used which is soil that is bound together by grass and plant roots. Icelandic turf houses belong to a tradition that was introduced by the vikings in the 9 th century.

They even have a competition every year to determine the best green roof project in scandinavia by the scandinavian green roof association. Scandinavians are serious about their green roofs. They are not only a beautiful feature for a house. 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.

In fact earth sheltered dwellings have been in use since at least the iron age. Dec 27 2017 kate bulo. And the turf house tradition of iceland was nominated for unesco world heritage status in 2011. Icelandic turf houses long before environmentally friendly construction became popular people in iceland were constructing turfhouses.

The turf house is an exceptional. Bustarfell is a huge turf house and consists of 17 houses but each gable and outhouse counts as one unit. It has then adapted to the harsh icelandic climate providing superior insulation. But there is a reason why scandinavians like these green roofs so much.

Bustarfell turf house in east iceland.