UNGREEN | Traditional Turf Houses

This article is part of Ungreen, a series curated by Hidden Architecture where we attempt to create a resistance against some of the dogmas assimilated within contemporary discourse that sustainable architecture has to be “green”. We want to recover the ancestral knowledge that was shared among generations throughout history of humanity and defines how urban settlements have adapted to its weather conditions.This knowledge, inherent to vernacular architecture has been often used by modern or contemporary architectural practices to create new techniques or construction systems. Este artículo es parte de Ungreen, una serie comisariada por Hidden Architecture donde tratamos de crear una resistencia contra algunos de los dogmas asimilados en el discurso actual que claman que la arquitectura sostenible tiene que ser verde. Queremos recuperar el conocimiento ancestral que ha sido heredado a través de generaciones a lo largo de la historia de la humanidad y que define como los asentamientos urbanos se han ido adaptando a sus condiciones climáticas. Este conocimiento, manifestado en la arquitectura vernácula se ha filtrado en ocasiones a prácticas arquitectónicas modernas o contemporáneas, evolucionado hacia nuevas técnicas o sistemas constructivos Region: Iceland (similarities with other Turf houses in Nordic areas such as Norway, Faroe Islands or the Scottish Islands) Example: The Farmhouse, Þjóðveldisbærinn. Iceland Owing to the lack of suitable clay for the production of roof tiles, roofs have been covered with peat since Iceland’s settlement in the 9th century. Grass grows on the peat roofs and the ensuing dense network of roots forms an interwoven, water-repellent layer, which is adequate waterproofing in areas with low rainfall (approx. 500 mm p.a.). However, the durability of the waterproofing function is directly dependent on the pitch of the roof.