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Earthworks:
Snowhenge I
North
Creek, NY
January 2004
Experimentation
in construction techniques and with construction
materials is essential for discovering both innate
properties of physical matter and the limitations
of personal and individual dexterity and strength.
When building, a person can learn as much about
themselves as they can about the materials with
which they are working; the design process is
not complete without the empiricism of construction.
Take for example snow and ice: It is well known
that in far northern climates, igloos are built
out of these natural materials. But how does one
do this? How difficult is it? How does snow behave
as a construction material?
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On a frozen lake about a 4 hour drive north of New York
City, these questions were answered. Armed with nothing
more than a Gerber multi-tool and enough layers of clothing
to fend off the cold and wind, a six foot tall, eight
foot diameter igloo was erected on a patch of frozen lake.
The site was chosen for its proximity to a large area
of hard snow pack which was approximately nine inches
deep. The snow pack was hard enough to stand on without
breaking through, soft enough to score with a metal tool,
and dense enough to remove in solid blocks. For
the base of the igloo, the snow pack was excavated to
produce standard sized blocks [approximately 12”
x 18” x 9” thick] which were smoothed by
hand and stacked with a slow inward overlap to produce
the curvature of the igloo’s dome. This process
was repeated for about one hour, until the doorway height
was attained. At this point, a large 36 inch long solid
snow lintel was set to span the top of the door opening,
and then the structure was completed using slightly
smaller snow blocks than had been used for the base.
An opening was left in the top of the structure to allow
a view to the sky above.
Upon
completion, the igloo was large enough for three adults
to fit inside, and it provided a much needed reprieve
from the strong wind which was blowing snow fiercely
across the surface of the frozen lake. The light inside
the igloo picked up a blue-green hue from the light
refraction of the snow crystals, and the clouds above
could be seen racing by through the “oculus”
in the roof above.
This
temporary structure was abandoned by its creators soon
after completion. However, the weather in North Creek
remained very cold for 6-8 weeks after the igloo was
built, and residents of the area reported that the igloo
remained largely intact during this time.
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