Norwegians have their own way of going green, and quite literally. For hundreds of years houses in Norway have been covered with turf. And they come in different varieties. Some are bright green and almost velvety. Others are golden and look like they’re growing wheat or oats. A number of turf roofs have flowers mixed in with the grass, and a few have small trees.
The advantages of turf roofs (also called sod roofs) are many. They are very heavy, so they help to stabilize the house; they provide good insulation; and they are long-lasting.
Turf roofs in Norway are a tradition and you will see them everywhere. Roofs in Scandinavia have probably been covered with birch bark and sod since prehistory. During the Viking and Middle Ages most houses had sod roofs. In rural areas sod roofs were almost universal until the beginning of the 18th century. Tile roofs, which appeared much earlier in towns and on rural manors, gradually superseded sod roofs except in remote inland areas during the 19th century. Corrugated iron and other industrial materials also became a threat to ancient traditions. But just before extinction, the national romantics proclaimed a revival of vernacular traditions, including sod roofs. A new market was opened by the demand for mountain lodges and holiday homes. At the same time, open air museums and the preservation movement created a reservation for ancient building traditions. From these reservations, sod roofs have begun to reappear as an alternative to modern materials.
Every year, since 2000, an award is also given to the best green roof project in Scandinavia by the board of the Scandinavian Green Roof Association.
18 comments:
Hehe, really funny roofs. Roots in ceilings must by funny too ;p
PANATTONI
they can make competition with it..hehe.nice!
... fantastic grass roof's of beautiful Norway.... awesome and "green" !!
Very ironic if you notice that all the houses have been built using huge quantities of Wood. There's no way that the grass in the roofs will compensate for all those trees that have been cut in order to build the houses. If Norwegians want to go green they should forget the grass roofs and use bricks to build their houses instead.
Wood is a renewable resource. Whats wrong with wood houses?
I think the majority of these roofs probably are for thermal insulation, not the latest instance of just 'going green'.
"...use bricks to build their houses instead."
Making bricks can use a lot of energy. Not necessarily a very green material, actually.
To make bricks - much more wood or coal must be burned. Wooden houses can be burned bits-by-bits for heating after they are not fit for living any more. Even braking stones from mountains takes much more energy to brake and transport, in Norway they have large forrests on mountains, even beyound arctic cricle. All trees fit for building good small houses!
There is no better roof on the planet than the Living Roof.
you can re grow a forrest time and time again, energy spent on bricks is a dead end
the first photo is photoshopped
Sod roofs in Scandinavia (not just in Norway)are found everywhere...even on Bornholm Island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Birch bark is the key to their success as it is the waterproof under layment that doesn't rot out. I've un-earthed 19th century shoes in Sweden where the built up heals were layers of birch bark with a heavy leather piece on the bottom. After 150 years in damp soil the bark was still in good order whilst the leather bottom had rotted away. As to building with wood in Norway, Finland and Sweden...what else would you propose a farmer build with? Log and boards were the perfect renewable resource...just like black berries are fresh every spring.
"Very ironic if you notice that all the houses have been built using huge quantities of Wood."
Considering that the majority of those houses and barns (I guess we could call them buildings) appear to be older, it is understandable that they are made of wood.
http://www.islenskibaerinn.com/
The first photo is not photoshopped. It is a house close to the Hemsedal ski lifts, in the eastern part of Norway. I know the last guy that lived in the house, he works as a mountain guide. Sadly, the roots broke through the roof last season, and the house is now practically unlivable.
all you tree-huggers can take a hike. These buildings were built before we had a name for the ozon
Pretty sure "going green" has literally nothing to do with it. Read the first paragraph of the entire page. "For hundreds of years houses in Norway have been covered with turf." It's traditional, not environmental. And using wood to make trees is actually green, seeing as trees grow back. People disappoint me.
wow, wood to make houses* sorry.
Wonderful shares!