Every year a hotel, a chapel and exhibition spaces melt away in the Jukkajarvian sun. There are specialised architects and engineering firms that are exclusively working on ice- and snow constructions. Snowhow Ltd. They strive for designs of snow and ice that optimally use of the special qualities of the perishable building material. Another pioneer in the area of modern snow building is the architect Kako Nordstrom. He has designed a patented system in which spans of 10m wide can be made.
Snow is sprayed in layers on moulds.
After hardening the mould is slid further like a tunnel shuttering, so long sheds can be built. The modern snow domes are, in contrast to Igloos, more like tent constructions. The Eskimo's stack blocks of ice to small domes. The modern snow builders make thick blankets of snow that are held high with tent poles of ice. These tent poles are built from slices of ice that are cut from the river.