Ice and compacted snow have traditionally been used by the people of northern Canada and Greenland to build igloos (Figure 1). More recently, ice hotels (Figure 2) have been built as tourist attractions. The first opened in northern Sweden in 1989.
Table 1 shows some properties of ice and compacted snow that relate to their use as building materials. Ice has a fairly low density, while its compressive strength is similar to that of pinewood. Its poor tensile strength means that, like (non-reinforced) concrete, it is unsuitable for structures that are subject to tension. This is reflected in the traditional dome-shaped igloo design. Pages 8–11 explain how (not) to carry out a tensile test.
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