above: a high end modern Sami house in the Finnmark region 66 left: a Sami house in Karasjok, based on their traditional buildings, with sod roof and battered sides.
conference report:
michael barton sami housing | Finnmark, Norway
a two day conference in Karasjok (the main town in the Finnmark region) was attended by representatives from all of the four Sami groups, as well as architects, engineers, eco- nomic development people, a few academics such as a professor of anthropology, local politicians and the media. The conference was opened by Geir Tommy Pedersen, the leader of the Sami Council, and was followed by sessions which dealt with historical background, culturally significant material and needs and approaches to com- munity housing requirements. The traditional Sami dwelling is the gumma , circular with sod on the sloped-in walls and roof. Some modern Sami houses still incorporate these features; in this they are
The region of Finnmark is in the very northernmost region of Nor- way, around 71 degrees north. The Sami people live in this region, their lives still entwined with the reindeer herds, as they have been for thousands of years. Traditional Sami lands extend from Norway, into Sweden, Finland and the Mur- mansk region of Russia where the indigenous people are by far the worst off in terms of cultural recog- nition by the larger state. Overall, the indigenous people of this region are at a similar stage of development to the First Nations people of the Yukon. There are par- allels in the needs of both groups for housing, community facilities and infrastructure.
sustainable and could earn a few LEED points. Gummas had one main area divided according to specific use, including space for reindeer. A young Sami couple might move into a fairly small house to begin their life together; as they acquire children, they expand the prop- erty. Sometimes grandparents will move in, resulting in more expansion — the opposite of many modern cultures where people start down-sizing when the children have left the nest. Our work on an eco-logical approach to plan- ning and design in the north outlining season- al/cyclical considerations, the Canadian LEED system and e-green technical examples seems to fit well with Sami culture and philosophy presented at the conference. c
Michael Barton is a consulting architect with Energy Solutions Centre in Whitehorse, Yukon.
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