Lesson 3
In what kind of house do you live? Probably in a man-made house that was built with bricks, cement and metal. That can be a house, a bungalow or an apartment.
Around the world people live in many different kinds of houses. Those houses are built of all kinds of materials.
The oldest houses in the world are the caves. They weren’t handmade but they were already there, people used them as houses.
Later on, when people had to move around for food, they started making tents or teepees. They were made of thin trees and animal skins.
About 10 000 years ago people began to build houses. The type of house they built and the materials they used depended on where they lived. If it was in a cold place the house was built with a fireplace inside. There was usually only one room in the house and the fire was placed in the centre of the room. A hole in the roof let the smoke escape. Chimneys hadn't been invented then.
Materials used might have included wood, other plants and animal skins. The roof would be thatched (made of plants) or wooden tiles called shingles. The roof would slope so that rain and snow would slide off. The floor of the house was just the ground. The animals kept by the people shared the house or were kept in a second room nearby.
Today in Mongolia, and other parts of Central Asia, the people who live as herders of sheep and horses, shelter in yurts (or gers) which are portable, folding homes. To the Mongolians, the word yurt means ‘home’. The yurts are set up in places where water is easy to get, and where there is grass for their horses and sheep. The yurt has a light wooden frame over which a felt cover, made from sheep’s wool, is stretched. The felt gives protection from the weather and insulates against cold and heat.
The Inuit, who don’t like to be called Eskimos, build their houses with large blocks of snow. Those houses are called igloos, they haven’t got doors or windows, only a hole to get into the igloo. Temperatures inside a snow house can be raised up to around 15 degrees Celsius when the outside temperature is -40 degrees Celsius!
In the Philippines there are tribes that live in tree houses which are made of wood.There are several reasons for that, like protection from floods or wild animals.
Here in the Netherlands tree houses are built for children to play in. Wouldn’t it be fun to play in a tree house?
In many parts of China, and since the 1300s, people have lived in large groups, inside the high mud walls of a tulou. Tulou means ‘earth building’. Inside there can be up to 250 identical rooms or apartments built around a courtyard. The buildings are made of wood, including the tiles on the roof. In the courtyard people can cook, wash and dry clothes and children can play. Families also gather there for celebrations.
At first, the tulou were safe places that protected the people from raiding bandits
Apart from living in houses because of a way of living, there are also houses which are really special, not because of the people’s way of living, but just because people like them. Houses like houseboats, or the windmill houses are not extremely unusual.
However, there are extremely unusual houses in the world. Have you ever heard of the house that is upside down. I am not joking! It’s true. The roof is on the ground, it looks really weird.
And what about the house which looks like a shoe. No again I am not joking. It really exists! It looks extremely funny. As well as the house that is like a tea pot. There are even houses that look like UFOs and an apartment building that looks like a shopping basket. Aren’t you curious in what kinds of houses we will be living in 100 years’ time?
