This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

High above the Arctic Circle, on the tiny island of Uummannaq in Greenland, Dutch designer and architect Rob Sweere has built two mobiles Inuit homes -- on top of ice-sleds. The insulated homes, each of which can house six people, were built as shelters for orphaned Inuit children. "The children's home in Uummannaq takes in disabled, orphaned and other Inuit children and teaches them a traditional Greenlandic way of life -- they learn to fish and hunt with Inuit hunters," says Sweere. The problem: it was dilapidated and overcrowded, so they asked Sweere to help build hardy shelters to brave Arctic winters.

First, building materials (mainly wood and acrylic) were flown in from Denmark, and brought out to Uummannaq on open boats. Next, Sweere designed the homes attached to sledges, which could be dragged on sea-ice by snow scooters or dogs. "Everything in Greenland is done on sledges during winter -- they literally live on the ice," says Sweere. Each structure is made from medium-density fibreboard wood, with two rounded porthole-like acrylic windows. "Acrylic can withstand extreme frost and the double insulated walls keep the inside very warm," he says. Each home is fitted with wooden benches and a tabletop, which double as beds. "[Inuits] are used to living and sleeping in a space in groups of six to eight people, so your body heat heats the room,"

Sweere says. His next project: an Inuit home that floats on the sea, among the icebergs.

This article was originally published by WIRED UK