The Inuvialuit of the Western Canadian Arctic built their traditional winter houses from driftwood and sod. This type of house is called an ig-lur-yu-aq (Inuvialuktun pronunciation) was an amazing form of architecture.

An igluryuaq provided a home where people slept, ate, raised their children, played, visited, told stories and carried out many other social activities. The floors were dug into the ground so that only the top part of the dwelling had to be insulated with sod and snow. The entry into the dwelling was through a tunnel built below the level of the floor. The cold air is denser and heavier than warm air, it gets trapped inside the tunnel, which kept heated air inside. Platforms for sleeping, sitting and working were raised above the floor, so that people sat and slept in the warmest part of the dwelling, and the sloped walls reduced the amount of air inside that had to be heated. Oil burning lamps were all that were needed to keep these houses warm.