Shelter is a structure or a natural feature that provides protection against bad weather, danger, or insect pests. People need shelters to shield them from extremes of cold and heat, as well as from rain, snow, and wind.
There are many different kinds of shelters. Houses are the most common form. Other kinds of shelters are bus shelters, bomb shelters, sheds, and band shells. Portable shelters include tents, trailers, houseboats, and motor yachts.
The first shelters made by human beings were built of animal hides, stones, straw, vines, or wood. Today, people construct shelters from a wide variety of materials. Many home builders use wood and brick. Steel and concrete provide the framework for high-rise apartment buildings. Builders also use such materials as aluminum, glass, and plastic. This article deals with human shelter. Animals also build shelters, such as birds’ nests and rabbit burrows. For information on animal shelters, see Animal (Animal homes).
Why shelters differ around the world
People build many different kinds of shelter throughout the world. The types of shelters they erect depend chiefly on the climate and on what building materials are available.
Climate.
In hot areas, such as the southern and southwestern United States, the weather is warm enough for people to live outside much of the time. But they still need protection from sun, rain, and insects. Houses in such areas have many screened windows, doors, and other openings that let in breezes but keep out insect pests.
In the northern United States, Canada, and other cool regions, houses are designed to keep out the cold and keep in heat. Many buildings have thick walls and storm windows to minimize heat loss.
In such northern cities as Toronto and Calgary, Canada, heated walkways connect apartment buildings to offices, shopping malls, theaters, and other facilities. Residents of these apartment buildings may go about their everyday activities during the winter months without going outside.
In such snowy countries as Norway and Sweden, people build houses with sloping roofs so that snow will slide off easily. They also make the roofs strong enough to hold the weight of heavy snow.
Building methods and materials
vary widely throughout the world. In regions with large forests, many people use wood to build homes. Lumber is easy to build with, but most wooden buildings are less sturdy than those made of stone or concrete. Builders almost anywhere can use concrete or bricks.
In areas with little rainfall, people construct many shelters of clay or mud. In Mexico and the southwestern United States, for example, people mix clay and dirt or mud with water to make adobe. Some people in India and other countries live in clay shelters. In dry areas of Africa, people make mud houses.
In wet tropical areas, moisture causes wood shelters to rot within a few years. People in these areas build houses from other materials. For example, in some parts of Africa and on many Pacific islands, people weave the stems of tall grass into houses.
High-rise buildings made of steel and concrete are most common in such industrial countries as the United States and Canada. However, nearly every country has some steel and concrete structures. Prefabricated buildings consist of parts manufactured at a factory and then shipped to the construction site. There construction workers assemble the parts. Many prefabricated shelters use large amounts of plastic and other lightweight materials.
Other reasons.
Tradition influences the type of shelters people build. Homes in Latin America, for example, show the influence of the early Portuguese and Spanish settlers. Many dwellings are constructed of adobe and have tiled roofs.
Special hazards also influence the shelters people build. In Japan, a country where earthquakes occur frequently, people make their homes of lightweight materials. Such homes are safer than structures of stone or other heavy materials if an earthquake topples them. In Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries with much swampland, people erect houses on stilts to protect them from the water.
Shelter through the ages
Prehistoric times.
Some early human beings lived in caves. They used stone tools to deepen the caves and smooth the walls. Other early people built dwellings from animal skins, stones, and clay bricks. Some houses stood on tall stilts for protection against animals. People who lived near lakes or rivers built such dwellings over water. They drove the stilts into the lake or river bottoms near the shore.
Ancient times.
The rise of civilization led to the construction of better and larger buildings. Instead of simple shelters, people worked to build stronger defensive walls, more impressive palaces, and finer temples to honor their gods. These efforts brought a new art—architecture—into being. But the basic function of architecture was still to provide shelter. For example, the gigantic pyramids of ancient Egypt served not only as monuments to dead rulers but also as shelters for their remains. Ordinary Egyptians built flat-roofed homes of mud or sun-dried bricks. Wealthy Egyptians built beautiful, spacious homes of brick and wood.
The ancient Greeks built houses around courtyards. The Greeks also designed many temples and other public buildings.
Wealthy people in ancient Rome lived in large houses built of concrete and brick or stone. Some Roman houses included a central heating system and plumbing. The Romans also were the first people to use glass windowpanes. In addition to houses, the Romans constructed many large public shelters, including baths, temples, and theaters.
The Middle Ages
lasted from about the A.D. 400’s through the 1400’s. During this period, architects designed magnificent cathedrals, such as those at Chartres, France, and Durham, England. Such buildings provided more than a roof over worshipers. Medieval Christians believed that, in a symbolic sense, God and the saints inhabited churches. As a result, they regarded cathedrals and other church buildings as shelters for holy beings.
By the late 900’s, many European rulers lived in castles. By the end of the 1100’s, most castles had drawbridges, moats, and thick stone walls. In about the 1400’s, Europeans began to build half-timbered houses. These structures had frameworks of timber, filled in with brick or interwoven branches plastered with mud or clay. Many such houses had a thatched roof.
The Renaissance,
a period of European history that lasted from about 1400 to 1600, revived interest in the art and learning of ancient times. As a result, architects studied ancient Greek and Roman buildings and modeled their designs on those classical styles. Monarchs and other wealthy Europeans hired architects to design palaces inspired by Roman structures. Classical styles also influenced the houses of middle-class people during the Renaissance.
In early America.
When Europeans first came to North America, Indians on the continent lived in several different types of shelters. Most Eastern Woodland tribes made dome-shaped wigwams of bark. Indians of the Western plains lived in cone-shaped tipis made of animal skins. In the Southwest, the Pueblo Indians built large houses of adobe and rocks. For a description of the shelters built by the Indians, see Indigenous peoples of the Americas (Shelter).
The first European settlers in North America made simple dwellings of logs and thatch or dried grass. Later, they built houses that resembled those in Europe. New England colonists used a type of overlapping siding called clapboard to keep out cold winds. Later, wealthy planters in the South built large homes with long porches and two-story columns. High ceilings helped keep the rooms cool in summer.
The Industrial Revolution,
a period of rapid industrial growth and new inventions, began in Europe during the 1700’s. It brought the development of many new building materials and construction methods. People began to build tall structures with steel or iron frames. In addition, concrete became a common construction material.
The Industrial Revolution also led to the construction of new types of shelters. For centuries, builders had concentrated on homes and such public buildings as churches and palaces. The Industrial Revolution required such new structures as factories and exhibition halls. For example, the Great Exhibition of 1851, an industrial fair held in London, was housed in a glass and iron structure called the Crystal Palace. The building, which resembled a huge greenhouse, was the first important structure to have prefabricated parts. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, modern builders can choose from a wide range of construction methods, building materials, and styles.
