The word "igloo" originates from the Northwest Territories Keewatin region Inuit word "iglu", which simply means house. For Inuit, the word applies to the snowhouse or any other type of dwelling. [...]

Like all good architects, the Inuit make use of the materials around them; in their case, a sufficient amount of hard-packed snow. They find the right building site by examining the snow with a probe. Their only tool is a snow-knife (locally called a "pana"), which is made of bone or ivory, or of metal if obtained from a trading post.

The first blocks are cut from the snow to form a rectangular trench that later serves as the entrance-way to the completed igloo. With their heels, the builders draw a base-line as close to circular as possible, otherwise when the blocks reach the top the walls will collapse. The snow used for the blocks is taken entirely from within that circle.

Igloos are built with the Inuk working from the inside. The first row is given a slightly inward lean, which gets more acute as the wall gets higher. The blocks are bevelled to produce this inward slant. Also the blocks in the first row are cut with a sloping surface so that the second row starts on a slope. The snow blocks are then built up in a continuous spiral which is the key to the whole structure. [...]

When the spiral is complete, the fitting of the last block is a ticklish job. This block serves as a key, and from it the house takes its final strength. It should be strong enough to hold a man standing outside on top. Near the completion, the Inuk is still inside, so he has to cut out a doorway. The last construction job is chinking all the cracks on the outside to prevent drafts.

Inside, there is a sleeping platform, which is usually covered with caribou or bear hide. The dwelling's beehive shape ensures that there is no waste of space. Building an igloo for overnight use can be done quickly, perhaps in forty minutes. But it might take two days to construct a comfortable dwelling.