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semisubterranean housing
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Illustration of a semi-subterranean Eskimo dwelling with a snow-covered roof, showing a cutaway view of the home's interior. Labeled features include a sloped entrance passage, doorway, entrance to the main room, a storage area above, and a smoke vent in the roof. Inside, two people are seated on the floor surrounded by household items, highlighting traditional sub-Arctic Aleut or Inuit architecture and living arrangements.
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semisubterranean housing

architecture
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Illustration of a semi-subterranean Eskimo dwelling with a snow-covered roof, showing a cutaway view of the home's interior. Labeled features include a sloped entrance passage, doorway, entrance to the main room, a storage area above, and a smoke vent in the roof. Inside, two people are seated on the floor surrounded by household items, highlighting traditional sub-Arctic Aleut or Inuit architecture and living arrangements.
traditional semisubterranean dwelling of North American Arctic and subarctic peoples Cross section of a traditional semisubterranean dwelling of North American Arctic and subarctic peoples.

Semisubterranean housing, also known as earth-sheltered, refers to structures that are built partly or mostly underground. This architectural approach involves constructing buildings so that a portion of them is below the ground level. The term "semisubterranean" literally means "half underground". This design can offer benefits such as temperature regulation due to the earth's insulating properties.12

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  1. earth-sheltered
  2. semisubterranean

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