In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

The iconic opening line of JRR Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit, is now 90 years old, but the idea of a cosy Hobbit house continues to be fascinating even now. There are resorts and hotels that take inspiration from Hobbit houses; in New Zealand, you can visit the Hobbiton movie set (where The Lord of the Rings franchise was filmed) to see these snug, underground houses with circular doors; even architects have been inspired by the idea of an earthy Hobbit home since it’s not just about cosy interiors, but holds some lessons for the present.

In The Shire, home of the imaginary hobbits, the houses are earth-friendly, popping out of the side of the hills, built to the size of the little person inhabiting them, using natural materials and leaving very little footprint. A complete contrast to the high-rise apartments, climate change and carbon emissions we see today.

One of the striking features of Hobbit houses is the roof, topped with grass and earth. A well-padded roof creates a layer of insulation that prevents the outside cold from seeping indoors.

These principles were used in many real-life houses too, such as Nordic Turf houses, which were built a few hundred years ago in countries like Iceland, Norway, and Finland.

Nordic turf houses date to the age of the seafaring Vikings. These countries get icy cold and often go to sub-zero temperatures. The layers of turf, cut from the surrounding landscape, were stacked onto the roof. This kept the residents warm, safe and alive in icy winters. People were sometimes stuck indoors for long periods due to storms and winds, with no transport. Houses like these were their lifeline.

Traditional houses like these rise from Nature, built of whatever materials are available around: stone, wood, earth. No glass and steel here! So, at the end of their lives, the houses become one with the Earth since all the materials are biodegradable and the environmental impact is low.

This is the concept of an eco-friendly house today, but a builder has to make a conscious effort to select environmentally friendly materials. Traditional houses like real-life turf houses or imaginary Hobbit houses were eco-friendly even without thinking about it!