Building in the North is very challenging, especially if you live east of the Arkhangelsk region. The lack of local building materials production, long logistics routes, short navigation periods, and generally unfavorable climate are fundamental challenges, with each region adding its own unique problems. A touch of shifting soils, a hint of spring flooding, or a slice of seasonal mud season have been adding to the concerns of Arctic builders for nearly a century. The concept of a universal Arctic house, which has been intriguing engineers and scientists, is about as old. In contemporary Russia, there are several projects attempting to tackle this issue.

Fast assembly, convenient delivery, and energy efficiency in the Far North conditions are the three pillars underpinning Teplorium's patent. In 2021, they developed and patented a new type of modular building suitable for the Arctic climate. A frame made of aluminum pipes is fitted with inflammable insulation and special glazing (another Teplorium innovation), ensuring operation in temperatures ranging from -50 to +60°C. The modular house can withstand hurricanes and partial ground failure and can be placed on anything from a floating pontoon to a swamp or rocks. The design of the building elements allows for manual assembly, and their lightweight nature enables delivery by any means of transportation, from helicopters to dog sleds. The house is quite large, and its layout allows for the assembly of a full-fledged village from several buildings, connected by enclosed walkways. The living area of the house is 60 m², with concealed engineering systems. In addition to rapidly constructing rotational camps, Teplorium has offered its services to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the military. Autonomous quickly erected outposts could be an extremely effective model for constructing barracks, refugee towns, and shelters for people rescued from natural disasters anywhere in the world. The design of Teplorium houses deserves special mention — the dome-like shape is highly effective in regions with strong winds or heavy precipitation.

Another approach to constructing mobile homes for the Far North is a flexible sandwich panel developed by the company from Technopolis Moscow. Between the two tent layers is insulation, a unique development by the resident company. These can be assembled like a construction kit to create a warehouse, a training center, a garage, or living quarters for shift workers. According to the company's management, they are 30% cheaper and significantly lighter than their metal counterparts. Today, the resident of the technopolis is already supplying its products to the Arctic region.

Following a similar scheme but in the context of capital construction, SFU scientists proposed using new CLT panels for erecting two-story modular houses. They are also adapted for extreme cold — their multi-layer structure retains heat even at -50°C. They are made from coniferous and deciduous trees, which is an environmentally friendly solution. However, this type of building material will need to be delivered using traditional methods and erected with lifting equipment. Nevertheless, for Norilsk and other large Arctic cities, this type of building could be an effective solution, especially considering the current issue with thawing permafrost. This issue is currently being addressed by the Institute of Engineering and Creative Environment of the Faculty of Creative Industries of the National Research University Higher School of Economics in collaboration with the Norilsk Renovation Department and the Norilsk Development Agency as part of the Arctic House project.

There are also some truly original ideas out there. Architect Vitaly Troshin proposed creating walking cities from huge platforms that house living modules, fuel processing plants, and drilling equipment. Despite the seemingly fantastical nature of the idea, the TT-2020 platform regularly appears at exhibitions and forums dedicated to the Arctic, and the likelihood of the project being realized is not zero. Vitaly Troshin particularly emphasizes the high mobility of his platforms across the tundra, especially during summer, as well as their minimal environmental impact. Where a tracked all-terrain vehicle leaves a rut, a mobile platform exerts an impact comparable to that of a herd of reindeer. The issue of constructing and delivering such homes also becomes less significant — they can literally reach their destination on their own. As for their energy efficiency, it's more about the high economic viability of these types of platforms. In the long run, they should be significantly cheaper than constructing rotational camps.