The ice blocks used in these constructions are cut from the surface of a frozen lake. The lake ice freezes in two layers: the lower layer, suitable for construction, is bright and consistent while the top layer, after enduring the elements during the freezing, has an opaque and clouded appearance and can be cut away during the harvesting process.  Harvested ice is either turquoise or bluish depending on the minerals contained in the water.  Weather determines the amount of time the water has to freeze, which in turn, defines the thickness of the layer used for ice construction.

The blocks are cut out of the lake surface using a chainsaw (with no grease on it) and were lifted onto trucks by standard logging cranes to be transported to the site.  As moving a block can affect its structural integrity, the volume of a single ice block was kept to less than 1 cubic metre; an average block measured 1 metre in length by 0.6 metres in height by 0.6 metres in width.

In Yoko Ono and Arata Isozaki’s construction and in Jene Highstein and Steven Holl’s colossal design, the blocks were positioned and joined to each other following a similar method to standard masonry.  Adjoining surfaces were finished to fit tightly together using table saws, chainsaws and hand chisels.  When the temperature fell to -20°C or below the ice became almost too brittle to work with; at these temperatures a wrong move with a tool or an incorrect placement would have severely damaged the block or surrounding blocks.  Once a block had been set in place, water was poured into the gaps fusing the ice together.  Ice constructions were finished using a setaline torch to slightly graze the façade of the construction, smoothing out rough edges and burning away and surface frost or debris to leave a sparkling, translucent quality.

Embedding polycarbonate bubbles filled with a coloured antifreeze solution posed a challenge in the construction of the Do-Ho Suh and Morphosis project.  The bubbles had to be filled with a saline solution to prevent the water contained within them from freezing and expanding, which would have burst the bubble.  The liquid-filled bubbles were set into holes cut out of the lake and then water was poured in to secure the bubble and fill in the remainder of the cavity. 

To successfully defy what was considered impossible, an intricate and extremely precise Framework of wood and steal was constructed to create a vaulted tunnel completely out of ice blocks.  When Tatsuo Miyajima and Tadao Ando conceived their design, nothing like it had been attempted and nobody knew if it would stand on it’s own after the framework had been removed.  With this in mind, a compex system was developed to cut the ice blocks to the calculated angles to prevent slippage, which would send the structure crashing to the ground.

Cai Guo-Qiang and Zaha Hadid also presented a challenge in structure and balance when Hadid proposed a massive cantilever of ice.   However, it was not until Cai Guo-Qiang intervened with the idea of pouring flaming vodka over the side of the cantilever to produce a waterfall of flames that new methods had to be developed.  Several important questions had to be addressed: how can the vodka stay fluid enough to maintain its flame while not dissolving too quickly into the ice; how can we insure that the cantilever would not lose its stability under the burning hot conditions?  The answer was an ethanol-based gel and vodka mixture that allowed the fire to burn under windy conditions and kept a portion of the heat away from the ice surface.