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Archive Gallery: The Geodesic Life

Posted 8.24.11 at 5:48 am 3 Comments

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Great Dome Boom: February 1972

In the early 1970s, dome-shaped houses were poised as the next big trend in suburbia. Popularized in recent years by geodesic-shaped commercial structures and exhibition halls, geodesic houses presented a striking alternative to the "conventional ticky-tacky house construction" of the 60s. Despite their novel appearance, geodesic homes seemed to offer countless practical benefits. Firstly, these houses could withstand more pressure than your average rectangular building. Secondly, these homes would be delivered by mail and assembled from a kit. The process would be so straightforward that anyone, not just construction workers, would be capable of building it successfully.

Nowadays, dome houses are a rarity in residential areas. They sounded convenient in theory, but actually erecting one was more complicated than we anticipated. For one thing, the dome home's shape made it difficult for homeowners to install standard pipes, chimneys, and even windows. Custom-made products were not only costly, but they didn't often conform to typical building codes. Interior design was also tricky, as furniture is usually designed with rectangular floor plans in mind.

Read the full story in "The Great Dome Boom is On"

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Read the article: Archive Gallery: The Geodesic Life

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3 Comments

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BerryWarren35070954

08/28/11 at 6:31 pm

I just paid $24,31 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic GF 1 Camera that we got for $34,26 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 42 inch LED TV to my boss for $678 which only cost me $68,18 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, CentSpace . com

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Snerdguy

09/01/11 at 8:00 pm

Dome homes still have great potential. Modern systems like flexible water lines and radiant heating would make them even easier to construct. They could be made from recycled materials like plastics and engineered wood products that produce less waste. Domes could be sprayed on the outside with shotcrete for durability.

At this time of economic instability, their greatest asset would be that they can be mass produced cheaply and still be strong and durable. So many people can no longer afford to even rent a place to live that something needs to be done to provide shelter for them. A geodesic dome could be the answer because it can be assembled quickly and disassembled easily when no longer needed. It is also cheap to heat and easy to scale up and down. They are stronger than mobile homes and don't need a frame and wheels built under them for transport.

Perhaps our government should consider building these for the homeless instead of wasting billions on war planes we don't need. Imagine how many could be built for the cost of one advanced tactical fighter.

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panpizza

09/28/11 at 7:06 pm

seems like fun. i wonder if i can still get my hands on the plan?

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