“This is the ultimate tiny house off grid paradise. Situated on 380 acres of spectacular lake-front property with private hot-springs and abundant wildlife, the land will eventually be home to a fully functioning off-the-grid, solar powered community of tiny homes which will be placed amongst a network of geodesic dome greenhouses growing organic food.
The first of the homes is already in place, with ingenious design and high quality craftsmanship. It’s owner Kathleen takes us through the property and shares her vision for an amazing future.”
“In 1979 Asha Deliverance sewed her first geodesic dome on an old Singer sewing machine, finishing it in time to become her eldest child’s first home. Motivated by the work of Buckminster Fuller, she continued to build dome homes for friends until she responded to increasing demand and opened the country’s first retail dome company in 1980.
Today, Asha has stopped sewing and relies on her team at the Pacific Domes headquarters in Ashland, Oregon to fabric weld her domes. The company provides shelters for families, glamping sites, greenhouses, climbing, events (e.g. Coachella) and extreme outposts. “To test some of the possible challenges of living on Mars, NASA joined forces with Pacific Domes in early in 2013 to erect a 44-foot geodesic-engineered dome on the northern slope of Mauna Loa, Hawaii.”
The company offers DIY dome kits starting at $5,500 for a 16 foot (5 meter) shelter that can be erected with their manual in a couple of days (instructions for the deck are included).
When we asked Deliverance about the frustrations of some dome builders like Shelter Publications’ Lloyd Kahn she explained that in the ‘60s people were building domes out of wood which required sealing multiple joints, but that using fabric has made all the difference.
“Foam concrete is a type of light concrete mixed with special additives which give to it outstanding characteristics.
Excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, 3 times higher than conventional bricks and can be compared with the characteristics of wood. No additional insulation is required! Reduce heating and cooling costs up to 40%.
Foam-concrete is completely clean environmentally friendly material.
Belongs to the group of non-combustible materials.
Foam-concrete is low weight material. It gives direst impact on cost reduction for transportation, use of reinforcing steel for foundation, labor costs, save time for finishing work because of already smooth surface.
The most modern way of building foam-concrete houses at the highest standards and competitive prices.
Cost-effective especially for construction of settlements. In case of flood it can be dry in 24hours.”
“A NORWEGIAN family have built a seven metre glass dome around their off-grid house in the Arctic Circle. Benjamin and Ingrid Hjertefolger have spent £340,000 constructing their dream home, which is made entirely from all-natural materials such as sand and straw – in order to live sustainably. Located on Sandhorney Island, north Norway, the 7.5 metre high dome is made up of 360 glass panels and shields the entire house with a diameter of 15 metres allowing the family to grow their own fruit and vegetables inside. The project started back in 2012 and one and a half years later, Benjamin, Ingrid and their four children, Julia, 11, Gabriel, nine, Aron, six and Alvin 10 months, moved into their unique abode.”
“In 1960 American architect/designer/futurist Buckminster Fuller envisioned building a dome over Manhattan to regulate weather and air pollution. A half-century later, a Danish construction company built a Bucky Fuller-inspired “geodesic” dome in the center of one of Copenhagen’s largest plazas as an experiment in future living: single-family home and mini urban farm included.
“So the thinking of the dome itself and that was also Buckminster Fuller’s idea was: could you live inside a greenhouse,” explains the Dome of Visions founder Martin Manthorpe (of NCC Construction). The Danish dome, designed by architects Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen, is also meant as a challenge to our conventional ideas on housing: “to explore the idea of the greenhouse as a third space that is both inside and outside at once”.
At a time of increasingly strict regulations for home energy performance, Manthorpe sees the design as an alternative to ultra-thick walls; instead, the greenhouse serves as the “outside” of the wall and the actual wall of the house is “inside”.
The greenhouse was built with overlapping CNC-cut polycarbonate “fish scales”. The home inside the greenhouse was designed for a family of 4 and since it’s protected from wind and rain it’s created with a minimum amount of resources and no glue or chemicals.
The geodesic or “omnitriangulated”, design popularized (and patented) by Fuller is inherently minimalist. It relies on Fuller’s concept of tensegrity, using tensional integrity (compression and tension) to make an extremely efficient structure that is strong while requiring little material. The Dome of Visions was inspired by the C60 molecule, AKA the “Buckminsterfullerene” or “bucky-ball” (a molecule discovered after Fuller’s death).
Manthorpe sees the Dome of Visions as not only a model for future housing for single families but on a larger scale, perhaps over a multi-family community or a city block. “When you look back in time in Buckminster Fuller’s era, in the sixties, I think that the dome was kind of equal to hippies and I think when that culture or whatever developed I think people forgot the dome and even didn’t think of that as a new way of living. I think it comes up now because we need to think differently when we think about construction and urban and city development.”
“Have you ever thought about building your dream home? Of course, we’ve all dreamt about it. Some people never get a chance to build the home of their dreams, but some people find a way. Many innovative homes were built with some really creative ideas, and some are just plain genius. How about a Transformers house, invisible huts or an amazing futuristic man cave? We put together 15 of the most innovative home you’ll ever see, and maybe you’ll even get some cool ideas to build your own!”
