We are planning dome builds at various sites where water, inexpensive land, and permissive building regulations all meet. However, these areas are typically outside where most people live and work. These locations are often off grid and are an average of an hour traveling distance from major metropolitan hubs. Most folks live within the grid, but would like to build a geodesic dome for an aquaponic garden, a meditation area, storage, tool shop, play house, or extra room for you name it. To fill this need we are designing a 12 foot diameter portable dome kit that is small enough to build without permits in most areas, but big enough to do a whole lot.
We found many like the idea of a self sustainable dome home, but are not able or ready to make the plunge into living off grid anytime soon. So, we decided to create a small portable dome design to introduce folks to the ease, beauty, and functionality of a dome building. The process is as educational as it is useful. Putting together a smaller version of the dome home is a great way to get started on your path to self sufficiency.
The frame is steel tubing which can be covered with Insulated magnetic wood triangles that have roofing or windows. These are the same design as used on the larger dome homes. This creates an insulated and quiet space that could accommodate many uses such as a play area, music room, cabana etc. Panels are easily customizable to provide windows where you want them. Alternately the dome could be covered with polycarbonate panels, ETFE, woven poly, Tyvek, and other creative covering materials and methods. There are a variety of uses such as a greenhouse, jacuzzi room, sun room or whatever your kick is.
Building an accessory building as a dome structure is not only a much nicer sight then a tool shed, it is structurally superior and portable too. The ease of construction could inspire some to go big and eventually build their very own geodesic dome home. Our larger projects include water capture systems, compostable toilets, air exchange temperature control, and solar power systems. You may want to learn more about these systems and living in a dome once you experience the feeling of going round. Some may eventually decide to get out of the box and off the grid.
We plan to have our first models ready by the end of summer. We will be providing the process and plans online as an open source venture to persuade any and all into the realm of geodesic dome building. More importantly, we hope that these domes will spread and be seen as a symbol of what is to come. Experiencing a new way of building self sustainable sensible homes is the beginning of a future where we provide for all of our common needs and solve our biggest problems without the complicated crumbling system currently in place.
