In the Yahoo Club Dome_ Living, I asked for people who would like to share their experience with people to write me, and share it with the reading audience. Well, Ray from Mountain View took me up on this and here is his letter and story:
If you need dome articles we would volunteer our dome.
Its a custom designed and built thin shell concrete dome.
The house is 3 domes plus a patio dome and 3 domes that form the garages and shop.
We have documented our construction process in great detail at www.mountainviewdome.com if interested.
We live in a 35 foot diameter Monterey Dome built in 1986 located in a suburb South of Boston, Massachusetts. We were not the original owners and bought the place in the fall of 1998. Here's a picture of the dome when we moved in (note all the pictures can be clicked for a full sized image).
One of the nicest people in the dome groups and always with an encouraging word... He's the one everyone stole the term domehead from... He is also a regular contributor to the Yahoo Group Dome Living
"The spherical structure of a dome is one of the most efficient interior atmospheres for human dwellings because air and energy are allowed to circulate without obstruction. This enables heating and cooling to occur naturally. Geodesic shelters have been built all around the world in different climates and temperatures and still they have proven to be the most efficient human shelter one can find." - Buckminster Fuller
May 2001: We are now living in our dome house, although the laundry room and part of the kitchen is still located in the adjoining wood-framed farmhouse. We are finding it extremely comfortable.
Our dome is a 40 foot 5/8 sphere. It is built on a 9 foot high foundation for an overall height of about 42 feet (cellar floor to cupola roof). There are 7 Timberline triangular skylights, 4 in one dramatic grouping over the family room/mezzanine.
The power of the Internet. Ian and family have built a dome (or should I say building?), He did what all intelligent dome builders/owners should do, he subscribed to the Yahoo Group Dome Living. He then wrote and asked me if I could profile his dome and experience in building it, after sending me these two pictures.
This was the last week of June, while being a procrastinator at heart another thing was working against seeing Ian's dome in this issue. I was getting over strep.
I'm over strep, I've resized these photos and without further ado, Ian's Dome!!!
Just as a point of information it's on MS's homepage so you need to subscribe.
Natural lighting through a dozen layers of plastic sensitizes the rooms to daytime living.
Dick's Summer Vacation Dome
While most of us were working on Summer, Dick was in Lake Oswego (I want to say Oregon, but if I do someone will point out there's more than one Lake Oswego in the United States, so I won't.) Learning how to build geometric shapes and this corrigated dome.
When Jo Davidson started looking for a home on Waiheke Island four years ago, she thought she was an ``old house'' person, and hoped to find one within walking distance of a beach.
Bob Warden and Susan Adams may call it "Eagle's Eye." But their new Monolithic Dome home suggests a castle. It even has a tower that looks medieval and a balcony on which you can easily picture a princess awaiting her knight in shining armor.
Ali and I were talking the other day about the different preconceived notions we have about raising children. She was sort-of hinting that I have a lot more "requirements" about Fuller's childhood than she does. In response, I pointed out that there are really only 3 unique things that have to (at least until he’s old enough to rebel against us –Ingrate!) be part of Fuller’s life: Auburn University, Spider-man, and the geodesic dome.
This Swiss complex of 9 residential homes typifies architect Peter Vetsch’s special niche for earth-covered architecture. Two premises from which the design for all of his buildings are directed include:
1) To integrate a building into its environment as much as possible, and to return back to nature a good part of what the constructional encroachment takes away; 2) A living surface on the roof shall arise alone with site-bound growth.
Other conscious reasons for earth-covered houses are to counteract the fraying of our landscape by urban sprawl, and to restore the functions of regulation and rehabilitation.
I recently bought a 20 year old, 100% off the grid, double geodesic dome near the town of Ward. It sits at about 9000 feet, miles from the nearest power or phone line.
There are 3 power systems running throughout. A 120VAC, running off the invertor, 24VDC for lighting, and 12VDC, for 12V appliances. There are both photovoltaic panels and wind generators. There are two water systems, one for fresh water, and one for greywater. The water comes off a cistern, that is filled by a 120VAC pump.
