I like Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. I’ve built many geodesic playground climbers, and a sheet-metal geodesic garden shed. Now I wonder, why not geodesic tiny houses and ADUs (accessory dwelling units)? And why can’t they be affordable – one, or a dozen, or a hundred of them? To satisfy my curiosity I built a geodesic hemisphere frame that’s 18-1/2 feet diameter. It’s mostly air, but makes a solid impression.
Geodesic dome houses have their virtues and their drawbacks. They are roundish, with no natural vertical walls, no square corners. Some people like that, others don’t. Conventional builders dislike the precision lengths and fussy angles required.
But there’s a simpler way to make affordable round buildings – really round and smooth hemispherical domes. You can’t do that with 2x4s and plywood, but concrete is something else. Concrete is compliant. Concrete is cheap. Concrete is familiar. Concrete domes aren’t our tradition, but dome buildings have been around for millennia. Modern concrete domes combine proven technology with low material cost – plus reduced labor and rapid completion for real economy. (That’s for modest, believable housing, not those immense luxury mansions beloved by speculators and assessors.)
For contrast, one company makes government-approved tiny houses, little boxes with 60 square feet of floor space (like a closet). They’re serviceable – two rigid beds, heat and A/C, a locking door, little windows (like a cell). Cities and nonprofits buy them to supply instant housing for homeless folks. With bathrooms.
Except the bathrooms are somewhere else; all of the plumbing is in other buildings. These little-box tiny houses cost about $7,500, for two people. And don’t forget, the bathroom is way over there.
But my focus isn’t on little boxes for the homeless; it’s on affordable dwelling units, comfortable round concrete homes. Picture a hemispherical dome 20 feet in diameter by 10 feet high. With insulated walls 6 inches thick, the interior floor area is 283 square feet. Ordinary front and back doors offer access, all the plumbing is indoors, and round windows are right and tight. It’s all concrete on a concrete base, so this tiny house is quiet, draft-proof, dust-proof, vermin-proof, burglar-proof, bullet-proof, and tornado-proof – there’s nothing flat for wind to work against, no edges to get hold of.
Interior layout is simple. There’s an enclosed bathroom with shower, and a semi-enclosed kitchen. The rest of the space is wide open, to 9-1/2 feet center height. A heat pump provides HVAC, economical thanks to the modest size and good sealing. The exterior is epoxy painted – maybe bright colors, like a holiday village.
And they’re affordable. A 20-foot diameter dome, complete with floor and foundation, takes only 14 cubic yards of concrete. The foundation and slab are standard construction, while the dome shell resembles an inverted swimming pool. How many 2x4s and plywood will $3,000 buy? That’ll buy enough concrete to make the whole thing.
If affordable round tiny houses or ADUs intrigue you – one, or a dozen, or a hundred of them – drive by and see my model. Be warned, these hemispheres are deceptive. From outside it looks way too small, but inside it’s roomier than most hotel rooms.
It’s an interesting thought. Tiny; round; home.
Larry Cloud