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Julie Brown After hearing the sad story of a relative whose property was seriously damaged in a tornado that ripped through Oklahoma, Julie decided to complete the research-writing requirement for her college Philosophy class by comparing the pros and cons of residential construction methods.

Research Paper Earns an A from College Instructor and MonolithicFreda ParkerPublishedon Jun 29, 2010Round To ItThe StudentJulie Brown is a 42-year-old, university student working on her Masters Degree in Library Science, with a minor in Adult Education. As part of this past semesters philosophy class, Julie completed a research project that she describes as, a proposal for the betterment of mankind that could be presented as a law.Her paper, Living Round, compares some popular methods of constructing homes and their pros and cons, including ability to resist natural disasters and environmental impact. She concludes that none surpasses the Monolithic Dome and suggests that, Monolithic Domes be required for all new residential construction.Living Round by Julie BrownA home should protect its occupants, keep them healthy, and sustain the environment, all at an affordable price, yet in many cases it fails in some or all of these duties: a child develops asthma from the volatile organic compounds in the wall paint; another person develops cancer from formaldehyde off-gassing from the kitchen cabinets; an expensive home is demolished due to black mold contamination; a boy dies when a stray bullet rockets through his bedroom wall; an elderly grandmother freezes to death in her drafty old home; an acre of forest is clear-cut for the neighbors new house; energy hemorrhages through the envelope of a wood-framed home; a middle-income family shoulders immense debt for a residence; a 1950s ranch is obliterated in a Kansas tornado; a family drowns when hurricane storm surge floods their beach house; a California mansion burns to cinders in a wildfire.Since ancient times, humans have sought refuge from danger within caves, mud huts, and tree houses, and although design and technology have improved on this primitive shelter, most of todays homes do not meet what Susannah Hagan calls sustainable architecture (3).The environmental movement has a slew of buzz words like green, eco-friendly, and sustainable. Sustainable, according to Susannah Hagan, has a broad meaning and encompasses environmental and social responsibility, economy, health, and safety (3). Only one current construction method rates well in all categories: the Monolithic Dome. To prevent loss of life, damage to the environment, economic loss, and health risks; laws and building regulations should mandate that Monolithic Domes, adapted to the specific climate, be required for all new residential construction.Each construction method today has its pros and cons, but the most important aspect for a home remains the same as it did millennia ago, the reason our ancestors did not live in the opensafety.Who doesnt want to go to bed at night knowing that their home will keep them safe from external forces? But what are these external forces? How much damage is really done?Across the globe, according to Marq De Villiers, The world can now expect three to five major disasters a year that will each kill more than 50,000 people (4). Professor Sue Roaf adds that the economic loss from catastrophes in 2003 alone accounted for over $60 billion in total damages, with insurance losses at about $15 billion (71). The May 2003 tornadoes in the Midwestern United States cost insurers $3 billion (71). The five natural disasters topping the list in number of deaths and monetary cost are hurricanes, floods (many related to hurricanes), tornadoes, earthquakes, and fires.Of the top ten most expensive disasters in FEMA payouts, eight of those are hurricanes (Top Ten). Most casualties in hurricanes and typhoons are caused not by the wind itself but by flooding, either by storm surges or heavy rainfall. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 killed approximately 8000 persons; Katrinas death toll was estimated at around 1200 (Hurricane). Hurricane Camille, in 1969, struck the Mississippi coast with sustained winds over 190 miles an hour and a storm surge 25 feet above the mean tide levels, pushing inland over a mile while knocking over apartment buildings and submerging homes (De Villiers 215).Hurricanes are large and deadly; their little sisters, tornadoes, are indeed smaller, but just as deadly. They offer no warning and no time for evacuation. The deadliest tornado on record for the United States was on March 18, 1925 when 695 persons were killed and over 2000 were injured (Harris 95). Each year there are about 1,200 tornadoes in the United States that cause approximately 65 fatalities, 1,500 injuries nationwide, and millions in property damage (Tornado).Tornadoes are vortexes that spin with ferocious speed. Tornado wind speeds may exceed 465 miles an hour, containing energy not much less than the 20-kiloton bomb dropped on Hiroshima (De Villiers 209). Nancy Harris explains, Tornadoes do their destructive work through the combined action of their strong rotary winds and the impact of windborne debris. The force of the tornados wind pushes the windward wall of a building inward. The roof is lifted up and the other walls fall outward. Sticks, glass, roofing material, lawn furniture all become deadly missiles when driven by a tornados winds (79).For people living in or near tornado alleyTexas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arkansas, and Missouriany warm weather storm could bring on the devastation. Mike Cox recounts a story exemplifying the incredible feats of tornadoes: The 1927 Rocksprings tornado picked up a familys home that faced south, spun in around, and set it back down facing west; oddly, the house suffered little damage (102).After tornadoes in the disaster list comes earthquakes. The earthquake prone western regionCalifornia, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaskais riddled with dozens of fault lines. The second most expensive disaster in U.S. history in regards to FEMA payouts is the 1994 Northridge Earthquake in California in which 72 persons died (Top Ten).More recently, the Haitian Government reported that an estimated 230,000 had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless by the earthquake on January 12th of this year. They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged (Haiti). The large death toll in Haiti is attributed to substandard construction.Fire disasters worsened when humans began to build cities. Houses packed tightly together, walls held up by age-dried timbers, and roofs often made of thatch or wood shinglesthese factors made perfect kindling for the great historical fires called city burners.The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 cut a swath through Chicago approximately three and one-third square miles in size. Property valued at $192,000,000 was destroyed, 100,000 people were left homeless, and 300 people lost their lives (Bales). More recently, the Southern California wildfires of 2003 killed 22 persons, destroyed 3000 homes, burned 700 acres of land, and cost over one billion dollars (Roaf 98).Mitigating the effects of these disasters requires common sense and resilient buildings. The common sense factor plays a part in choosing a buildings location as much as it does in the design of a building. In fact, some areas are so prone to flooding that the same properties have flooded many times. Why would anyone choose to live there?No matter where you live, climate-related disasters are increasing, causing some to predict the catastrophic collapse of the insurance industry (Roaf 345). Mandating the construction of resilient buildings is one way to prevent the insurance industry collapse while mitigating the damage done by disasters.Resilient buildings are tough, durable, and built to handle the excessive stresses of climate change. They are examples of sustainable architecture that keep the occupants cool in the summer and warm in the winter, protect them from external forces, keep them healthy, maintain the environment, and cost equal to or less than standard homes.To evaluate various construction methods, most are compared to the ubiquitous stick-frame house. Stick-frame homes score the lowest in resiliency and sustainability, yet 90% of U.S. homes are made with this method. Wood-framed homes have many inherent problems: they require a great deal of labor and materials; they are susceptibility to fire, mold, insects, pests, and rot; and they rate poorly on disaster resistance. Safety:Stick-frame homes are not built to withstand disasters. Hurricanes cause significant damage to wood-frame houses, forcing the same house to be rebuilt several times. Flooding causes mold and rot to begin immediately inside the enclosed walls, usually leading to condemnation and demolition. These homes will also float off their foundations.Earthquake damage will vary depending on several factors such as the earthquakes magnitude, aftershocks, and the quality and style of construction on each house, but in general, stick-frame homes rate below-average in earthquake safety.When it comes to tornadoes,The Wizard of Ozwas far from reality. Dorothys farmhouse would have been demolished. Watch as an ATM camera catches an F3 tornado as it destroys a stick-frame home in less than 30 seconds:ATM video. In the following clip, a one-story farm house is hit by a tornado, reducing the home to debris in about eight seconds while leaving the two-story home behind it untouched. The tornado crosses the road and hits the home at the 8-second mark on the video; by the 16-second mark, the house is gone.One-story ranch obliterated.Fire, either external or internal, quickly consumes these houses. Using the vertical wall cavities as chimneys and the wood as fuel, fire spreads rapidly throughout the home. Fire destroys more homes annually than any other force. Health:Disregarding interior structures such as cabinets and flooring, which can be substituted in any home for health reasons, the pitfalls in a home built with wood framing are many. Mold can thrive on wood and drywall, contaminating the home with toxins. Insects such as carpenter ants and termites actually eat the wood while other insects and pests such as spiders, roaches, squirrels, mice, and rats nest in the walls and in the attic. Environment:Architect Eric Freed states that the average-sized home (about 2000 square feet) uses an acre of forest (44 trees). These trees are typically clear-cut (which leaves nothing for the future) (142). These 44 trees are equivalent to sequestering 44 tons of carbon dioxide over their lifetimes. Additionally, wood-frame walls require insulation and waterproofing, yet they still leak the most energy of any construction method. Expense:Depending on region and discounting the land expense, the average stick-frame home is 2700 square feet with a cost of $125 a square foot (Emrath). The expense in wasted energy over the homes lifetime is immense.The next step up in construction method is steel framing. Safety:Steel frames are stronger than wood frames. They withstand disaster moderately better than wood frames, but not enough to be called resilient. Flooding can destroy the sheetrock and insulation in the home. A strong tornado could still reduce the home to debris. Steel framing may actually be worse in earthquakes due to the tensile strength of the steel and its inability to flex under pressure. Steel studs resist initial combustion in a fire, but once the fire has started, the studs will buckle and collapse. Health:Although the steel studs themselves will not rot, the attached drywall will. Steel produces condensation with changes in temperature, increasing the incidents of rot and mold growth, making steel more appropriate for interior walls. Although carpenter ants and termites cannot eat steel, pests will nest in the wall cavities and attics. Environment:A steel stud conducts ten times more heat and cold than a standard wood stud. Because of this, steel framing is not recommended for cold climates (Freed 164). Due to steels conductivity, more insulation is required with this construction method. Steel studs are 100% recyclable; however, the production of steel creates extensive environmental destruction through iron ore mining, energy used to produce the steel, and burning coal for the intense heat needed in production, which releases thousands of tons of greenhouse gas (Freed 89). Expense:Steel will expand and contract from temperature changes, producing cracking in the wall covering, requiring repairs. Steel prices fluctuate with the stock market, but in general, steel will add approximately 10% to the building budget.Straw bale, rammed earth, and adobe homes are quite similar in their strengths and weaknesses. Safety:These structures have exterior walls of 12 inches to 18 inches thick, adding strength against wind loads, earthquakes, and penetration from projectiles. The roof continues to be a weakness, and they are susceptible to water damage. Dispelling a common myth, straw bales, like adobe and rammed earth, are incredibly resistant to fire. The super insulation of these homes will help to protect the occupants from extreme heat and cold. Health:With their thick walls covered in natural clay, these homes are said to breathe. They are quiet homes, effectively insulating the occupants from noise of the outside world. Pests will not nest in the walls of adobe or rammed earth, and have been shown to avoid the tightly packed bales in straw bale construction as long as the straw stays tight and dry. Environment:The thick, super-insulated walls have two to three times the insulation value of stick-frame construction, drastically reducing energy usage for heating and cooling. Using natural, local mud and lime plasters helps the environment, yet wood studs remain needed for the roof and interior walls. Expense:Straw is nearly free or can be found at very low cost; however, construction is time-consuming, so paid labor can increase costs significantly.I would like to mention here the unusual construction methods of cob, cordwood, and Earthships. Hippie houses are handmade and tend to be built by, as some would call them, environmental radicals. Cob homes are made of sand, clay, and long strands of straw. This mud mixture is formed into 1-2 feet thick walls that can curve into fantastical, fairytale patterns. Cordwood walls are made by stacking short logs of wood held together by a cob mixture.Earthships are made by stacking used tires in an excavated trench. The home is surrounded on three sides by tires filled with dirt and backed by several feet of earth for insulation. The front of the home is faced toward the sun with an appropriately sized overhang for passive solar energy. The roof is framed flat, although angled for drainage, out of wood or steel, most having a living roof of grass or edible plants. These construction methods, however interesting, are not feasible for mass production.Close to meeting the definition of sustainable housing are SIPs (structurally insulated panels) and ICFs (insulated concrete forms). SIPs are made by sandwiching polystyrene expandable foam between two pieces of oriented strand board (scraps of wood glued together) that serve as the wood framing, sheathing, and wall insulation all in one panel. ICFs consist of a hollow block of recycled Styrofoam held together with plastic or metal webbing. The blocks are stacked onsite then filled with concrete. Safety:SIPs fit together like puzzle pieces, increasing the buildings strength. ICFs are even stronger because the forms are fitted into place then filled with concrete. The framed roofs of either method, however, remain a weakness in high winds. Flooding will do greater damage to SIPs with their wood-like panels than it will to ICFs. ICFs have a large thermal mass, increasing the comfort to inhabitants in extreme heat or cold. In earthquakes, ICFs perform better than the previously discussed construction methods. As far as fire is concerned, the extruded polystyrene in SIPs is highly flammable once the OSB has burned through. Health:SIPs can suffer from water damage and are susceptible to mold and rot, but less so than stick-frame construction. The OSB in SIPs can be soaked in toxic formaldehyde. Because the foam is exposed in ICFs, pests can infest the walls and will burrow into the foam to nest. Environment:The pieces fit together tightly, making the homes quiet and much more energy efficient, up to 50% more according to Eric Freed (202). The flipside of being nearly airtight is the need for a ventilation system. Properly used, the system will increase indoor air quality. These wall systems are resource efficient since SIP foam is made of 98% air while ICFs use recycled Styrofoam. Expense:These homes go up faster than traditional homes, therefore saving labor costs, and they can be designed and precut to avoid the waste of materials at the job site. These factors save money, but adding in the expensive materials and a specialized contractor, SIPs average 5% to 10% more than stick framing; ICFs, 10% or more, depending on the cost of concrete.Although the last two methods come close to meeting all the requirements of sustainability and resiliency, they do not quite satisfy the full needs of safety, health, and affordability. One construction method, however, does meet all these requirements and more: the Monolithic Dome.The Monolithic Dome, a thin-shell, concrete structure, is more than a construction method; it is a paradigm shift in the way people view shelter. Buckminster Fuller once said, Homes should be thought of as service equipment, not as monuments (Baldwin 16). These domes are indeed meant for service, but in a way, they are also monuments to human ingenuity and creativity.David South, creator of the Monolithic Dome process, was inspired by a 1956 presentation on geodesic domes given by Buckminster Fuller. Since that day, he has striven to perfect a construction method that remains at the forefront of sustainable architecture. The construction process below is quoted from the Monolithic website.The Monolithic Dome starts as a concrete ring foundation, reinforced with steel rebar. Vertical steel bars embedded in the ring later attach to the steel reinforcing of the dome itself. An Airform fabricated to the proper shape and size is placed on the ring base. Using blower fans, it is inflated, and the Airform creates the shape of the structure to be completed. The fans run throughout construction of the dome. Polyurethane foam is applied to the interior surface of the Airform. Entrance into the air-structure is made through a double door airlock which keeps the air-pressure inside at a constant level. Approximately three inches of foam is applied. The foam is also the base for attaching the steel reinforcing rebar. Steel reinforcing rebar is attached to the foam using a specially engineered layout of hoop (horizontal) and vertical steel rebar. Shotcretea special spray mix of concreteis applied to the interior surface of the dome. The steel rebar is embedded in the concrete and when about three inches of shotcrete is applied, the Monolithic Dome is finished. The blower fans are shut off after the concrete is set. Concrete or stucco, applied to the exterior of the dome, increases its durability (Monolithic).How does the monolithic dome, with its radical construction method and alien-looking shape, compare to stick-frame construction? Safety:The concrete-reinforced, double-curve surface of a dome is extremely strong and aerodynamic. Consequently, Monolithic Domes meet FEMA standards for providing near-absolute protection from disasters, having a proven ability to survive hurricanes, floods, fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, and even gunfire (South). Due to their superior insulation, airtight envelope, and large thermal mass; monolithic domes provide comfort indoors when extreme temperatures rage outdoors. Health:The concrete shell that becomes the outer wall of a Monolithic Dome is not hollow, so pests cannot nest within the walls. Accordingly, if the home weathers a flood, when the flood waters recede, the closed surface can be cleaned and becomes as good as new without fear of rot or mold harbored within hollow wall cavities. The monolithic home is extremely airtight, requiring a ventilation system, and as with ICF construction, the system will increase indoor air quality if installed and used properly. Environment: Monolithic Domes save 50%-75% more energy than stick-frame homes and easily meet the energy saving criteria as detailed by LEED. The continuous wall of the dome insulates the interior from exterior noise. The urethane foam used in Monolithic Domes is environmentally about the same as the Styrofoam just twice as insulating (South). Expense:When considering a construction method, energy savings and minimal maintenance are important factors. Monolithic Domes have an R-value above 60. (See graph on R-value comparisons.) As far as maintenance, the windows and doors may need replacement and the interior will need paint and cleaning, David South states, We design the domes to last for 500 years(South).Domes save construction costs in two ways: by reducing material waste at the site and by being built indoors since the inflated Airform prevents weather delays. The construction cost of a dome is comparable to that of a stick frame yet with benefits outperforming all other construction methods. Monolithic Dome owners have saved a great deal on their insurance rates due to the buildings durability.The most frequently voiced complaint against Monolithic Domes is that they are ugly, yet Architect Frederick Crandall, who designs domes and lives in one, professes that homeowners need not sacrifice design or elegance when building the pragmatic and intelligent Monolithic Dome (2). David South believes that domes have a beauty people will grow to appreciate because Monolithic Domes are the greenest buildings on the planet. There will be a time when the square building is the oddity (South).In conclusion, Monolithic domes excel in every facet of sustainable architecture: they protect the owners, they are healthy, they are environmentally friendly, and they are affordable. They are the epitome of durability. Each year, thousands of lives and billions of dollars would be saved if all new homes built, particularly those rebuilt after a disaster, were mandated to be Monolithic Domes; to do otherwise is foolhardy. Choosing to build an antiquated stick-frame home today is like forgoing a BMW to take a wagon to work.Works Cited Baldwin, J. Bucky Works: Buckminster Fullers Ideas for Today. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996. Bales, Richard F. Did the Cow Do It? The Chicago Fire. 2004. 31 May 2010 Cox, Mike. Texas Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Guilford: Morris Book Publishing, 2006. Crandall, Frederick L. Design Ideas for the Monolithic Concrete Home. Mesa: Crandall Design Group, 2005. De Villiers, Marq. The End: Natural Disasters, Manmade Catastrophes, and the Future of Human Survival. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008. Emrath, Paul. Breaking Down House Price and Construction Costs. National Association of Home Builders. 2010. 30 May 2010 Freed, Eric Corey. Green Building and Remodeling for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, 2008. Hagan, Susannah. Taking Shape: A new Contract between Architecture and Nature. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2001. Haiti Earthquake Information. Embassy of Haiti. 30 May 2010 Harris, Nancy, ed. Great Disasters: Tornadoes. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Hurricane History. Hurricane Preparedness. National Hurricane Center. 29 May 2010 Monolithic Dome. Monolithic. 28 May 2010 Roaf, Sue, David Crichton, and Fergus Nicol. Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change: A 21st Century Survival Guide. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2005. South, David B. Personal interview. 04 June 2010. Top Ten Natural Disasters. FEMA. 2009. 30 May 2010 Tornado Science, Facts and History. Live Science. 29 May 2010 Wasowski, Andy. Building Inside Natures Envelope: How New Construction and Land Preservation Can Work Together. Oxford: University Press, 2000.

Monolithic DomesAn interesting alternative building construction method is that of the Monolithic Dome. This is a rather futuristic-shaped building that basically consists of a concrete-reinforced dome. The dome itself can take many forms, connect to other domes, include multiple floors, etc. Websters defines monolithic as something large and powerful that acts as a single, unified force. This is accomplished in this construction method by the continuous form of concrete that defines the shape of the dome structure. It is a building technique with much inherent strength that also has very significant energy efficiency properties. Sprayed-in place polyurethane foam is quite often used in the process, especially in climates such as New England. FOAM-TECH has been involved as the foam applicator on monolithic dome projects.The following is a very brief, general overview of the construction sequence:A design is determined. This is essential for knowing the size and strength of the typical concrete poured foundation and for fabricating the "airform" that must be custom made for each building. The airform is a balloon-like form that is inflated and defines the buildings ultimate shape.

1. The airform is then attached to the foundation and inflated. It remains inflated to the very end of the construction process.2. Polyurethane foam is sprayed in an approximately 3 to 4 inch layer.

3. Reinforced steel bars (rebar) are installed in a mesh formation and follow the shape of the dome that has been formed by the foam.4. Shotcrete (spray concrete) is sprayed over the rebar and when it cures the airform is deflated and removed from the outside and the monolithic structure is intact. The building is finished with a layer of shotcrete applied to the exteriorSome of the advantages of this particular kind of construction are as follows:1. Superior energy efficiency due to extremely low air infiltration and the insulation performance available from spayed-in-place polyurethane foam.2. The heat sink capability of the structure. Warm air from the inside is absorbed by the concrete wall system and radiates evenly through the interior.3. Superior fire proofing due to the inherent abilities of masonry structures. These dwellings typically enjoy low fire insurance premiumsMONOLITHIC DOME HOMEScompiled by Dee Finney

A LARGE ET-type DOME HOMEDome homes are energy efficient buildings. Except for below-the-earth buildings, dome homes have the least exterior outside area of any design. Thus they loose less heat in the winter and stay cooler in the summer. Standardized dome home kits and installers are easy to find in most places in the US. Some dome manufacturers guarantee resistance to hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes! We are guessing that this building is approximately 70 feet in diameter. We were unable to get the exact dimensions from the designer or the builder.Extreme environmental forces compel us to incorporate extreme building solutions. Domes resist a variety of assaults by Mother Nature. The dome structure is impervious to tornadoes, landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, fires, snow and ice storms. Even the tsunami of 2004 has spawned an avid interest in utilizing more domes as the destroyed areas are rebuilt.When repetitive hurricanes struck their home, Mark and Valerie Sigler responded by building a monolithic dome structure. Studies at Idaho State University determined the Dome of a Home will withstand 500 + mile an hour winds. Its curved shape and massive weight resist storm surge damage. These qualities combined with an absence of a roof to be compromised makes the dome extremely hurricane resistant.EXTERIOR CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS:http://www.domeofahome.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=559

INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS:http://www.domeofahome.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3368

PRODUCTS USED IN HOME:http://www.domeofahome.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7057OTHER DOMES:http://www.domeofahome.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=14910By planting the domes into the mountainside, they become immune to Mother Nature's attacks. The shape is strong and not vulnerable to the weight of avalanches, landslides, or snow and ice build up. The strength of the dome shape also makes it impervious to earthquakes. With the appropriate Hepa-filter system and fire resistant coating, a domes occupants could likely survive a raging forest fire. Dragon Speed Design Groups goal is to create beautiful, functional structures that embrace their environment and its challenges. The creation of enduring architecture springs from passion and curiosity. We create homes that are light-filled, proportionate, and durably crafted. The designs are guided by the character, texture, and rhythms of the surrounding landscape. Our balanced interiors offer calming sanctuaries from the rigors of everyday life while honoring our clients' individual possessions. Truly exceptional homes are the result of consistent communication, dedication, and integrity.

The long-term mission of the Dragon Speed Design Group is to establish a proven model of compatibility between human settlement and the conservation of natural resources and landscape.

DRAGON SPEED DESIGN GROUP CONTACT INFORMATIONValerie [email protected] acre is aunitofareain a number of different systems, including theimperialandU.S. customarysystems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.One acre comprises 4,840square yardsor 43,560square feet[1]. While all modern variants of the acre contain 4,840 square yards, there are alternative definitions of a yard, so the exact size of an acre depends on which yard it is based on. Originally, an acre was understood as aselionof land sized at onefurlong(660ft) long and onechain(66ft) wide; this may have also been understood as an approximation of the amount of land anoxcould plough in one day. Asquareenclosing one acre is approximately 208 feet and 9inches (63.6 metres) on a side. But as a unit of measure an acre has no prescribed shape; any perimeter enclosing 43,560square feet is an acre in size.The acre is often used to express areas of land. In themetric system, thehectareis commonly used for the same purpose. An acre is approximately 40% of a hectare.One acre is 90.75 percent of a 53.33-yard-wideAmerican footballfield. The full field, including the end zones, covers approximately 1.32acres (0.53ha). It may also be remembered as 44,000 square feet, less 1%; or as the product of 66 x 660.

Dome in Sedona areaI was greeted warmly and an even friendlier conversation was begun. I explained that I had seen the house while driving by and wanted to take a closer look. The friendly owner then invited me inside to explain more about it.The invitation was accepted and a very interesting story followed about low building costs, the romance of livingoff gridand a low energy consumption. Towards the sunny side, the south, there was a large window of which a low standing winter sun is capable of shining through, but not a high summer sun. This way the dome house barely required heating during the winter and in summertime, the air conditioning is barely needed. I was astounded by the simplicity of this technique and its results.

"One can live anywhere and incorporate this holistic and beneficial system for living and honoring the earth. Friends and visitors have come for all over the world to see and experience my futuristic way of living. the masonry dome's superior strength offers a balance and blending of today's life style and future integrity.

Dome shaped structures focus life energy into their occupants, thereby positively influencing their lives. Recognizing the fact that not all humans are square shaped, Masonry Domes specializes in building domes as a home alternative, typically on land suited to alternative living. Masonry Domes specializes in wind and solar powered structures, eliminating the need to hook into the power grid.Mason currently lives in an earth friendly solar and wind powered, dome home he built in the Bear Mountain development, Sedona, Arizona.

Click here To E Mail MasonPhone:928-300-7352Address:320 Bear Mountain Rd. Sedona, AZ 86336

CHURCHEShttp://www.monolithic.com/topics/churches

This is a monestery forhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Maitreya_Sangha_Monastery/This group is for the co-ordination and sharing of fundraising activity for H.H. Buddha Maitreya's Monastery Project.

The Church of Shambhala Vajradhara Maitreya Sangha Monastery is a sacred site for H.H. Buddha Maitreya to Bless the Earth and Heal the Nations both in this and future lifetimes.

The layout is a central pyramid surrounded by six domes in the sacred geometry of the Buddha Maitreya Shambhala Star as found in all temples, churches, stupas and holy sites.

The design is built to last a thousand years and will incorporate solar, wind, geothermal, EV's, aquaponics, hydroponics, and Life Extension Programs.

Please visit our fundraising page for further information:http://www.buddhamaitreya.org/projects/monastic_residence

Desert Earthdome in Tucson, AZ

BOTANICAL GARDENS

The Climatrongreenhouse atMissouri Botanical Gardens,built during 1960, inspired the domes in the science fiction movieSilent Running.The Climatron, named for its climate-control technology, stands 70 feet high and 175 feet in diameter. It encompasses a volume of 1.3 million cubic feet, and a ground surface of about 24,000 square feet (more than half an acre). The form of the building was chosen to fit the specific demands of a greenhouse. The Climatron has no interior support and no columns from floor to ceiling, allowing more light and space for plants. Instead, the weight of the dome is carried to the ground on five piers around the perimeter of the circle. The interlocking triangle design helps to distribute weight throughout the dome, allowing it to be lightweight but strong. The original outer structure was made of lightweight aluminum, which resists corrosion, lined by a plastic Plexiglas "skin" suspended below the aluminum framework.I am interested in living in a circular or dome shaped home. I like the idea of not living in a box. I researched the concept and found that there were companies that constructed geodesic and dome homes. The problem came when trying to figure out if a city or county would permit the building of a non-traditional home.Depending where you live in the United States, it could be an uphill fight. Even if you could prove that the home was built to withstand hurricane, fire, or earthquake conditions, it could be denied a permit. If the structure was not in the building codes book or there was no one on staff capable of evaluating the viability, it wasn't going to be built.

by Paolo Solen

If I somehow made it past code enforcement bureaucrats then there would be the neighbors. You can't forget about the NIMBYs, - not in my back yard, city or county people who want to maintain the area as they currently know it. NIMBYs do have the right to speak up about anything that could affect the value in their homes.Home owners certainly should have a say as to the look of their environment or to maintain a stylistic cultural heritage. Yet there are times when NIMBYs can be as dogmatic as a political bureaucrat; no change unless it is in my direct vested interest to do so.Environmentally speaking, holding on to traditional building techniques can be dangerous. No, I'm not talking about climate change.I'm talking about building square and rectangular wood homes in areas know for fires. Or building a home on stilts next to the ocean is not such a good idea. Not to say that you can't build a home near a coastline but the needs of the environment should probably take more precedence than design considerations.Yet we continue to re-build the same old boxes. It is very easy to find video of people vowing to rebuild their homes exactly as they were before the tremblers, tornados and storms of the century. Do we really need to make the same mistakes over and over again?BEAUTIFUL DOME - VIDEO -http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-the-dome-home.html

BOTANICAL GARDENSTheMontreal Biosphre, formerly the American Pavilion ofExpo 67,byR. Buckminster Fuller, onle Sainte-Hlne,Montreal,CanadaWhat Is Sustainable Architecture?According to theLiving with Natureweb site:We define sustainable architecture (often referred to as "green" architecture) as buildings that incorporate materials and practices that, at a minimum, have lower impact on the environment than conventional materials and practices.Sand, Sun and Architecture for Humanity

DOME EXERCISE SPACECarina atCUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities bloggave me a glimpse into why the buildings fell as the did in Haiti:Much of the built environment was lacking structurally sound components. Buildings with too much sand in the concrete mix were the norm. Reinforcement beams were scarce.As a person who lives in earthquake country, I understand about retrofitting, re-enforcement and being aware of a building's composition. You really pay attention when the freeway near you shows a crack or two more than you think necessary. I dont want to imagine a place where human lives were traded for short term financial advantage. Sadly, I dont have to, that is the reality.Carina's focus of her post was on building upon the solar energy potential of Haiti and transitioning from petroleum usages when possible. There is an opportunity to build according to the needs of the island and the environment.Carinas post also introduced me toArchitecture for Humanity.I do not want to make light of the enormous reconstruction that will have to occur in Haiti. Given a choice, a square roof will do much better than no roof at all. There are also governmental pressures and predatory opportunists to contend within the mist of that situation.Still, my heart leans toward the dreamers that create. Maybe we can put some of the questions off to the side and be willing to see a different path. Not a quick fix but a plan that respects the environment, the people and the vision.Im ready. How about you?

Spaceship EarthatEpcot,Walt Disney World, a geodesic sphereEPCOT CENTEROther Readings about Architecture, Design and SustainabilityAnne Thorpe ofDesign Activismwrites about how design can be used to move folks closer to reduced consumption and re-visioning use.Marjanne Pearson atNext Moonblog deals with design ideas as it pertains to architects, engineers and marketing concerns.Gena Haskett is a BlogHer CE. Blogs:Out On

ANOTHER BIOSPHERE CENTERGeodesic domeAgeodesic domeis a spherical or partial-sphericalshell structure or lattice shellbased on a network ofgreat circles(geodesics) lying on the surface of asphere. The geodesics intersect to formtriangularelements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute thestressacross the entire structure. When completed to form a complete sphere, it is known as ageodesic sphere. The term "dome" refers to an enclosed structure and should not be confused with non-enclosed geodesic structures such as geodesic climbers found on playgrounds.Typically the design of a geodesic dome begins with anicosahedroninscribed in a sphere, tiling each triangular face with smaller triangles, then projecting the vertices of each tile to the sphere. The endpoints of the links of the completed sphere would then be the projected endpoints on the sphere's surface. If this is done exactly, each of the edges of the sub-triangles is a slightly different length, so it would require a very large number of links of different sizes. To minimize the number of different sizes of links, various simplifications are made. The result is a compromise consisting of a pattern of triangles with their vertices lying approximately on the surface of the sphere. The edges of the triangles form approximate geodesic paths over the surface of the dome that distribute its weight.Geodesic designs can be used to form any curved, enclosed space. Oddly-shaped designs would require calculating for and custom building of each individual strut, vertex or panelresulting in potentially expensive construction. Because of the expense and complexity of design and fabrication of any geodesic dome, builders have tended to standardize using a few basic designs. STRUCTURED GEODESIC DOME

[edit]Related patternsSimilar non-geodesic structures may be based upon the pattern of edges and vertices of certainplatonic solids, or upon various expansions of these calledJohnson solids. Such structures may be composed of struts of uniform length while having faces other than triangles such as pentagons or squares, or these faces may be subdivided by struts of other than the basic length. Plans and licenses for such structures derived from licenses of the Fuller patents were produced during the 1970s byZomeworks(now a manufacturer ofsolar trackers). Both geodesic and non-geodesic structures can be derived similarly from thearchimedean solidsandcatalan solids.The building of strong stable structures out of patterns of reinforcing triangles is most commonly seen intentdesign. It has been applied in the abstract in otherindustrial design, but even inmanagement scienceand deliberativestructuresas aconceptual metaphor, especially in the work ofStafford Beer, whosetransmigrationmethod is based so specifically on dome design that only fixed numbers of people can take part in the process at eachdeliberationstage.

DOME AS PART OF THE LANDSCAPEHistory

The first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every respect was designed just afterWorld War IbyWalther Bauersfeld,[1]chief engineer of theCarl Zeissoptical company, for aplanetariumto house his new planetarium projector. The dome was patented, constructed by the firm of Dykerhoff and Wydmann on the roof of the Zeiss plant inJena,Germany, and opened to the public in July 1926.[2]Some 30 years later,R. Buckminster Fullernamed the dome "geodesic" from field experiments with artistKenneth SnelsonatBlack Mountain Collegein 1948 and 1949. Snelson and Fuller worked together in developing what they termed "tensegrity," an engineering principle of continuous tension and discontinuous compression that allowed domes to deploy a lightweight lattice of interlocking icosahedrons that could be skinned with a protective cover. Although Fuller was not the original inventor, he developed the intrinsic mathematics of the dome, thereby allowing popularization of the idea for which he received a U.S. patent in 1954.[3]The geodesic dome appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight, its "omnitriangulated" surface provided an inherently stable structure, and because a sphere encloses the greatest volume for the least surface area. Fuller hoped that the geodesic dome would help address the postwar housing crisis. This was consistent with his prior hopes for both versions of theDymaxion House.However, from a practical perspective, geodesic constructions have some disadvantages. They have a very large number of edges in comparison with more conventional structures which have just a few large flat surfaces. Each of the edges must be prevented from leaking, which can be quite challenging for a geodesic structure. Also, spaces enclosed within curved boundaries tend to be less usable than spaces enclosed within flat boundaries. (Since it would be impractical to produce sofas with every possible curved shape, they are normally constructed along straight lines, and so leave wasted space when placed in a curved space.)The dome was successfully adopted for specialized industrial use, such as the 1958Union Tank Car Companydome nearBaton Rouge, Louisianaand specialty buildings like theKaiser Aluminumdomes (constructed in numerous locations across the US, e.g.,Virginia Beach, VA), auditoriums, weather observatories, and storage facilities. The dome was soon breaking records for covered surface, enclosed volume, and construction speed. According to a WAFB-TV ofBaton Rougenews report on November 27, 2007, the Union Tank Car Company Dome has been demolished.Leveraging the geodesic dome's stability, the US Air Force experimented withhelicopter-deliverable units.The dome was introduced to a wider audience as a pavilion for the 1964World's FairinNew York City. This dome is now used as anaviaryby theQueens Zooin Flushing Meadows Corona Park.Another dome is fromExpo 67theMontreal, CanadaWorld's Fairas part of the American Pavilion. The structure's covering later burned, but the structure itself still stands and, under the nameBiosphre,currently houses an interpretivemuseumabout theSaint Lawrence River.During the 1970s, theCinespheredome was built at theOntario Placeamusement park inToronto,Canada. During 1975, a dome was constructed at theSouth Pole, where its resistance to snow and wind loads is important.Residential geodesic domes have been less successful than those used for working and/or entertainment, largely because of their complexity and consequent greater construction costs. Fuller himself lived in a geodesic dome inCarbondale, Illinois, at the corner of Forest and Cherry[1]. Residential domes have not become as popular as Fuller hoped. He thought of residential domes as air-deliverable products manufactured by an aerospace-like industry. Fuller's dome home still exists, and a group called RBF Dome NFP is attempting to restore the dome and have it registered as a National Historic Landmark.

[edit]Chord factorsA geodesic sphere and itsdual.

The mathematical object "chord" of the "geodesic sphere" corresponds to the structural "strut" of the physical "geodesic dome". The general definition of achordis a (straight) line segment joining two points on a curve. For simple geodesic domes we recognize the associated curve to be the surface of a sphere. Here is how chords of geodesic spheres are generated. We first choose an underlyingpolyhedronwith equal triangle faces. The regularicosahedronis most popular. The sphere we use is specifically the "circumscribing sphere" that contains the points (vertices) of the underlying polyhedron. The desiredfrequencyof the subsequent geodesic sphere or dome is the number of parts or segments into which a side (edge) of the underlying polyhedral triangle is subdivided. The frequency has historically been denoted by the Greek letter "" (nu). By connecting like points along the subdivided sides we produce a natural triangular grid of segments inside each underlying triangle face. Each segment of the grid is then projected as a "chord" onto the surface of the circumscribing sphere. The technical definition of achord factoris the ratio of the chord length to the radius of the circumscribing sphere. It is therefore convenient to think of the circumscribing sphere as scaled to radius = 1 in which "chord factors" are the same as "chord lengths" (decimal numbers less than one).For geodesic spheres a well-known formula for calculating any "chord factor" ischord factor = 2 Sin ( / 2)whereis the corresponding angle of arc for the given chord, that is, the "central angle" spanned by the chord with respect to the center of the circumscribing sphere. Determining the central angle usually requires some non-trivialspherical geometry.InGeodesic Math and How to Use ItHugh Kennerwrites, "Tables of chord factors, containing as they do the essential design information for spherical systems, were for many years guarded like military secrets. As late as 1966, some 3icosa figures fromPopular Science Monthlywere all anyone outside the circle of Fuller licensees had to go on." (page 57, 1976 edition). Other tables became available with publication of Lloyd Kahn'sDomebook 1(1970) andDomebook 2(1971). With advent of personal computers, the mathematics became more solvable. Rick Bono'sDomesoftware outputs a script that can be used with thePOV-rayraytraceto produce 3D pictures of domes. Domes based on the frameworks of different underlying polyhedra along with various methods for subdividing them will produce quite different results. Mathematical formulas developed by Peter W. Messer for calculating chord factors anddihedral anglesfor the general geodesic sphere appear in the Appendix of the 1999 Dover edition ofSpherical ModelsbyMagnus J. Wenninger.

Inside theEden Projecttropicalbiome[edit]Methods of construction

Construction details of a permanently installed tent-type geodesic dome byBuckminster Fuller.

THIS PICTURE GAVE ME SO MANY IDEAS. (BIG SMILES HERE)Wooden domes have a hole drilled in the width of a strut. A stainless steel band locks the strut's hole to a steel pipe. With this method, the struts may be cut to the exact length needed. Triangles of exterior plywood are then nailed to the struts. The dome is wrapped from the bottom to the top with several stapled layers of tar paper, in order to shed water, and finished with shingles. This type of dome is often called a hub-and-strut dome because of the use of steel hubs to tie the struts together.Panelized domes are constructed of separately-framed timbers covered in plywood. The three members comprising the triangular frame are often cut at compound angles in order to provide for a flat fitting of the various triangles. Holes are drilled through the members at precise locations and steel bolts then connect the triangles to form the dome. These members are often 2x4's or 2x6's, which allow for more insulation to fit within the triangle. The panelized technique allows the builder to attach the plywood skin to the triangles while safely working on the ground or in a comfortable shop out of the weather. This method does not require expensive steel hubs.Temporary greenhouse domes have been constructed by stapling plastic sheeting onto a dome constructed from one-inch square beams. The result is warm, movable by hand in sizes less than 20 feet, and cheap. It should be staked to the ground to prevent it being moved by wind.Steel-framework domes can be easily constructed of electrical conduit. One flattens the end of a strut and drills bolt holes at the needed length. A single bolt secures a vertex of struts. The nuts are usually set with removable locking compound, or if the dome is portable, have a castle nut with a cotter pin. This is the standard way to construct domes for jungle-gyms.Concrete and foam plastic domes generally start with a steel framework dome, wrapped with chicken wire and wire screen for reinforcement. The chicken wire and screen is tied to the framework with wire ties. A coat of material is then sprayed or molded onto the frame. Tests should be performed with small squares to achieve the correct consistency of concrete or plastic. Generally, several coats are necessary on the inside and outside. The last step is to saturate concrete or polyester domes with a thin layer of epoxy compound to shed water.Some concrete domes have been constructed from prefabricated, prestressed, steel-reinforced concrete panels that can be bolted into place. The bolts are within raised receptacles covered with little concrete caps to shed water. The triangles overlap to shed water. The triangles in this method can be molded in forms patterned in sand with wooden patterns, but the concrete triangles are usually so heavy that they must be placed with a crane. This construction is well-suited to domes because there is no place for water to pool on the concrete and leak through. The metal fasteners, joints and internal steel frames remain dry, preventing frost and corrosion damage. The concrete resists sun and weathering. Some form of internal flashing or caulking must be placed over the joints to prevent drafts. The 1963Cinerama Domewas built fromprecast concretehexagons and pentagons.In 1986 a patent for a dome construction technique involving EPS triangles laminated to reinforced concrete on the outside, and wallboard on the inside was awarded to American Ingenuity of Rockledge Florida. The construction technique allows the domes to be prefabricated in kit form and erected by a homeowner. This method makes the seams into the strongest part of the structure, where the seams and especially the hubs in most wooden-framed domes are the weakest point in the structure. It also has the advantage of being watertight.Largest geodesic dome structuresMany geodesic domes built are still in use. According to the Buckminster Fuller Institute,[4]the world's ten largest geodesic domes are Fantasy Entertainment Complex:Kyosho Isle, Japan, 710ft (216 m)[2] Multi-Purpose Arena:Nagoya, Japan, 614ft (187 m)[3] Tacoma Dome:Tacoma, Washington, USA, 530ft (161.5 m) Superior Dome:Northern Michigan University.Marquette, Michigan, USA, 525ft (160 m)[4] Walkup Skydome:Northern Arizona University.Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 502ft (153 m)[5] Round Valley High School Stadium:Springerville-Eagar, AZ, USA, 440ft (134 m) FormerSpruce GooseHangar:Long Beach, California, USA, 415ft (126 m) Formosa Plastics Storage Facility:Mai Liao, Taiwan, 402ft (122 m) Union Tank Car Maintenance Facility:Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, 384ft (117) m (Demolished in November 2007.)[6] Union Lehigh Portland Cement Storage Facility:Union Bridge, Maryland, USA, 374ft (114 m)See also Dome Concrete dome Cloud nine (Tensegrity sphere) Domed city Fullerenes, molecules which resemble the geodesic dome structure Hoberman sphere Monolithic dome Radome Silent Running1972 science fiction film prominently featuring geodesic domes. SindomeAn online Cyberpunk RPG that takes place in a giant geodesic dome. Space frames Stepan Center Shell structure Gridshell Truss Synergetics Geodesic tents Pentakis dodecahedron Truncated icosahedron[edit]References4.Geodesic DomesFuller invented the Geodesic Dome in the late 1940s to demonstrate some ideas about housing and ``energetic-synergetic geometry'' which he had developed during WWII. This invention built on his two decade old quest to improve the housing of humanity. It represents a brilliant demonstration of his synergetics principles; and in the right circumstances it could solve some of the pressing housing problems of today (a housing crisis which Fuller predicted back in 1927).

4.1What is a geodesic dome?[From Robert T. Bowers' paper on Domes last posted to GEODESIC in 1989.]A geodesic dome is a type of structure shaped like a piece of a sphere or a ball. This structure is comprised of a complex network of triangles that form a roughly spherical surface. The more complex the network of triangles, the more closely the dome approximates the shape of a true sphere[sic].By using triangles of various sizes, a sphere can be symmetrically divided by thirty-one great circles. A great circle is the largest circle that can be drawn around a sphere, like the lines of latitude[ED: he means longitude]around the earth, or the equator. Each of these lines divide the sphere into two halves, hence the term geodesic, which is from the Latin meaning ``earth dividing.''[From Mitch Amiano]The dome is a structure with the highest ratio of enclosed area to external surface area, and in which all structural members are equal contributors to the whole. There are many sizes of triangles in a geodesic [ED: dome], depending on the frequency of subdivision of the underlying spherical polyhedron. The cross section of a geodesic [ED: dome] approximates a great-circle line.Do domes really weigh less than their component materials?[From Pat Salsbury]Well, the structures weigh less when completed because of the air-mass inside the dome. When it's heated warmer than the outside air, it has a net lifting effect (like a hot-air balloon).This is almost unnoticeable in smaller structures, like houses, but, as with other things about geodesics, being as they're based upon spheres, the effect increases geometrically with size. So you'd be able to notice it in a sports stadium, and a sphere more than a half mile in diameter would be able to float in the air with only a 1 degree F difference in temperature!What about underground concrete domes?[From Randy Burns.]Underground concrete domes are rather interesting1) They can use chemical sealing and landscaping to avoid leakage problems associated with wooden domes.2) They areextremelystrong. Britz[seeDome Referencesfor more on Britz]has obtained extremely low insurance rates on his structures. The insurance company tested one building by driving a D8 Caterpillar tractor on top of the house!3) There's little hassle involved in dealing with materials that were really standardized for use building boxes. The only specialized tools are the forms, everything else can easily be used off the shelf.4) They can be quite aesthetic. Britz has shown that you can build developments where the houses can't really see each other.5) They arecheapand easy to heat, cheap enough that you can build a much larger structure than you might using conventional housing and use standard room divider technology to split the thing up into room.What are geotangent domes?[Keyed in by Patrick G. Salsbury.]The following is quoted from ``Scientific American'' in the September 1989 issue. (Pages 102-104)Surpassing the Buck (Geometry decrees a new dome)``I started with the universe--as an organization of energy systems of which all our experiences and possible experiences are only local instances. I could have ended up with a pair of flying slippers.'' -R. Buckminster FullerBuckminster Fuller never did design a pair of flying slippers. Yet he became famous for an invention that seemed almost magical: the geodesic dome, an assemblage of triangular trusses that grows stronger as it grows larger. Some dispute that Fuller originated the geodesic dome; inScience a la Mode, physicist and author Tony Rothman argues that the Carl Zeiss Optical Company built and patented the first geodesic dome in Germany during the 1920's. Nevertheless, in the wake of Fuller's 1954 patent, thousands of domes sprung up as homes and civic centers--even as caps on oil-storage tanks. Moreover, in a spirit that Fuller would have heartily applauded, hundreds of inventors have tinkered with dome designs, looking for improved versions. Now one has found a way to design a completely different sort of dome.In May, J. Craig Yacoe, a retired engineer, won patent number 4,825,602 for a ``geotangent dome,'' made up of pentagons and hexagons, that promises to be more versatile that its geodesic predecessor. Since Fuller's dome is based on a sphere, cutting it anywhere but precisely along its equator means that the triangles at the bottom will tilt inward or outward. In contrast, Yacoe's dome, which has a circular base, follows the curve of an ellipsoid. Builders can consequently pick the dimensions they need, Yacoe Says. And his design ensures that the polygons at the base of his dome always meet the ground at right angles, making it easier to build than a geodesic dome. He hopes these features will prove a winning combination.Although Fuller predicted that a million domes would be built by the mid-1980's, the number is closer to 50,000. Domes are nonetheless still going up in surprising places. A 265-foot-wide geodesic dome is part of a new pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Florida. A bright blue 360-foot-high dome houses a shopping center in downtown Ankara, Turkey. Stockholm, Sweden, boasts a 280-foot-high dome enclosing a new civic center.Dome design is governed by some basic principles. A sphere can be covered with precisely 20 equilateral triangles; for a geodesic dome, those triangles are carved into smaller ones of different sizes. But to cover a sphere or ellipsoid with various sizes of pentagons and hexagons required another technique, Yacoe says.Yacoe eventually realized that he could build a dome of polygonal panels guided by the principle that one point on each side of every panel had to be tangent to (or touch) an imaginary circumscribed dome. With the assistance of William E. Davis, a retired mathematician, he set out to describe the problem mathematically.They began with a ring of at least six congruent pentagons wrapped around the equator of an imaginary ellipse. The task: find the lengths of the sides and the interior angles of the polygons that form the next ring.To do so for an ellipsoidal dome, they imagined inscribing an ellipse inside each polygon. Each ellipse touched another at one point; at these points, the sides of the polygons would also be tangent to a circumscribed ellipsoid. But where, precisely, should the points be located? Yacoe and Davis guessed, then plugged the numbers into equations that describe ellipses and intersecting planes. Aided by a personal computer, they methodically tested many guesses until the equations balanced. Using the tangent points, Yacoe and Davis could then calculate the dimensions and interior angles of the corresponding polygons and so build the next ring of the dome.After receiving the patent, Yacoe promptly set up a consulting firm to license his patents. He says dome-home builders have shown considerable interest, as has Spitz, Inc., a maker of planetariums located near Yacoe in Chadds Ford, Pa. Yacoe has also proposed that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration consider a geotangent structure as part of a space station. -E.C.What are the advantages (and disadvantages) of Dome [email protected] (Alan Semon) writes:>I was once interested in the idea of living in a geodesic dome home and,>to the best of my recollection, these are some of the advantages:>>1. Heating and cooling the home become more efficient due to the fact>that there are fewer (even no) corners where heat may be trapped. The>overall air flow in a dome is substantially better than in a>conventionally constructed home (straight walls and such).> ...and there is less surface area per square foot of living space = lessheat loss.

>2. Many dome home designs allow the option of using larger lumber for>the dome. 2x6's or 2x8's instead of the usual 2x4's, although this is>an option in ANY home, it seems to be more commonly done in dome home>construction.>Although for many areas of the US, there is no financial advantage tousing 2x6 construction. A dome with R-14 throughout can outperform awell insulated conventional house of comparable S/F.

>3. For those solar minded people, the placement of the solar collectors>on the ``roof'' is less critical due to the curved nature of the top of>the structure.>>4. The inherent strength of the dome makes it suitable for either>earth-bermed or even earth covered construction techniques. In the case>of more common construction techniques, the structural members'>dimensions usually need to be completely reworked in order to carry the>extra weight.>>5. Hell, they _LOOK_ pretty neat! This might be a problem in certain>areas which one of those laws which say that all homes in an area _MUST_>conform to certain guidelines concerning their architecture (bummer,>huh? :-)).

-jg[Based in part on a Brewer Eddy post]The curved walls in a dome require either custom furnishings, 100% prefab design, or an ``open spaces'' approach. Each of these would be an advantage or disadvantage in one person's eyes or another's.Mass producing domes is easy, greatly reduces the cost and could solve many of the housing shortage problems worldwide (especially emergency housing needs).How to use solar panels in domes?[Kerri Brochard][From Tom Dosemagen]I have a dome and tried to find solar panels to be installed on the dome. I had no luck finding such a beast so I installed 320 square feet of panels on the ground close to the dome and ran all connections under ground into the basement. I live in south central Wisconsin and my experience with solar is not the greatest. My system works fine, but in order for the system to work the sun has to shine. That doesn't happen a lot here until late February or early March. My advice to people in our part of country is to take the money you were going to spend on solar and invest it. Then take your interest money and pay for conventional heat. My dome is 44 feet in diameter and with a 90% efficient furnace and my total heating bill for one season is right around $350.00. My exterior walls are framed with 2x6's. With thicker dome walls I'm sure that I could lower my heating costs by quite a bit.4.2Dome Math: What you've all been waiting for!!!Dome Theory[From Kirby Urner.]The edges of a geodesic dome arenotall the same length. The angstrom measurements between neighboring carbon atoms in a fullerene are likewise not equal.Domes come in three Classes (I, II and III). The classification system has to do with laying an equilateral triangle down on a grid of smaller equilateral triangles, lining up corners with corners -- either aligning the triangle with the grid (I), turning it 90 degrees to bisect grid triangles (II), or rotating it discretely to have it cut skewly across the grid (III).20 of these triangles make an icosahedron which is then placed within a circumscribing sphere. The vertexes of the triangles' internal points, defined by the grid pattern, define radii with the circumscribing sphere's center. By pushing each vertex further out along the segments so defined, until each is made equidistant from the center, an omnitriangulated geodesic sphere is formed (orthonormal projection I think cartographers call this). Again, resulting surface edge lengths are not all the same length. The resulting mesh will always contain 12 sets of 5 triangles organized into pentagons, the rest into hexagons.The Class I version of the algorithm above always creates 20F^2 surface facets where F=1 gives the icosahedron itself. The external point population will be 10F^2+2. Since points plus facets = edges plus 2 (Euler), you will get 30F^2 edges. F is what Fuller called the Frequency of the geodesic sphere and, in the Class I case, corresponds to the number of grid intervals along any one of the 20 triangle edges.Note: ``buckyballs'' in the sense of ``fullerenes'' are not omnitriangulated (the edges internal to the 12 pentagons and n hexagons have been removed) and come in infinitely more varieties than the above algorithm allows. The above algorithm is limited to generating point groups with icosahedral symmetry -- a minority of the fullerenes are symmetrical in this way, although C60, the most prevalent, is a derivative of the Class I structure.[From Ben Williams]Andrew Norris writes:>1/ Given a dodecahedron with the edges of length unity, what is> the radius of the sphere that would enclose this body?>>2/ For the above case, construct each pentagon out of triangles.> What are the angles required so that new center-node of the> pentagon just touches the enclosing sphere?This is just a 2 frequency (what-is-referred-to-in-Domebook II-as) triacon geodesic sphere. Funny you should mention that: Back in June when I first discovered this newsgroup, I got reinterested in my old hobby of building mathematical models (and R B Fuller as well). So I went through the laborious process of calculating the strut lengths to build a 2v triacon sphere (what you just described above) out of toothpicks. I have it hanging up over my monitor right now. I wish I could show how I used geometry and such to figure all the necessary lengths out. What I do is start out with a drawing of a dodecahedron projected onto a plane -- if it is oriented correctly, you will get a 2-d figure that you can use to deduce the information you want from it. (To get this figure, think of a dodecahedron made out of struts (such as toothpicks) standing on one of its edges on a sheet of paper out in the sun with the sun directly overhead. The shadow on the paper will be this figure.) These are the lengths I derivedE = length of edge of dodecahedron Distance of edge of dodecahedron from center:Er = ( (3 + sqrt(5))/4 ) * E1/2 distance between non-adjacent vertices of face of dodecahedron:b = ( (sqrt(5)+1)/4 ) * Egiven a face of dodecahedron, distance between vertex and opposite edge:h = ( ( sqrt(5 + 2*sqrt(5)) ) / 2 ) * Edistance from center of dodecahedron to one of its vertices (your question 1):R = sqrt((9 + 3*sqrt(5))/8) * Egiven a face of dodecahedron, distance from its center to an edge:l = b/h * Erdistance from center of face of dodecahedron to center of dodecahedron:m = Er/h * Ergiven face of dodecahedron, distance from center to vertex:t = h-llength of one of those struts going from a vertex of dodecahedron up to point above center of face but on the enclosing sphere:S = sqrt(t^2 + (R-m)^2)Now, to derive the angles of one of those triangles whose side lengths I have just determined, you would need to do this:A1 = 2 * arcsin ((E/2)/S)This is the angle of the top corners of the 5 triangles which are arched above one of the faces of the dodecahedron. My calculator gives me this angle in degrees: 67.66866319 Notice it is slightly less than the 72 degrees it would be if they were flat on the face of the dodecahedron. Now the other two angles of each of the triangles are simply derived via:A2 and A3 = (180 - A1) / 2I get a value of 56.1656684 degrees for these two angles.What are the basics of Spherical Trigonometry? On Sat, 18 Dec 1993 03:11:53 GMT said: >Hey all, > A while back I asked about calculating chord factors. I found the >equation that without which I don't think I could have done it (by the way I >was successful)-- it's a formula for calculating w/any spherical right >triangle. The formula is sin a = sin A * sin c. > A > / | > c / |b > / | > / | > B--a--C >I'm sure you're all familiar w/it, but is there any other equation that would >be just as helpful. This is by Napier's rules. Here is Napier's circle: c-c A-c B-c b awhere -c means the complement (or 90 degrees - (minus) the arclength measure). A, B are angles, C is the right angle and a, b, c are the sides opposite A, B, and C, respectively. There are two rules:Rule 1:The sine of any unknown part is equal to the product of the cosines of the two known opposite parts. Or sin = cos * cos of the OPPOSITE parts.Rule 2:The sine of any unknown part is equal to the product of the tangents of its two known adjacent parts. Or sin = tan * tan of the ADJACENT parts.Your formula is the same because ``c-c''=90-c and sin(90-c)=cos(c). Examples: sin(b)=tan(A-c)tan(a) or sin(b)=cos(c-c)cos(B-c).>> Steve MatherChris FearnleyTempes Historic BuildingsThis building is part of a trend in banking after World War II to open banks close to customers and to offer services like drive-up windows. The buildings design also suggests that the bank is stable, accessible, forward-looking, and Arizona-based (by using local building materials).The geodesic panel dome on the bank dates from 1962 and the credited architects Weaver and Drover.According to Frank Henry, who worked for Weaver and Drover and who briefly worked on this Valley National Bank building, the idea of using the geodesic dome came from Valley National Bank.Not only because it was stylish and futuristic and cool, but because it was an efficient means to build a branch bank; create a free-span space inside and a distinctive profile outside, visible from the street.The building is one of a decreasing number of original geodesic domes in the United States.These last domes stand as the tangible legacy of Buckminster Fuller, whose geodesic dome was, and is, a completely revolutionary construction technique.According to a June 20, 1962 VNB publicity release:The golden dome on the Valley National Banks new Tempe Office rises three-quarters of an inch during heat of the day, contracting again in the cooling night hours.Luminous ceiling above the 2600 square foot lobby is hung with thousands of wafer-thin aluminum leaves each turned to a precise angle.Special lighting protection for the metal-roof structure was included in specifications by architects Weaver & Drover Despite its graceful, light appearance, Valley Banks dome weighs several tons and possesses impressive structural strength.In tests, geodesic designs have supported more than 100 pounds per square foot and withstood hurricane winds of 125 miles per hour.In erecting the dome, more than 100 pre-shaped panels were fastened together with special bolts in a series of ever-widening circles around a central tower.The roof was lifted slightly as each new ring of panels was added.When the entire dome was assembled, it was lowered into place onto permanent supports and the tower removed. A critical factor in the domes erection was accuracy in planning and placing the bearing points, which hold full weight of the 90-foot span.These and concrete arches between were cast in place with custom-built forms Self-supporting feature of geodesic construction eliminated need for support columns or weight-bearing walls inside the bank.All walls in the building are curtain walls except for the vault, which is virtually a separate building in itself.Constructed blockhouse fashion, the vault has 12-inch thick reinforced concrete walls, floor and ceiling.Between support piers, eyebrow-shaped arches curve to a height of 13 feet.Spaces here are enclosed with native stone, porcelain and quarter-inch thick glare-reducing glass.The building was razed to make room for expansion of the ASU campus. They promised to save the dome, but the many other architectural features were destroyed.OTHER EXAMPLES AND INTERIORS

Inside the bank at Tempe, AZ

TOUGH HOUSE: A 'dome home' in Pensacola, Fla. can withstand up to 300 mph hurricane winds. (Photo:Monolithic)