This Site is for the Introduction of Housing and A. T.& Sustainable Systems in Latin Countries, for Earthquake and Hurricane Resistance.

Soon as we get a chance we will be Constructing Models In El Salvador.. It will be after July, 2008.

 This has been on going since 1977, when I first became involved in Sustainable Systems, Solar Applications, {First Solar House NCSU 1980} Co-operative Techniques and Urban and Rural Activism, and has been a Long Sought Dream of Mine to Implement this type of Project.

After being first introduced to Geodesic Structures outside of Raleigh, where I lived and was going to Design School at NCSU, and where Mr. Fuller had Erected Various Structures, the Applications for Third World use did not become apparent until I started Traveling South of the Border to Surf, first in 1977, and then Experiencing my first earthquake not long afterwards. This inexpensive type of housing makes sense, Common Sense {Sentido Comun  However, with specific Building Materials available, specifically BAMBOO, and after seeing the many uses of Bamboo in Asia, well this wonderful God given  material seems perfect for Structural Loading and the type of Stress imposed on a Dwelling such as this, a Geodesic Dome  is PERFECT.

With many available types of coverings, from Thatch, Woven Bamboo, Fiberglass Panels, or other preformed panels  and even Gunnite, or Ferro-Cement  Imposed on chicken wire, the cost of a Structure such as this is variable, and the Costs can be Arranged to the Finances of the person/s that will Occupy  the Structure.

With the ready made Structure which an opening for the use of wood cooking fires, and then the gradual addition of bio-gas from composting , the design parameters are endless and only limited by ones creative juices.

This single photo is of a dome, taken here in Myrtle Beach at a playground, the diameter is approximately 20 Feet, so at Pi R Squared, the Inside living area is about  320 sq. ft. Quite suitable for livestock or small family at a nominal costs for struts and cover from simple locally available materials.

Play Ground Myrtle Beach  Perfect size for livestock.

N C Fair Grounds Since 1975  [Approx. 40 '  D.]

As the construction of these domes becomes a production assembly, the ease and rapidness of having a dry, sturdy structure, where it does not collapse during earthquakes, is well, you say what it becomes. A Good Thing.

Take a 40 foot Diameter dome, with 4-5 Ft  Bamboo Struts, this becomes a livable area of  1300 S.F. The Time frame to build is less than a week with a community effort in a rural, indigenous population, or even in an Urban Area such as New Orleans, devastated by Floods, Domes can be Constructed Rapidly and Cheaply.

With an Injection Molded Hub or production Assembly Welded Hub, these Domes can be Assembled quickly and fairly easily, with Existing Mathematical Formulae.

Amazing Facts about Domes

Domes are the most efficient structures known to man, they use less material, are lighter and stronger than any other type of building bar none.

Domes use much less material than conventional buildings but are miles stronger.

To enclose the same volume you would need 30% more material and loads more structural metal/wood in a square building.

If you built any other structure using only the skin as support it would simply fall down!

Because domes have at least 30% less surface area than other shaped buildings it takes at least 30% less energy to heat or cool them.

Yes the same size building with the same volume and the same thickness insulation takes at least 30% more energy to heat or cool just because it’s not dome shaped.

 Long thin building and building with extensions perform worst of all.

Domes are naturally hurricane resistant. {Tract style buildings generate huge amounts of turbulence when high winds pass over them, causing massive low-pressure witch sucks the roof off. }

High winds can pass smoothly over a dome because it has no corners and flat surfaces to cause turbulence high pressure air presses the dome down towards the ground.

Domes are not a new invention. The Pantheon, one of the most impressive buildings in Rome, was built in A.D. 117-125 it’s made from an early type of concrete.

Igloos may have been around far longer but it’s impossible to tell as the Inuit community was isolated from the rest of the world, and believed themselves the only people in the world until the beginning of the 19th century.

 Domes only become super strong when they are fixed to the ground.

{Try this simple experiment: Cut a ping-pong ball in half to form a dome, you will notice that each half is floppy and distorts easily. Now glue one half to a flat peace of cardboard and see how much stronger it becomes.}

Domes have acoustic qualities like no other building.

 {If you lay on the floor in the centre of a dome when you talk it sounds like you have your head in a large metal pipe, if you stand at on side of a dome a person standing opposite can hear you whisper from the other side of the room.}

Buckminster fuller, the inventor of the geodesic dome designed geodesic spheres that when filled with warm air could float around the earth housing hundreds of people. They would be half a mile in diameter and a rise of just a few degrees in temperature could make them float like huge airships.

Some of the largest buildings in the world are domes

London’s Millennium Dome and the Eden Domes were record breakers when they were built. The Miyazaki Ocean Dome in Japan is known as the world''s largest indoor water park (300m-100m-38m). The Georgia Dome is the largest cable-supported domed stadium in the world it covers 8.9 acres and covers 1.6 million square feet on seven levels. The 290-foot high roof is composed of 130 Teflon-coated fiberglass panels - covering 8.6 acres.

The R. Buckminster Fuller FAQ

Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines.
  - R. Buckminster Fuller

Geo Dome Basic  Plans, Calculations and Diagrams

Dome Formulas

Bamboo Domes

Kirby addresses Wanderers @ Pauling House   I delivered this talk about design science, Buckminster Fuller etc. sometime soon after the movie 'Die Another Day' was released first run in local Portland malls,   Here's a relevant entry in my blog: http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2005/11/google-gets-video.html  My focus is polyhedra per Fuller's nested hierarchy and applications in architecture, per Jay Baldwin's pillow dome.

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