Nice video with solar punk-y vibes, might be interesting to someone else. :)
This is a fascinating project but I’m always frustrated when they don’t share the formulation of their materials. Looks like a lot of reinforcement. A major downside to modular geodesic construction is the number of seams that invite leakage over time. A more monolithic application of a slower-setting material over a frame would be preferable to me.
Having experimented with a lot of concrete composites I’m always looking for the sweet spots of frugality, obtainablity, practically. This appears to be some geopolymer or magnesium cement -fairly exotic materials for me. Geopolymers often require a strong alkali to set. Not a huge fan of Portland, but at least it’s obtainable and relatively inexpensive for sustainable use cases.
A fascinating take on an old idea. I wish they’d spent more time covering the economics of mass producing these things.
When I grow up I want to be a dome
Of you’re American, odds are good you’re well on the way.
This is such neat technology. Fuller’s ideas were revolutionary, and we can appreciate the pioneers - there are several Fuller domes across the world, including homes in CA - the materials science of this is exciting.
It’d be nice to see a discussion of the challenges, as well. Maintenance, and wear. Do the panels need to be replaced? What’s the repair process look like, inside and out? When the house gets hit by a storm of fist-sized hail, or when those 300MPH winds drive a 2x2 through the wall, what does the repair look like? If your kid knocks a hole in one of the interior panels, what does the repair look like?
How do they envision joining domes, or are living spaces constrained by the size of the dome? How will internal structures be anchored - or in the big, multi-room domes, will all the walls be free-standing? How much do those windows cost, compared to standard windows?
Traditional home owners have to deal with all of these questions; I love the vision and the style, and I don’t have to be sold on the benefits of Bucky Domes. I’d be interested in the TCO over 20 years.
I once looked at a Fuller dome house in California, built with wood, built back in the 70’s. It was wood-built, and the materials make a huge difference, but the repair costs to get it livable were similar to tearing it down and building a traditional house in its place. I’d want to know how these new materials hold up over time.
Yeah, one thing I was also wondering when watching the video is the open porus nature of these bioceramic panels. In sufficiently humid areas it will probably allow algae and lichen to grow very well, and with the dome shape you can pretty much forget about easily cleaning most of it with a high pressure cleaner.
Good points, but who knows? That’s why I’d like to see more discussion about the challenges. I get that this is essentially an ad, or a fluff piece if you’d rather. And I don’t begrudge them that - it’s a compelling story! I’d simply like to see them addressing some of the potential issues, any longevity testing, stuff like that.
Like, rather than being negative about it, I’m excited enough to be interested in the next level, which is maintenance and TCO. I mean, ideally, we’re building these and living in them for multiple generations, right? There are houses in Germany that people have been living in continuously for longer than the USA has existed. How do these materials hold up over time?
Kinda odd combination of fancy 3D renderers and a guy living in a tent 😅 But cool video never the less.
