The foam is a very effective insulator, and fire resistant. The problems associated with this foam and heat are that it is fire resistant not fireproof… which is why it is on the outside of flame proof concrete. Great White concert was foamed on the inside… not good for pyrotechnics.

Monolithic domes are very tightly sealed, thanks to the layered uniform surfaces. This combined with the round shape are the other reasons that it insulates from heat transfer so well. Everyone agrees that better sealed windows and doors and more effective insulation reduces the draw on your heat pump and air cooling ventilation machines. Normal houses are built from several materials forming joints with each other… this is where you have to use a lot of caulk to form a tight weather seal… because the different materials expand and contract at different rates, creating gaps.

For inexpensive dome homes, check out the ECONODOME.com prices starting at $4000 for the frame. I have seen home plans advertised for that much… this is the actual frame sent to you pre cut. This dome uses an all wood joint solution, which creates fewer gaps because it is a uniform material (expanding and contracting at the same rate). You can have attractive shingles on these domes, and they do make composite shakes. You can also add extensions to the sides of the dome to make it more visually similar to neighboring homes.

With a honeycomb floor plan, you can have 6 rooms surrounding a central area (great hall and stairwell), with each room having a pair of 90 degree angles and three obtuse angles. Most rooms have one corner occupied by the door anyway. The feel of these rooms is less confining… picture your normal square room opening up into 5 walls… yes you get an extra wall! So now you can have a bed there, a sofa there, a closet, flat screen tv, and a large patio door or window, and nothing is facing each other in a forced symmetry.

I would personally want to see a new breed of architecture, where the bulk of the home is dug into the ground, away from the harsh weather, and reducing the need for footings and insulation. The top can be capped off with a dome covered in grass, with openings utilizing large aquatecture skylights. Could be a massive fortress under the guise of a hobbit home.

Why not try a novel idea and create dwellings that utilize Buckminster Fuller’s ‘Octet Truss’ as the wall, ceiling, floor and roof superstructure elements ? If I’m not mistaken… airplane hangers regluarly withstand hurriacne force winds, and they use ‘space frame’ superstructure elements to support their superwide, clearspan, roofs ? Well ‘Octet Trusses’ are stronger than space frames, and they can be used for vertical pylons as well as roof & floor framing. So why not give it a shot ? Hey … these designs could be an ‘erecetor sets’ for adults !

The Octet Truss combines alterating tetrahedrons and octahedrons… made from 90º angle bent, ‘L’ shaped, (aluminum) struts, bolted together, to create a super lighgtweight, yet superstrong ‘skeleton’. Additionally, any forces or loads impacting Octet Trusses are bourne equally by every member of the ‘skelton’ ! So they’re like spider webs…. super strong and super lightweight.

At the 1934 World’s Fair, in Chicago, there was a fascinating House Designed and erected by George and Fred Keck. It was called the ‘Crystal House’… and it used what appears to be a system of 3 welded together, open web steel joists (Truscon O-T Joists ? ) to form 3 sided, hollow, vertical vertical pylons that were located on the exterior of the house. The These outer edge plyons(hollow ‘piers) could easily be fabricated from Octet Truss parts, which would then seamlessly make 90º connections with floor and roof spanning (also fabricated from Octet Truuses) … to create a super strong skeleton to be clad with various panelized elements. (They Octete Truss elements could also be welded, or riveted, together)

So HEY ! All you Architects out there! Get busy ! Start designing dwellings that are Octet Trusses clad with a variety of suitable materials. (What about wall panels made from recycled plastic ? They’d never have to be painted, and would never rot or support mold.)

Synergetically…