Nowadays, many people are turning to alternative ways of housing, to create their practical, innovative, and money-saving spaces for living.

The following home idea is beneficial in numerous ways, it creates less mess and waste, it is transportable, and can be easily modified and personalized. We present the “dome house”, which can be built for $3500 for starters.

It is the greenest way to build ever invented, it uses air as formwork, and highly efficient building envelopes, which are strong and flexible in shape and size.

The inexpensive building method was pioneered by Architect Dr. Dante Bini in 1964, and it was the first one to utilize air pressure to lift and shape reinforced concrete shell structures poured at ground level.

Nicoló, his son, further developed it. He explained that these small bubble-shaped structures are meant to be permanent homes, and have survived extreme conditions like ash, lava, and earthquakes on Mount Etna for 50 years.

The younger Bini revives the method to provide low-cost housing for refugees and displaced people, but these buildings can also be residential, commercial, recreational, resort, and educational, built for storage or as emergency shelters.

He says:

“With 25% of the world’s population living in sub-standard shelters, this is where we feel we can have the most impact.”

More than 1,600 of these structures have been built in 23 countries around the world, ranging from ones 120 feet in diameter to small bungalows built in developing countries.

The “binishells” are constructed with inflatable concrete. The work starts from ground level and then you slowly build the layers of the walls, and adds a load of concrete to create the domes, with the help of an air bladder that is deflated when the building is done.

A pneumoform is inflated and then steel rebar is put around its shape, which serves as structural reinforcement for the later structure.

Next, concrete is poured all over the entire structure to harden over it, and then you can wind up with steel-reinforced concrete in the shape of the balloon.

The house can be of various shapes, round, bubbly-shaped, or made in a simple and tiny residential-style. Domes of up to 40m (120ft.) have been elevated in less than an hour using less than 1 PSI of pressure.

Moreover, they are built fast, and all the materials are available and simple. The balloon, “pneumoform”, is reusable.

Bini explains:

“Aside from some special additives, our concrete mix can be sourced locally almost anywhere. Similarly our reinforcement is the same rebar you find sitting on the shelf of supply stores around the world.”

Yet, one needs to be experienced in working with rebar and concrete.

If you need more details or other options and ideas for these fancy dome houses, visit the Building Homes and Living directory.

So, are you interested?

Sources:
www.goodshomedesign.com
offgridquest.com
inhabitat.com
www.wired.com/2014/07