Category: Retreat Architecture

The follow-up letter from Mosby and the addition from JWR both list some of the reasons I specifically excluded geodesic domes (twice) in my Dome Homes as Survival Retreats article. They are usually of conventional materials (wood, plywood) in non-conventional (non-square) angles and shapes; thus things like using regular shingles on the roof (more of the structure) which is full of angles is going to be difficult and likely cause problems (leaks). Also, a geodesic dome, which is made up of many flat geometric shapes coming together to approximate a dome, does not really offer the strength of a pure …

Mr. Rawles For the do it yourselfers, I have built several safe shelters (used until needed as storage) based on the sandbag construction to make small domes. A great link to the concept is http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm. The construction is quite simple (easy would be the wrong word because the dirt work is just that WORK, but we all need to drop a few fat pounds. I used as a cover outside the method called papercrete and a little heaver crete mixture (for fire proofing) on the inside with concrete support wire (the larger net like wire used to replace “re-bar” in …

Jim: I live in southern Louisiana. A guy that lives near me built a dome several months before Hurricane Andrew it is a wood framed [geodesic] dome, covered with shingles.He told me he had a very hard time finding some one who would agree to shingle it. That dome has held up to every hurricane to hit us since Andrew with only minor damage. – Mosby in Louisiana JWR Replies: I much prefer monolithic domes over the more conventional Buckminster Fuller geodesic style wood frame domes. My brother was the owner/contractror of one of latter and he could never get …

Domes have been the long term favorite of futurists, and while they suffer from some peoples’ non-acceptance of the unconventional features, they do have several features very desirable to survivalists. The dome of course is a near perfect form of nature. Take an arch, known for its strength in building and bridge construction, and turn it in a circle. Now it’s a dome, and it’s even stronger. Domes use the force of gravity and the extreme compression strength of materials like concrete (cement and sand/gravel mix) to give a clear span, and support tremendous weight on top of it. This …