It’s unfortunate that the dome house never really caught on as a viable alternative to boxier living. At first glance, dome houses seem like they’d be more trouble than they’re worth. We’re just too accustomed to more traditional home designs. But after reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of dome home life, it seems that it all boils down to a matter of taste. With San Bernardino’s Vista Dhome hitting the market for just under $3 million earlier this year (and eventually selling), we’re reviewing the pros and cons of living in a dome house.
High Times at the Vista Dhome
Allow your faithful narrator to break with the JohnHart “we” for a moment. Several years ago, I visited the Vista Dhome as a guest of a touring Australian folk chanteuse who was performing an intimate show by the property’s swimming pool, overlooking the twinkling lights of the city. It was an absolutely transfixing experience.
The owner of the dome home was very accommodating to my curiosity, giving me a tour of the interior and even allowing me and a small party access to a geodesic dome sitting area (a.k.a. The Sky Lounge) that used to protrude from its summit. I’ll never forget walking back to my car in the night; the almost eerie peacefulness of the massive windmill on the property languidly spinning in darkness. It was a transformative experience and, if I had the $3 million, I’d no doubt have made an offer on the Vista Dhome myself. So, why aren’t dome houses more common?
Our Storied History with the Dome House
People tend to relegate dome living to the future, perhaps an impression colored by retrofuturist tropes. But the relationship between people and dome homes stretches back to ancient times as one of the earliest forms of shelter. Some experts believe four tiny huts crafted from mammoth bones and tusks may be the earliest evidence of people constructing dome houses. If they’re correct, these huts, likely dating back to somewhere between 23,000 BCE and 12,000 BCE, are the oldest form of architecture ever discovered.
But the dome house of the modern era has come a long way from mammoth tusks. There was even a modest boom in the 1950s after architectural guru Buckminster Fuller championed the geodesic dome house with his own patented design. Thanks to this influence, you can find geodesic dome houses more frequently in the areas surrounding the Coachella Valley where midcentury designs are abundant.
Monolithic vs. Geodesic Dome Houses
So what makes a geodesic dome home different than your standard dome house? There are actually two main categories into which dome houses fall: monolithic or geodesic. Experts create monolithic domes by spraying polyurethane foam and/or concrete over an inflated form, thus making a homogeneous dome. The majority of the Vista Dhome is a monolithic dome, looking like a hollowed-out orbic rock. In fact, the Vista Dhome was constructed after the owner attended a workshop for building monolithic domes.
Conversely, experts craft geodesic domes from interlocking geometric shapes, typically triangles, coming together to form a dome shape. At the top of the Vista Dhome, a single geodesic dome design served for a period as a sort of sun room. Both varieties share pros and cons, though monolithic domes are less likely to suffer from leaks due to their shell of continuous concrete and polyurethane.
Numerous Benefits of Dome House Construction
Due to the unconventional nature of dome houses, it’s easy to assume that they’re not viable for convenient modern living. Yet dome house designs afford a plethora of benefits that meet, if not exceed, our time’s standards of comfort.
Fostering Interior Design Creativity
A dome house is perfect for creatives looking for interior design liberty. The shape of a dome is self-supportive, meaning load-bearing walls and columns typically aren’t necessary. A dome may not appear very spacious from the outside, but spherical shapes are proven to encompass more volume with less surface area than other shapes. This would typically translate to savings on building materials since you can do more with less. But due to the niche appeal of dome house models, a prospective dome owner shouldn’t count too heavily on saving during the construction phase.
Energy Efficiency
Saving while actually living in a dome house is another story. The angled interiors are perfect for reflecting and refracting a wealth of natural lighting. Dome homes lose interior temperature more slowly due to their spherical shape. It’s a shape that’s also ideal for airflow from windows and doorways. Therefore, you can expect to save on your electric bill, assuming your dome house is properly insulated.
The Sanctuary of a Dome House
But perhaps the most attractive benefit of dome house construction is its resilience in the face of disasters. The weight distribution and shape of a dome hold up extremely well against external force, including earthquakes, falling trees, snowfall, and gusts of winds. We’re (hopefully) not getting any hurricanes hitting SoCal in the near future, but those Santa Anas can get wild.
And when fire season returns, there are few better places to find yourself than in the protective embrace of a dome house. Of course, a lot of this will come down to building materials. But when a destructive wildfire tore through the San Bernardino hills in the early 2000s, the Vista Dhome made it through the ordeal unscathed. More impressively, it served as a sanctuary for firefighters as they fought the flames!
Consequences of Dome Life
Yet, dome homes have their drawbacks as well. Perhaps chief among them is the tendency for geodesic dome house models to leak if their pieces aren’t expertly assembled. However, as the rains that hit SoCal earlier this year proved, domes are in good company when it comes to leaky roofs. Depending on the furnishings of a dome, they can also be rather noisy. Therefore, dome owners frequently invest in soundproofing technology.
Taking a dome house from dream to reality can also be a bit more challenging than what one would experience when pursuing more traditional homes. If building from scratch, it can be difficult to find contractors with the knowledge and expertise to create such an unconventional design. And specialty designs will no doubt come with a hefty pricetag. Speaking of prices, it can also be more challenging to finance a dome home. Again, this is the design’s obscurity working against it.
A Future in Domes
Yet, as the Vista Dhome shows us, dome living in Southern California is very much a possibility. Perhaps with the rise in ADUs and an emphasis on affordable housing, we’ll start to see a return in popularity for energy-efficient dome homes. After all, great things have come from thinking outside of the box.
