Dome Sweet Dome

Built to Last
Aside from being energy-efficient, geodesic domes homes are built to last. They are incredibly strong structures designed to withstand earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. In fact, American Ingenuity (AI), a geodesic dome home manufacturer, says that during the 2004 Hurricane system, Florida experienced four hurricanes and not one of them damaged any of the homes they built in Florida, even though some were in the direct path of Charley, Ivan, Frances and Jeanne. 

Geodesic Pay-offs
People who own geodesic homes can save anywhere from 50 to 70 percent on heating and air-conditioning costs over the conventional home owner because geodesic homes have one-third less surface area than traditional homes, have better insulation than traditional homes and are more air-tight than traditional homes. Also, there is an efficient airflow inside the dome because the curved walls help the air to circulate. For these reasons a geodesic dome can be heated by a single propane fueled gas log fire. 

The Development of Domes 
Dome-like living structures can be traced back to the days of the Romans and the domed huts of ancient Tunisians. Eskimo igloos, the spherical yurts of nomadic Mongols, and certain domed tepees of American Indians are all predecessors of the geodesic dome. 

Modern domes have been built primarily according to designs by Buckminster Fuller, who conceived of constructing domes as a network of intersecting triangles, the triangle being the strongest geometric shape. One of Fuller's first domehome designs called for a home supported by a pole, with space below for a car and a jet-propelled, wingless aircraft. Called the "4-D House" (referring to Einstein's fourth dimension, time), the name was later changed to "The Dymaxion Dwelling Machine." Fuller later developed a future vision of cities covered by geodesic domes, with sunlight and weather easily regulated. 

Today's geodesic dome is more likely to be three-eighths or five-eighths of a full sphere of intersecting triangular sections assembled on a conventional foundation. The triangular network design provides for a free-standing, self-supporting structure requiring no internal supports or load-bearing walls, thus opening up the interior of the dome for maximum space and light. 

Due to the mathematics involved, the bigger the dome, the more energy efficient and materials efficient it becomes. The volume grows by a factor of eight every time the diameter is doubled, and the surface area increases by a factor of four.