There was, and maybe still is, a red fiberglass dome on the outskirts of Ithaca, New York. I finally stopped to visit with the people living in it and they gave me a good education in the process of how that structure came to be and what it was like to live in it and why I should strongly consider not doing what they did unless living in a dome was what I really wanted to do.
It started as a regular wooden dome, skinned with whatever people try first, and second, and, then finally, because of the leaks, covering it entirely with a seamless fiberglass shell over whatever was underneath it. A veritable palimpsest of skins. But it didn't leak and it looked cool from the road, and even close up. It was an insane amount of work but they had to do it to be dry. Then of course, all appliances are rectangular, and there aren't any such matching spaces in the dome... [insert 35 years of shape critique here]. And yet, Fuller's geometry is used all over for many things, because it really is efficient. Maybe whiteman technology is getting better, and can be combined with natural building methods. Tangent: If the Grancrete people would ever actually communicate with me, instead of sending a flyer with specs (same thing that's on their website), we could find out if it's really the spray-on sealing solution that it promises to be. Then make any shape you want, skin it with anything handy (tree branches and tarps?) and spray and seal it into a shelter. Or, get fancy. That fiberglass dome did lead to thinking about using cardboard with insulation inside it, and then shelling it with the fiberglass. Then, why bother with the cardboard, just cut the board into a dome and make a spherical surfboard? Spherical trigonometry was one reason why not. Now Vinay eliminates most of the math. And we are back to considering the dome shape again. What else is going to be efficient and good to live in? /ramble off --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
