We have decided to present domes in this issue for a couple of reasons. Firstly because they provide a cheap, strong and easily transported and constructed building system that is very relevant to our explorations of appropriate housing and other building options for Aboriginal communities. We are also presenting this section to promote “The Dome Company” who we are working with at the Greenbuild and Ec-Show. Robbie Lusher from The Dome Company has helped us heaps by lending us a display dome frame for our stall at the show. We hope to explore with Robbie the options for domes, we have already put together a dome proposal with Robbie’s assistance to Pitta Pitta traditional owners and the Boulia Shire Council for an eco-tourism project based around domes. We look forward to thrashing out this idea and other options for housing solutions during our time in Sydney - stay tuned for what we come up with.

Because Domes do not rely on large beams or other “big” materials, but lots of smaller prefabricated components they can be transported in a ute, trailer or even a small boat and therefore have obvious benefits to remote building programs. As they can be fully transported to a building site without the need for motor vehicles, construction does not have to involve the destruction that often occurs through trucks, tractors and the roads that they need.
Domes are cheap, flexible, and very strong too. But they do have problems. Collecting water from a dome roof is not easy and traditional roofs or “skins” are either canvas or some kind of plastic which have limited life spans, or they are made of ferro cement which is not at all recyclable or sustainable, though they do allow for guttering to collect water. However all these “problems” are easily overcome with a bit of creativity, and that’s what kalkadoon.org is hoping to do in order to develop an innovative kit home package as part of our future range of housing options.
The Dome Company

some groovy photos of domes from Pacific Domes

Posted by kurityityin in HOME - current news, Sustainability