By Ian Crossland at minds.com
When built properly, these domes have the potential to provide living space that withstands fires and earthquakes, starting at $3,500.
The “Binishell” was conceived and pioneered by Dante Bini in the 1960’s, and is currently being taken to the next level by his son, architect Nicoló Bini.
The concept is much like inflating a balloon, covered in papier-mâché, except in place of the papier it uses concrete with a wood & metal support structure. A giant, inflatable membrane is covered with the support structure, concrete is added and it is inflated until the concrete can dry and harden in position. Binishells range in size from a single room to domes 120 feet in diameter.
While Dante’s father was interested in pushing the technology further and making the domes bigger (in some cases to disaster), Dante has decided to go smaller, making them cheaper and easier to build.
Other companies have jumped on the idea, some even modifying it. In the below video, Monolithic shows us how easily one of these can be built.
Sources:
http://inhabitat.com/nicolo-binis-domed-binishells-homes-are-made-from-inflatable-concrete/
http://failures.wikispaces.com/Binishell+Domes
http://www.dwell.com/superstructure/article/low-cost-balloon-formed-housing-concept-developing-countries
concrete is bad for nature and evil, is transformed nature and industry is bad and evil for beings, people… dont try to offer things and pollution and disgrace and transformed nature to beings and humans and nature you behind the meaning of the message… house trees are best… stone houses not concrete… so people would build from natural sources not machines and pollution with transformed materials for money… these guys never learn… the people behind governments are trying to offer you the same thing but with your ideas and nature… for money… they are trying to maintain on top and offering to you if they can’t win what you think you like, let me guess sintetic dreams put into practice like sintetic wives and houses and money and cars… its like american dream made in china… ask them if they want to escalate down just a little bit more…
Use hemp for an eco friendly version.
I think these should be everywhere xx
To answer the person commenting above “concrete is evil”
I’m responding and informing him/her
That once a ballon is inflated it can be sprayed with lots of other things besides Concrete and the technology of building with alternative materials is entering a very interesting and limitless phase now , surely our present ways of building homes are very much based on lack of imagination and in some ways exclusions ! The cost of building a home should be affordable to anyone
But we are living in a world that doesn’t cater for the less privileged and the poorest in the societies are often forced to live small spaces cooped upped on top of another person’s box which creates all sorts of social ills, building one story tall domes with enough space for a little greenery will give humans a natural and healthy living spaces that can only be a good thing for the prevention of disharmony and many other problems that badly and cheaply made tower blocks are surely responsible, I personally think that building affordable housing in a grand scheme is not being considered since such a scheme will interrupt and disturb the abnormally high prices in big cities and of course many rich investors treat the housing markets all over the world as investment opportunities and they surely wouldn’t be benefiting from a revolutionary ideas such as dome buildings since people will treat their homes as a place to live in and not as an investment opportunity.
Most countries in the world are trying to encourage people to rent rather than buy, since only the rich have always been the winners in the world of property ownership.