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Imagine a home that...:
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Is incredibly energy
efficient. Paradome homes share
energy stored in the thermal mass (soil) surrounding the home's
walls. At just a few feet down, the soil temperature is a
nearly constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so in either frigid or
blistering extremes, the interior of the home needs to be
modified by only a dozen or so degrees to maintain year-round
comfort. This concept is what geothermal heating systems
take advantage of, but instead of dropping a heat exchange line
into the ground to capture heat from the Earth, the ENTIRE HOUSE
is built to share thermal energy from the soil. These
homes are ideal to accept alternative energy systems such as
photovoltaic panels to supplement or escape the grid, and
passive solar designs should be considered as well. Free
yourself from petroleum!
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Is incredibly durable.
Not constrained by conventional lumber framing and thin
waterproofing materials, Paradome homes exclusively utilize the
Formworks building system that integrates a solid steel frame
with steel-reinforced concrete to create an impervious yet
relatively light shell that resists fire, termites, tornadoes,
hurricanes, hail, earthquakes, bullets and even...time.
The design life of a Paradome home is from 200 - 1000 years!
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Is incredibly low-maintenance.
Once the shell is sealed and backfilled, there shouldn't be
any need to look at it again. No asphalt tiles to replace
on the roof, no siding to replace after a hailstorm, no gutters
to clean out, no snow to shovel off the roof...the owner can
focus on enjoying the home, rather than working on
it. About the only time a homeowner might need to walk
(yes - walk, not climb) up on the roof would be to mow the
(optional) grass planted there.
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Is incredibly secure.
The layout itself limits access points to the home.
Floorplans can be designed that allow access only from limited
and controlled points in the home, reducing any costs for
optional security systems or entry point reinforcement.
Tunnel systems to attached garages limit any need to travel
outside between the home and the garage. And nobody is
getting through the remainder of the walls that are composed of
earth-covered steel and concrete.
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Is incredibly beautiful.
The flexibility and strength of the freeform arch design allows
gentle curves, open spaces and just about any floorplan
imaginable, without the confinement of load-bearing walls,
support columns or buttresses. Any facade can be built
onto the front of the shell such as log cabins, adobe huts,
stone castles...let your imagination run wild! The
interior can be built utilizing standard construction
techniques.
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Is incredibly healthy. Paradome
homes are very tightly sealed - limiting dust, molds, allergens
and other pollutants that might infiltrate other
structures. Homeowners can install a ventilation system
that precisely controls air intake into the home, conditions it,
and exhausts stale air to provide relief from airborne hazards
and vastly improve air quality.
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Is incredibly quiet.
At least three feet of soil overburden is recommended to create
a sufficient thermal mass, and this soil mass has the added
benefit of muffling noises from outside the home. Highway
traffic, lawnmowers, aircraft...all are reduced to little more
than a whisper when trying to pass through the home's shell.
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Is incredibly "green."
The entire outer shell of the home is free of lumber, paper or
petroleum products. Soil, not fiberglass, is the home's
insulation. The earthen cover allows rainfall to percolate
down around the shell and into the water table, rather than
deflecting it into drainage and sewer systems. These homes
will outlast standard homes by many times, ultimately conserving
resources. These are
green-roof homes taken to the extreme!
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Is an incredible value.
Construction costs are comparable and competitive with standard
building techniques. In the long run - and you will
want to stay for many years - the advantages become so clear
that it's difficult to imagine building with anything else.
The advantages are just...incredible. |
