The Advantages of Building A Geodesic Home

Tanish Chopra
3 min readJun 28, 2022

What’s more eco-friendly than a home that’s also geodesic? A geodesic home, of course! Structurally speaking, these dwellings are about as green as you can get. They use less materials than traditional houses in their construction and have far fewer walls, meaning they take up less space and require far fewer materials to build. These homes are built using spherical triangles known as geodesics. These are formed on the surface of a sphere by great circle arcs of constant length. It might sound complicated, but in practice it is an extremely efficient way to build a house. There are many other benefits to building a geodesic home — some obvious, others not so much:

Better energy efficiency

Energy costs are a primary factor in the cost of owning a home. Geodesic domes are naturally more energy efficient than traditional built houses, because they retain heat better and are less susceptible to temperature fluctuations. Geodesic domes also have a smaller surface area than a traditional house, meaning less heat is lost through the walls. This is not to say you won’t need to invest in an efficient heating system, but these homes are naturally better at retaining heat than a traditional home, saving you money on your heating bills.

Recycled materials

Geodesic domes are built using triangles and hexagons, with lengths and widths calculated mathematically for maximum strength using the least amount of materials. This means you can build a geodesic structure with less lumber than a traditional structure, and recycled wood is even better. In a traditional house, you (or a carpenter) will need to cut a lot of boards to the right length — and waste a lot of wood. A geodesic dome, on the other hand, can be built almost entirely out of recycled materials. This means two things — your house is built with materials that might otherwise be thrown out, and you’re doing your part to reduce waste.

Smaller environmental impact

A geodesic house requires less material and has a smaller carbon footprint than a traditional house. If you’re looking to build a house that has the smallest possible environmental impact, a geodesic dome is the way to go. Because geodesic domes are inherently stronger than traditional structures, they don’t require the same amount of materials to build. This means you’ll be using less concrete, wood, and other materials in the construction of your home. This also means that your house is less likely to suffer damage during a storm — geodesic domes are naturally more durable than traditional houses, so they’re less likely to incur water damage during storms. Because of their smaller environmental impact, geodesic domes are also inherently more sustainable.

Better durability

Geodesic domes are naturally more durable than traditional houses. The geometry of a geodesic dome makes it inherently stronger than a rectangular-shaped house because its load-bearing design is based on the strength of its geometric components. A geodesic dome’s triangular construction also makes it inherently stronger than a square-shaped house, as the corners of a square house are weaker than the triangles of a dome. This doesn’t mean that you can’t build a sturdy rectangular house — in fact, the sturdiest houses are rectangular! But if you’re looking to build a house that is inherently more durable, a geodesic dome is a great place to start.

Easy customization

Geodesic domes are naturally more customizable than traditional houses. Because they are made up of pentagons and triangles, they are inherently more flexible. A pentagonal house, for example, can easily be changed into a hexagonal or heptagonal house with minimal effort — simply add or subtract a pentagonal section to create a hexagonal or heptagonal house! A circular (or spherical) house can also be easily customized by changing the radius of the circle — a larger (or smaller) circle will create a larger (or smaller) house with the same geometry. This means that you have greater flexibility in the design of your house and can more easily customize it to suit your needs.

Conclusion

Building a geodesic dome is not for everyone, but for anyone looking for a more sustainable, more energy-efficient home built with less material, a geodesic dome is the way to go. Geodesic domes require less material, are naturally more durable, and are more easily customizable than traditional houses. What’s not to love?

--

--