A cluster of domes homes have hit the market across the world, ranging from Bucky Fuller-inspired Geodesic structures to apartments in historic rotundas.
These spherical structures come with a long list of perks. Chief among them are their soaring ceilings and adaptable layouts. Often the structures are prefabricated and modular, meaning they can be assembled quickly, cheaply and added to over time. Some can even rotate to bask in the sun.
Here’s why you should make your house a dome.
Les Trois Coupoles, Burgundy, France
€370,000
Jean Daladier designed a series of prototype houses between 1968 and 1975 in conjunction with the French Ministry of Construction. The idea was to create a new, inexpensive home built with minimal materials that could be adapted to occupants’ needs. Domes and partitions could be added and openings could be moved.
The ‘Trois Coupoles’ house – recently given French Historic Monument listing – was the first to be built. Daladier based his designs on the rhombicosidodecahedron, a figure formed by 62 triangles, squares and pentagons. The concrete framework was poured and assembled on site, then clad in wood and Hypalon. Its three domes – sitting within four hectares of land – once housed bespoke furniture and objects by Daladier, Harry Bertoia and Quasar Khanh.
Photography: Patrice Besse
Les Trois Coupoles, Burgundy, France
€370,000
Jean Daladier designed a series of prototype houses between 1968 and 1975 in conjunction with the French Ministry of Construction. The idea was to create a new, inexpensive home built with minimal materials that could be adapted to occupants’ needs. Domes and partitions could be added and openings could be moved.
The ‘Trois Coupoles’ house – recently given French Historic Monument listing – was the first to be built. Daladier based his designs on the rhombicosidodecahedron, a figure formed by 62 triangles, squares and pentagons. The concrete framework was poured and assembled on site, then clad in wood and Hypalon. Its three domes – sitting within four hectares of land – once housed bespoke furniture and objects by Daladier, Harry Bertoia and Quasar Khanh.
Photography: Patrice Besse
Les Trois Coupoles, Burgundy, France
€370,000
Jean Daladier designed a series of prototype houses between 1968 and 1975 in conjunction with the French Ministry of Construction. The idea was to create a new, inexpensive home built with minimal materials that could be adapted to occupants’ needs. Domes and partitions could be added and openings could be moved.
The ‘Trois Coupoles’ house – recently given French Historic Monument listing – was the first to be built. Daladier based his designs on the rhombicosidodecahedron, a figure formed by 62 triangles, squares and pentagons. The concrete framework was poured and assembled on site, then clad in wood and Hypalon. Its three domes – sitting within four hectares of land – once housed bespoke furniture and objects by Daladier, Harry Bertoia and Quasar Khanh.
Photography: Patrice Besse
La Géode, Burgundy, France
€390,000
La Géode is the third of Daladier’s housing prototypes to be built in Burgundy. He used the geodesic dome as the basis for this three-level, concrete structure, which takes its shape from a polyhedron with 20 triangular and 12 pentagonal sides. Assembled in just two days, it is sited in five hectares of land.
Photography: Patrice Besse
La Géode, Burgundy, France
€390,000
La Géode is the third of Daladier’s housing prototypes to be built in Burgundy. He used the geodesic dome as the basis for this three-level, concrete structure, which takes its shape from a polyhedron with 20 triangular and 12 pentagonal sides. Assembled in just two days, it is sited in five hectares of land.
Photography: Patrice Besse
16 Canaan Road, New Paltz, New York, USA
$899,000
This eco dome can rotate 360 degrees at the push of a button – its floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sun in winter and turning away from it in summer. Set within 28 acres of forest in New Paltz, the prefab structure holds 2,300 sq ft of living space, including three bedrooms. It was constructed in 1999 from cedar, bamboo and limestone, and is probably the only model from French prefab company Domespace to be built in the US.
Photography: Douglas Elliman
16 Canaan Road, New Paltz, New York, USA
$899,000
This eco dome can rotate 360 degrees at the push of a button – its floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sun in winter and turning away from it in summer. Set within 28 acres of forest in New Paltz, the prefab structure holds 2,300 sq ft of living space, including three bedrooms. It was constructed in 1999 from cedar, bamboo and limestone, and is probably the only model from French prefab company Domespace to be built in the US.
Photography: Douglas Elliman
16 Canaan Road, New Paltz, New York, USA
$899,000
This eco dome can rotate 360 degrees at the push of a button – its floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sun in winter and turning away from it in summer. Set within 28 acres of forest in New Paltz, the prefab structure holds 2,300 sq ft of living space, including three bedrooms. It was constructed in 1999 from cedar, bamboo and limestone, and is probably the only model from French prefab company Domespace to be built in the US.
Photography: Douglas Elliman
16 Canaan Road, New Paltz, New York, USA
$899,000
This eco dome can rotate 360 degrees at the push of a button – its floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sun in winter and turning away from it in summer. Set within 28 acres of forest in New Paltz, the prefab structure holds 2,300 sq ft of living space, including three bedrooms. It was constructed in 1999 from cedar, bamboo and limestone, and is probably the only model from French prefab company Domespace to be built in the US.
Photography: Douglas Elliman
240 Centre Street penthouse, New York, USA
$39.9m
Apartments inside the former NYPD headquarters at 240 Centre Street in New York come in all shapes and sizes but the domed penthouse is its trump card. The 6,000 sq ft, four-bedroom home – once lived in by Calvin Klein and Steffi Graf – was reworked by designer Michael Bagley, who took cues from 1930s and 40s Paris. It even has a ‘secret room’ hidden behind the clock, not to mention a roof terrace overlooking Manhattan.
240 Centre Street penthouse, New York, USA
$39.9m
Apartments inside the former NYPD headquarters at 240 Centre Street in New York come in all shapes and sizes but the domed penthouse is its trump card. The 6,000 sq ft, four-bedroom home – once lived in by Calvin Klein and Steffi Graf – was reworked by designer Michael Bagley, who took cues from 1930s and 40s Paris. It even has a ‘secret room’ hidden behind the clock, not to mention a roof terrace overlooking Manhattan.
240 Centre Street penthouse, New York, USA
$39.9m
Apartments inside the former NYPD headquarters at 240 Centre Street in New York come in all shapes and sizes but the domed penthouse is its trump card. The 6,000 sq ft, four-bedroom home – once lived in by Calvin Klein and Steffi Graf – was reworked by designer Michael Bagley, who took cues from 1930s and 40s Paris. It even has a ‘secret room’ hidden behind the clock, not to mention a roof terrace overlooking Manhattan.
504 Spiller Lane, West Lake Hills, Texas, US
$1.595K
Architect John Watson developed his love of organic architecture while under the tutelage of Frank Lloyd Wright. Taking cues from the landscape, he designed a series of unusual homes in Austin, Texas, including this 1978 Grotto Dome. The two-bedroom, 2,506 sq ft property was conceived to ‘complement and reflect a thousand-year-old rock formation in its glass facade,’ Watson explained in a book on organic architecture. It incorporates a waterfall that cascades into a pool below the house’s deck.
504 Spiller Lane, West Lake Hills, Texas, US
$1.595K
Architect John Watson developed his love of organic architecture while under the tutelage of Frank Lloyd Wright. Taking cues from the landscape, he designed a series of unusual homes in Austin, Texas, including this 1978 Grotto Dome. The two-bedroom, 2,506 sq ft property was conceived to ‘complement and reflect a thousand-year-old rock formation in its glass facade,’ Watson explained in a book on organic architecture. It incorporates a waterfall that cascades into a pool below the house’s deck.
489 Sound Avenue, Long Island, New York, USA
$1m
At 45 ft high and a whopping 70 ft in diameter, this eco structure is said to be the world’s largest wooden geodesic dome home. Built from reclaimed materials in 2005, the 5,850 sq ft house has been split into three levels, arranged around a central atrium. As well as being powered by the sun and wind, its green credentials are bolstered by geothermal cooling and rainwater recycling systems.
489 Sound Avenue, Long Island, New York, USA
$1m
At 45 ft high and a whopping 70 ft in diameter, this eco structure is said to be the world’s largest wooden geodesic dome home. Built from reclaimed materials in 2005, the 5,850 sq ft house has been split into three levels, arranged around a central atrium. As well as being powered by the sun and wind, its green credentials are bolstered by geothermal cooling and rainwater recycling systems.
489 Sound Avenue, Long Island, New York, USA
$1m
At 45 ft high and a whopping 70 ft in diameter, this eco structure is said to be the world’s largest wooden geodesic dome home. Built from reclaimed materials in 2005, the 5,850 sq ft house has been split into three levels, arranged around a central atrium. As well as being powered by the sun and wind, its green credentials are bolstered by geothermal cooling and rainwater recycling systems.
The Light House, San Francisco, USA
POA
The Light House, near Dolores Park in San Francisco, started life as a Christian Scientist church before being converted into four 5,500 ft townhouses. The Neoclassical, dome-topped building was constructed in 1916 in the style of the denominations’ original Boston ‘Mother Church’ by local architect William H. Crim. It features a three-arched portico, flanked by Tuscan columns, and an ornamental facade. Inside, the condos have soaring 30 ft ceilings, and come with several bedrooms, studies, lofts and three bathrooms. The finishing touches are currently being applied to the apartments, which are expected to hit the market in February.
Photography: San Francisco Planning Department
The Light House, San Francisco, USA
POA
The Light House, near Dolores Park in San Francisco, started life as a Christian Scientist church before being converted into four 5,500 ft townhouses. The Neoclassical, dome-topped building was constructed in 1916 in the style of the denominations’ original Boston ‘Mother Church’ by local architect William H. Crim. It features a three-arched portico, flanked by Tuscan columns, and an ornamental facade. Inside, the condos have soaring 30 ft ceilings, and come with several bedrooms, studies, lofts and three bathrooms. The finishing touches are currently being applied to the apartments, which are expected to hit the market in February.
Photography: San Francisco Planning Department
The Light House, San Francisco, USA
POA
The Light House, near Dolores Park in San Francisco, started life as a Christian Scientist church before being converted into four 5,500 ft townhouses. The Neoclassical, dome-topped building was constructed in 1916 in the style of the denominations’ original Boston ‘Mother Church’ by local architect William H. Crim. It features a three-arched portico, flanked by Tuscan columns, and an ornamental facade. Inside, the condos have soaring 30 ft ceilings, and come with several bedrooms, studies, lofts and three bathrooms. The finishing touches are currently being applied to the apartments, which are expected to hit the market in February.
Photography: San Francisco Planning Department
1850 Carriage Lane, West Linn, Oregon, US
$849,000
Dutch-born artist and designer Francisco Reynders built this property from the metal covers used to protect battleship USS Bunker Hill’s gun turrets during WWII, which he found in a scrapyard. The property – comprising nine, interconnected domes, built on a hilltop plot – emulates its surrounding terrain and was finished in 1980. Spread across nine rooms, the single-storey dwelling has been restored and preserved by its current owners, who have also retained Reynders’ original artworks.
Photography: Stephen Cridland
1850 Carriage Lane, West Linn, Oregon, US
$849,000
Dutch-born artist and designer Francisco Reynders built this property from the metal covers used to protect battleship USS Bunker Hill’s gun turrets during WWII, which he found in a scrapyard. The property – comprising nine, interconnected domes, built on a hilltop plot – emulates its surrounding terrain and was finished in 1980. Spread across nine rooms, the single-storey dwelling has been restored and preserved by its current owners, who have also retained Reynders’ original artworks.
Photography: Stephen Cridland
1850 Carriage Lane, West Linn, Oregon, US
$849,000
Dutch-born artist and designer Francisco Reynders built this property from the metal covers used to protect battleship USS Bunker Hill’s gun turrets during WWII, which he found in a scrapyard. The property – comprising nine, interconnected domes, built on a hilltop plot – emulates its surrounding terrain and was finished in 1980. Spread across nine rooms, the single-storey dwelling has been restored and preserved by its current owners, who have also retained Reynders’ original artworks.
Photography: Stephen Cridland
1850 Carriage Lane, West Linn, Oregon, US
$849,000
Dutch-born artist and designer Francisco Reynders built this property from the metal covers used to protect battleship USS Bunker Hill’s gun turrets during WWII, which he found in a scrapyard. The property – comprising nine, interconnected domes, built on a hilltop plot – emulates its surrounding terrain and was finished in 1980. Spread across nine rooms, the single-storey dwelling has been restored and preserved by its current owners, who have also retained Reynders’ original artworks.
Photography: Stephen Cridland
1850 Carriage Lane, West Linn, Oregon, US
$849,000
Dutch-born artist and designer Francisco Reynders built this property from the metal covers used to protect battleship USS Bunker Hill’s gun turrets during WWII, which he found in a scrapyard. The property – comprising nine, interconnected domes, built on a hilltop plot – emulates its surrounding terrain and was finished in 1980. Spread across nine rooms, the single-storey dwelling has been restored and preserved by its current owners, who have also retained Reynders’ original artworks.
Photography: Stephen Cridland
