Custom Geodesic Home

A mathematics Ph.D. and world renowned artificial intelligence researcher wanted a geodesic dome house with two domes on a forested site on Vashon Island. The big dome would have multiple floors and contain most of the functional rooms of the house, whereas the small dome would be an open den. The connector became an entry with a roof deck above for the master bedroom.

For the big dome, we utilized a prefab dome kit by Natural Spaces Domes for the primary structural system, but designed a custom plan. For the small dome, we engaged Holmes Engineers to work with us to create a custom dome geometry. Using parametric modeling, we explored various possibilities, and ultimately designed a simple structural shell with a complex, nested interior shell visible from within. The interior shell is inspired by Penrose tiling, a non-repeating tiling system adapted to a sphere, centered on pentagonal skylights.