Construction commenced in the Bayshore subdivision outside Waldport, OR in 1980. The property owners self-built, using subcontractors for the concrete slab floor, rough framing, plumbing and roofing. The panelized pre-fab dome shell was erected 'barn-raising' style and the exterior masonry, electrical, finish carpentry, sheet rock and interior paint was done by the owners.
At it's base, the plan is a circle open to the East. The design brief required morning sunlight in the Kitchen and Master Bedroom. The projection to the East was intended as a greenhouse and a circulation path. The dome contains no hallways, just an alcove in the center of the first floor. Subsequent owner's remodeling broke the path from the Master Bedroom through the greenhouse to the Kitchen. The original installation of the solar water heater was compromised by the installing subcontractor by holding it back from the exterior glazing, with the consequent shading reducing the efficiency. It was removed by a subsequent owner and the south facing skylight was roofed over.
The filled half-hexes with windows set into the riser wall (a design detail used architecturally locally in the 1890's), the facade projection with hyperbolic paraboloid roof sections, upper dormers, gabled extension and apex skylight was all details unique to this example. None of the manufacturer's standard dormers and cupolas were used.
Exterior finish consisted of a masonry wall raised on the outside toe of the spread footing to 2 feet above the floor level, flashed with stainless steel (the original design called for a gutter draining to a cistern, not implemented); hand-split cedar shakes with stainless steel staples; and an aluminum-framed double plexiglass skylight. The only exterior finish was stain on the door and window casings. All intended as maintenance free in the coast weather.
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Southern Overview
A good overall view. This was the view from the street, but it is completely overgrown with trees more recently. The basic plan of the dome is a circle broken to the east by a gable.Originally intended as a greenhouse, the gable extension was undersized. At 6' deep it was little more than a hallway. A 10' extension would have made a dining room, rockin' family room or something. An original active solar water heater and skylight that filled the whole south-facing gable [three patio-sliding-doors worth] were filled in by the second owners.
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The Facade-entry
The Eastern one-quarter of the South-facing projection, was originally intended as an air-lock entry, but the outer door wasn't deemed necessary in the mild climate and was never installed. The second owner moved the door to the outer casing, and opened a interior window, bringing needed light into the kitchen but grounding the airlock idea.
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Interior view of entry
The section of roof that transitions from the half-hex dome opening to the 45° windows --to impart a more familiar facade--being four feet long, have four different [pairs of] rafter angles cut to create a small section of saddle-curved roof. Easily cut, no additional materials, and because the curve is slight-to-moderate, easily shingled.
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Interior view of skylight
The skylight was created by skinning the five vertex panels, back from their tips sufficiently to fit the 5 foot 'diameter' double-skinned plexiglas skylight. The rip-sawn and bolted panel edges were boxed to regain strength. The skylight arches above the framing and partition walls are aligned with it.The small gap beneath the skylight [visibly reflected in the picture] allows ventilation across the 3/5-2/5th partition in the upper level. This was sufficient that the dome could be ventilated by opening a small 4x6 inch hatch in the [east-facing, shrouded] entry door and the door to the [northwestward] upper deck. Air streams in one door over the top of the wall and out the other, powered by the air moving over the outside. The five foot pentagon skylight is about the right size for a 39 foot dome, enough light is let in but not enough to fade the upholstery; and since it's all downhill for water from there, it avoids the waterproofing problems triangular skylights would introduce.
The roughened surface of the nearest [topmost]triangle suggests one of the almost-horizontal shingled panels has collected moisture. That's the downside. The upside is--the damaged has been contained to that panel.
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Northwest Aspect
This shows the ground floor windows and the second floor dormer. These exemplify two dormer types; hip and shed.The upper dormer's hip roof was designed by producing the plane of the base triangle in a horizontal direction. This was replaced on site by the framing carpenter with more of a visor shape.
The lower shed dormer faces in the plane of the riser wall. This was vernacular architecture in [at least the Willamette Valley in the 1890's][citation needed], although more typically on a second or upper floor level. The dome shape brings it to the lower level. Structurally, the dormer penetration of the dome face is trivial since it occurs in a nominal half-hex opening.
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West Aspect
The most closed-in side of the five, with only one window. On the windward side, with no direct view of the ocean; it is more closed to the weather. Inside the triangle to its left is the stair landing.The dormer to the left is over the upper deck entry, with two windows below it.
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The Garage
On the original construction site, a prototype original twelve foot 2-frequency octahedal dome was used as a construction shed. After the dome manufacturer was out of the picture, the 12' octagon floor plan was expanded 6' in one direction and 10' in another to create a [nominal, not counting the flat wall for the door] 16x22' garage, with a 9' high door for a high-topped camper van.
Rectangular panels did the basic stretch, with a 6x10' opening at top. The top two 10' panels were extended in plane to a ridge-line. Although gabelled attic vents were considered, finally two skylight in plane with the 6' rectangle were chosen. The result was a high-door single vehicle garage with well-lit work bays on either side. A side door faced the main dome. The rail above the door was stubbed in for a future carport or trellis.