Barier: the Soccer Ball Shaped House from Japan
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.11.07

It floats. It is earthquake proof. It comes in sizes from doghouse to full 30- tatami mat (540 square feet) family dwelling. The Barier is " a soccer ball-shaped house developed by us [G-Wood] (international patent pending). A soccer ball with which you played in your childhood gets bigger like a dream ball and appears as a place to live in. It floats on the sea and can be a rescue ship. We believe it will be a gift to those who never give up a dream."
It has urethane walls and like a geodesic dome, the shape encloses the maximum volume possible for the amount of skin and the airflow around it is not turbulent, carrying away less heat. "As its 32-sided, rigid surface distributes force, it is in structure strong with an earthquake. It can be used as an ordinary house. It is very strong when lifted or buried under the ground."





















This concept is so wrong, I've been designing/ building geodesic domes for some years now so know a little of the challanges involved. A few observations:
High winds would blow these structures just like footballs all over the countryside
Floor area is reduced because of the sphereical shape.
There seems to be no provision for services of any sort.
Imagine trying to fit a standard bathroom into one of them
Oh and how do you go about recycling something with urathane walls?
They do look pretty cool though.
This does seem a bit silly with regards to a permanent living space, but something like this, buried halfway, would make decent, non-intrusive, lakehouse cabins or short-stay structures.
These would make great saunas too.
come on treehugger ... stop sending us this hypothetical nonsense and give us real things we can buy ... you know all we really want to do is consume!
I'm getting more convinced that geodesics are best used as a dome over a conventional home. The framework should be set up over the home and vines allowed to grow over it. Useful as shade and habitat in he summer--also lengthens roof life. Cut back the vines in winter on the southside.
Go to: http://www.freespiritspheres.com/index.htm that's more usefull.