Jul 25, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: A Wild Proposal for Domed Houses Made of Inflated Concrete

Photos by Nicoló Bini
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Called "Binishells," each building starts as a two-dimensional shape on the ground, ringed by a wooden form into which an air bladder, reinforcing steel rebar, and a load of concrete is placed. As the concrete sets, an air pump fills the bladder and a concrete dome begins to rise from the Earth.
Photos by Nicoló Bini
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An innovative building technique from the 1960s is being revived to make housing for displaced people more affordable and stylish.

Photos by Nicoló Bini
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The first Binishell popped up in 1964, is still standing and over 1,600 Binishells have been built in 23 countries across the globe.
Photos by Nicoló Bini
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The concrete hardens in about an hour and is ready for building inspectors and interior construction.

Photos by Nicoló Bini
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The main challenge will be working through inherent impracticalities of living inside a dome. Wires and other infrastructure can't be routed through solid exterior walls, the edges of the space envelope are essentially wasted, and good luck trying to hang a painting on a wall.
Photos by Nicoló Bini
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With costs starting at $3,500, Binishells are a great way for architects to cost-effectively explore convex construction.

Photos by Nicoló Bini
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The concept is bizarre, combining a building material from the time of Julius Caesar with a *Jetsons* aesthetic, but the approach has already worked before.
Photos by Nicoló Bini
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The construction technique is scalable, and has been used to fabricate gymnasium-sized shells 120 feet in diameter and it's creator hopes to apply the process to massive structures like airport terminals.

Photos by Nicoló Bini
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Despite the challenges, the Binis are in the permitting phase for a 900 square foot model home to showcase their solution.

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