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By my estimation a polypropylene sphere with a 25 foot diameter and 3 inch thick walls would cost ~35,000 to fabricate or ~70,000 for 6 inch thick wales ect... I went with 25 foot radius because that gives it about the same volume as a 1000 sq foot house with 8 foot ceilings (small but not too small). The entire structure would be produced from a single mold and fabricated as one piece, there would be no seams.

The advantages:

It would last for atleast hundreds, probably thousands, maybe tens of thousands, possibly even hundreds of thousands or millions of years with 0 maintenance. You would be establishing a legacy for your lineage for aeons to come. the flexibility of the material combined with the structural integrity of the spherical shape would make for incredible resilience, you could probably roll the thing down a mountain with out damage. It would be air and water tight meaning it would also be a sea faring vessel by default, perfect for starting decentralized seasteading communities or allowing one to move between national jurisdictions with ease should one find more welcoming political environments abroad. In the event of flooding you just drop anchor. Earthquakes and tornado wouldnt put a dent in this thing. (unfortunately not volcano resistant) The units would be produced near the sea so they could be transported by tug boat to any coastal region in the world fairly cheaply.

I have been thinking about this for years and i just cant get it out of my head. Again and again i come back to it. I really think its a good idea. What do you guys think? i made a post about this before and the general consensus was that it was a good idea but would be too expensive, well this time i did the math and 35k is really not too bad.

The majority of the cost in constructing a residence isn't the exterior walls it is the "everything else".  Water, electrical, windows, HVAC, interior walls/doors, closets, cabinets, fixtures, etc.  You would really need some deep pockets, enough to figure out how to integrate everything, and build some prototypes.  What is the insulation rating of 3" or 6" poly?  If it isn't inferior to conventional insulation this means the additional cost of having an sphere inside a sphere. 

If the $35K sphere ends up costing $500K to make it habitable because everything inside needs to be custom made then it really isn't worth it.  Right?  It is an interesting idea but I lot would depend on integration.

ya your right but 35k is about what you expect to spend on just the foundation walls and roof of a normal house so its perfectly analogous in that sense. as far as the other stuff that goes inside most of it wouldn't need to be custom. a sink would still be a sink, a toilet would still be a toilet, a couch would still be a couch and a floor would still be a floor. Probably the plumbing and ventilation would need to be a bit customized, maybe a few other things.

as far as the insulation rating goes i really dont know but i have to assume it would be amazing. 6 inches of solid anything is going to outperform dry wall and that fluffy pink stuff.

what if you're in it and it rolls :(

it would have a ballast ;D

also you would want to dig atleast a little bit of a hole for it

A couple have been built already!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sG8H1Gl_93s/UZ_wIUIoGQI/AAAAAAAABAc/Mj8jiwmuM_M/s400/Zorb_03+(1).jpg

that is neat!

i'd try it out :)

Sorry, anon136, I was teasing. But I like the principle of unusual eco-friendly houses.

you dont by any chance happen to have contact information for any venture capitalists? :D That's the only way anyone will be trying this idea out any time soon.

perhaps one, but I'm not quite sure I can convince him (or even myself :( ) of a future profit potential. keep working on the business model then get back to me  :D

http://www.yesterland.com/images-tomorrowland/futurehouse_top2.jpg
The Monsanto House of the Future
100% synthetic materials.  Built by Monsanto at Disneyland in 1957, it was open for tours for a decade.  It held up fine, but was demolished in the late 1960s (the wrecking ball bounced off and they had to use saws) to make room for another attraction.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/Assets/images/Product/1S84-open-props-large.jpg
Rubbermaid's largest plastic shed.

Rubbermaid has a whole line of plastic sheds. They keep coming out with larger models. They could easily make a house if there was a market.

Fire resistance is a problem. 

ew could you imagine choking on burning plastic fumes before succumbing to death

you really dont think there is a market for a house that can cheaply and fluidly transition between different political jurisdictions while simultaneously being virtually indestructible and a boat just for good measure? you are a hard man to please!

it wouldn't be a good boat :/ it also rivals the cost of a great house boat :/
it is presumably indestructible, so there's that

I guess if pirates had their choice they'd loot the house boat first

Hm, you're right, I guess I could see potential if you marketed it as a shelter against another flood of god's wrath. nuclear hideouts made some bank during the cold war

no it wouldn't be a good boat this is true but it would make a better building block for a seastead community than a houseboat.

why a ball, why not a more elliptical, longer shape

sphere is the strongest shape for a structure. its the same principal as the arch. this is necessary to compensate for the malleability of polypropylene. if the malleability if polypropylene can be compensated for than that same malleability is what makes the structure virtually indestructible because it can absorb shocks.

I'd take some combination of box shapes over a sphere any and every day, not just for practical reasons, but for aesthetic reasons as well. To put it bluntly, boxes can be made strong enough to forsake the ugliness and impracticality of living inside a ball.

Clearly, architects of modern architecture agree:

http://archrecord.construction.com/residential/default.aspx

http://modresdes.blogspot.com/

http://shubinanddonaldson.com/modern-residential/

I've told you so many times that you are blocked firstassent. i dont understand how you can be so slow. what ever you wrote im not reading it. i dont value your input. you are rude and intellectually dishonest. go poison someone else's thread.

First of all, I'm speaking to others besides yourself.

Secondly, my attitude towards you is partially due to your:

1. Attitude, as evident by your bragging that you have me blocked.
2. Your stupidity, as evident by your post.
3. Your deliberate misspelling of my user name.

But most importantly, I have an opinion about spherical residences, some knowledge and appreciation of architecture, and I'll damn well express my opinion here, regardless of whether you're an ignoramus or not.

You have just made things worse for yourself, not better.

Some advice: if I'm on your ignore list, then ignore me.

Wow really, you responded to a comment that explained why it doesn't make any sense to respond to my comments...

The worst part is you will almost certainly respond to this one also.

/sigh

well thanks for the free bumps anyway

You fail to understand that you are not on my ignore list. Now if you want to shut up regarding how you derailed your own thread, and get back on topic, that's your choice. You will note that my first post was on topic, even if it didn't pussy foot around your idea.

If you wish to discuss the merits of spherical housing, as you should, get on it. Furthermore, fuckface, you solicited an opinion about spherical housing, and I gave you one.

Well hey I had a good laugh from you two lovebirds

well i'm glad some good came of it!