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earth dome II
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Bending the Rules, Building a Legacy In a historic move for Pomona College, the city of Claremont, Los Angeles County, and universities everywhere, the students of The Farm have commenced one of the biggest projects to ever hit the Claremont Colleges -- the construction of a super-adobe, rammed-earth "Earth Dome." This project did not start with this dome, however. Two years ago, students from the Intro to Environmental Analysis class were inspired by a field trip to the Cal Earth Institute, run by architect and designer Nader Khalili. Here they first encountered Nader's domes, and decided to make a small dome at the farm as a project for their class. Students spent evenings, weekends, and the following summer with their hands in the earth, constructing a small dome. However, this dome was destroyed by the city and the school for lack of proper permits at the end of the summer. After hearing the uproar of the students in support of the dome, the strong argument for the dome as a useful structure at the farm, and the strong educational experiences this project would bring to the students, the administration of Pomona decided to dedicate over $10,000 to the project. And Earth Dome II was started ... We are still in the process of
getting the dome through city hall ... but we're almost there! And
we're still extremely enthusiastic and eager. Even the process of
dealing with the administration and the city has been an immensely education
experience for those involved. We have learned patience, if anything
... it has taken all year to get the architectural, engineering, and plans
worked through the city. Hopefully, students will once again be busy
with their hands in the earth, constructing this building! About Earth Domes Nader first began using the Earth Dome design approach to create a more stable, suitable form of housing made directly from the earth. His techniques and materials, used originally by inhabitants of the Iranian deserts, have caught the attention of both the UN and NASA, who commissioned Khalili to develop moon housing, refugee housing and flood control measures, among other things. His materials and techniques have also been used more recently as retaining walls in landscape designs of the rich and famous in the Los Angeles area. (We will be building the first dome of LA County, though ... ). The "lancet curve," which provides the structural integrity of the domes, is a characteristic of Persian/Islamic architecture.
These domes are a fine example of ecologically-appropriate building, keep cool in the summer due to thick earthen walls, and are structurally resilient to the geological conditions of the San Andreas Fault area. They are also "tree free" (using no wood in the construction), entirely constructed from local materials, utilize wind scoops to capture breezes for effective supplementary cooling and can be constructed inexpensively by hand. Statement of
Purpose from the City of
Claremont Architectural Commission Review The
purpose of the dome at Pomona College Organic Farm is bilateral -- not only
does it serve a practical, financially-efficient and
philosophically-appropriate use for the function of the farm and its
caretakers, but it provides the students, administration and campus with an
opportunity to experience and learn about alternative/ecological/green architecture.
It also provides a chance to experience working with city institutions, local
businesses, and community members to ensure the safety of all involved and
the overall success of the project. The
farm has flourished in its five years of existence, gaining a membership of
over 500 volunteers. With this success has come a need for a facility
to house supplies and materials. A large collection of books has
evolved, and there is a large collection of seeds, including valuable
"heritage seeds," for both outreach gardens as well as our
own. The time has come to construct a facility to store research
materials, seeds, seed-saving equipment, the farm planting map, vegetables,
tools. This dome will serve as a storage space as well as a limited
meeting and gathering space for farm workers. The
designs for the “Moon Cocoon,” by Nader Khalili, were selected by the
students for its ecologically-appropriate construction as well as its
functionality as a multi-use space. The placement of the dome in the
center of the farm gives us the unique opportunity to provide a working
prototype of sustainable design in Southern California. The location
has been specifically scouted out and the dome specifically positioned to
allow for the most beneficial use of sun, wind and aesthetics. The
interior of the structure will remain cool during the day and warm at night
because of the windscoop, moderately-recessed below-ground design, and thick,
earthen walls that work to slow the transport of heat into the interior until
night and retain the night’s low temperatures during the day. The
windows have been aligned for maximum use of the southern sun to light the
interior, among other benefits, and will also provide the most pleasing views
of surrounding scenery, including the view to the north of the foothills and
Mt. Baldy. The Earth Dome will be outfitted with a water catchement
system and utilize the power of the farm’s own solar panel. The
construction of the Earth Dome would indeed exemplify Pomona College’s
commitment to the study and practice of sustainability. (see pages 11-16
for details of these plans) The
students have purchased the plans for the “Moon Cocoon” design directly from
Nader Khalili/ Cal-Earth, and the students and the school have been in
communication with Mr. Khalili throughout the process thus far. The
design was originally designed as a residential dwelling, composed of five
connected dome-shaped rooms. Walls of the structure begin 2’ 0” below
grade, upon a reasonable foundation. This configuration serves to
vastly strengthen the structure by giving strong resistance to the outward
pressure at the base. The main space has an inner radius of 7’
6”. The niches, semi-spherical, have inner radii of 4’ 0”. The
wall of the main space is 18” thick, and the walls of the niches are
16”. The width of all window openings are 2’ 6” and of all doors are 3’
0”. The
southwest niche features one window facing directly southwest. The
southeast niche features windows facing southwest and southeast. The
northwest nice features three port-hole windows facing in varying
directions. The fourth niche is the entry way, opening into the
outdoors. This niche features two clusters of five vent holes.
There are also windows placed in between each of the niches. There is,
however, at least 3’ 0” of wall space between any openings in the walls of
the main space, in order to maintain structural integrity. A skylight,
5’ 0” in diameter, is built into the top of the dome with a concrete and bolt
fashioned attachment. A large, screen-topped windscoop is placed in
between the northeast and southeast niches. Plans
Contact Information / Press For more information on the Earth Dome II project, you can contact Bowen Patterson at bowen.patterson@pomona.edu or Joseph Prows at jwp02000@pomona.edu.
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