Dome Bias

Bias. Webster’s says, “It’s a preference or inclination that inhibits impartial judgment; prejudice.” So it seems that the whole world is in the bias mode, whenever the subject of domes comes up. Perhaps the most important part of the phrase is “that impartial judgment is, for the most part, denied by the general public.”

“What, you’re going to build a dome?”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“So, you’re building a round house?”

“They look like an igloo.”

“Who would want to live in a house like THAT?”

“They have no resale. You will never be able to finance that type of house. The banks won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.”

These are just some of the comments that come up when you announce your intention to buy or build a geodesic dome home. When I came into the dome business in 1975 as a salesperson, the man who hired me prepared me for this type of bias from the beginning. He told me, “Don’t be surprised if you are not able to sell to your family or other relatives.” He knew I had been in the life insurance field for the preceding fifteen years, and that one of the hallmarks of life insurance training and sales was to get your relatives to buy your product. He also knew from experience the problems of acceptance of any product that was different. After fifteen years, I am still looking for my first relative sale. Bias, as Webster says, “is a preference or inclination that inhibits impartial judgment; prejudice.” So it seems, when you decide to build a dome home that the whole world is on a one-way street for square houses.

Resistance to Domes

When one considers the real advantages of dome construction and dome living, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand why the great love for the rectilinear structure. Perhaps it is our human natural inborn inclination not to be different. Not to be unlike our neighbors. Just where do these biases manifest themselves when the dome buyer begins to think about buying or building a dome?

1. Well, as just stated, the first comments will probably come from well-meaning friends and relatives, who honestly believe that they have your best interests at heart, when they begin offering their advice.
2. The second, and sometimes disheartening resistance, comes from the banking area. “We don’t do domes” is a common response to the request for a home loan.
3. The third roadblock quite often comes from the building profession, and is unusually difficult to cope with, because it sometimes involves the building inspectors, who have developed their own biases over the years, and they do not include the construction of dome buildings in their little kingdom. Since this bias sometimes comes after the plans have been prepared, and the financing has been arranged, a delay in issuing a building permit can be both frustrating and costly.
4. The fourth bias, quite often, comes from the architectural field. Many architects, who have not been privy to dome experience and education, have the tendency to stay away from the recommendation of a dome structure.

Overcoming Prejudice

How does one overcome these biases? No easy solutions are available, but I will try to tell you what we, and others, have done over the years, to get dome homes into a more favorable light, and to make them easier to buy and to build.

Brace yourself for criticism from friends and relatives. Disregard the jokes and barbs. Sometimes, you can quiet their fears; if you can, get them into a completed dome. Talk to dome owners and find out what brought them to the dome doorstep. And, if this still does not work, you will have to continue on your own lonely way.

The second area of bias control has to be with the banker. The dome industry, by and large, has moved moderately well to establish the groundwork necessary to make the dome structure acceptable to the various governmental agencies.

United Building Code

The necessary testing and engineering has been done to get the approval of the FHA and VA and the United Building Code. Since the governmental agencies guarantee the loans through the banks, and since FHA has given prior approval to the basic dome design, it is very hard for a loan officer to turn down a loan application on the basis of the structure design. Sometimes you have to be really nasty. A call to the FHA office, who in turn may call the errant banker and explain the facts of life to said banker, along with some veiled threats that they might be flirting with a cancellation of their FHA charter, has proved successful.

Since these domes meet and exceed all United Building Code requirements, they are usually in excess of local codes. The main reason for the bias, in my estimation, with local building inspectors, is their fear of the design. If they have not had previous experience with domes in their area, or if they may have had a bad experience with a previous contract, they can be very obstinate. “You’re not building one of those funny houses in my town.” Sometimes they can cause delays, even when all the criteria have been met. It is usually a good idea to approach the inspection department before you get too far into the project. This will tell you if there are any codes specific to that area, and you will also find out how that particular inspector feels about alternative housing. You can then deal with it from there.

 Architect Bias

The fourth area of bias, that of the building profession, including the architectural field, is usually a little more difficult with which to contend. The dome concept is generally given little attention in the schools of architecture, or other areas of related education. There are exceptions, however, but the general rule is  information on this particular subject. The dome industry has made some effort to bring Domology to these areas of education, by offering privately run dome schools and making available lectures on the subject. What can I say? The most powerful force for the promotion of dome philosophy was, and probably still is, posthumously, Buckminster Fuller. He dedicated his life to the dome concept, among others. He left an indelible mark on this industry, but we are still a long way from parity.

Those of us who are in the front lines of dome thought and promotion are sometimes overwhelmed by the extent of the resistance to change. Yet we know that change must come, since the salient features of the geodesic dome of esthetic design, strength, energy conservation, and economy of construction will ultimately win the test of time.

We also know that the dome builder/buyer is a very special person who is not easily turned away from a dream.