Dome Home Joe
The story of Energy Structures, Inc.
Joe was the consummate builder starting from a young age when, with the aid of his trusty horse, he dug the basement for his family’s farm home in Stillwater, Minnesota. His curious mind led him to build a wind generator on top of the milk house and to disassemble and rebuild the 1926 Model T Ford given to him by his father, cutting off the top of the car to convert it to a more pick-up style for practicality. He looked at how things were and had the vision to see how they could be.
He also learned how to take an engine apart and put it back together again – knowledge that enabled him to keep cars running throughout the years long after they should have been parked for good.
Joe found his passion later in life in a career that completely absorbed him for 25 years and one from which he never retired – selling and manufacturing geodesic dome homes. Fueled by his passion for the work of Buckminster Fuller and his altruistic vision of environmentally sustainable and affordable housing, he started Energy Structures, Inc. along with his son, Kevin Frawley. He became known as Dome Home Joe. It was a career that combined everything Joe was passionate about including politics, the economy and our precious environment.
Joe was particularly proud of building his own dome home at the age of 69. It included the only solar collector in the area that not only generated hot water, but also provided heat for the entire house very efficiently and for very little money.
Recognized as a leader in the field of geodesic domes, Joe was asked to be be a regular columnist for Dome Magazine, for which he penned 42 articles over 10 years. In these articles he shared his knowledge of all aspects of building a dome from installation to shingling and all topics in between.
The dome structure really suited Joe’s personality. He thought of himself as a rebel; a person that didn’t follow the crowd; someone who was independent and self-sufficient. The dome business also connected Joe to the world. Through his website he sold over 100 domes throughout the United States, and expanded his reach to Canada, Japan, St. Lucia and Mongolia.
Joe’s customers became his friends. His files are filled with warm messages from dome owners thanking Joe for all the help he gave them. John Karlson wrote from Mongolia, “Joe, the last strut went in, like we were assembling a Boeing aircraft. Perfect. I guess that is why you kept emphasizing round and dimensionaly correct while we were going up!”
The columns that Joe penned in Dome Magazine were compiled into his book, “Domology”, most of which are shared on this site.
We hope that Joe’s knowledge and love of domes will help anyone who is interested in building an affordable, energy effecient and “out of the box” home.