In the mid-1990s, an eco-entrepreneur designed and built a geodesic dome home in the woods near Brainerd, Minn., using a kit from Natural Spaces Homes in North Branch, Minn.
The unusual home was a project of the Water Foundation, which invested $1.75 million into packing the home with 20 conservation technologies, including solar panels, two geothermal systems and a wind turbine.
"It was a labor of love," said David Winkelman, who started the organization and acted as general contractor on the dome home. "The idea was to run a building on its own power and resources. It was way ahead of its time."
The home, which won a Green Building Award from the state in 1999, had warmth and character as well as energy efficiency. The interior was finished with seven native wood species, including red oak, butternut and white ash. Most of the wood was left unsealed, to eliminate indoor air pollution from chemicals.
Winkelman, who founded Water Foundation, never lived in the home; he lives next door. Instead, he hosted tours and events there.
"It was a model home for people to see conservation technologies in action," he said.
He estimates that 80,000 people have been through the home over the years. "It was a popular business meeting place — such wonderful surroundings."
The dome home is actually two connected domes. There's a 5,174-square-foot living dome with an open floor plan, kitchen, bedrooms and 30-foot ceilings in the great room. A second 1,600-square-foot dome functions as a family room or game room. Both have 18-inch-thick walls and the triangle-shaped structural membranes that make geodesic domes the strongest supporting structure that can be built. "Wind flows right over it," said Winkelman. "In 1998 there was a tornado. I could hardly hear it."
