Dôme-Dôme :
Cocooning the spring sprouts
For a first Lets-Make-Stuff-Together Activity came the idea of building on this currently empty land something which can act as a cocoon protecting further experiments. Following our imagination nurtured with futuristic sci-fi images from the 70s, and led by the end-goal to somehow play a role as a facilitator in regenerative projects, the design of a geodesic dome has been shaped in our mind, and on paper.
More than just a set of greenhouses for the far far away winter time, the setup of this physical space is a fun way to bootstrap the whole experimentation space, providing us with a shelter against the rain to gather and start getting our hands dirty together.
This timing coincides with the placemaking week, an event where more than ever we are invited to express our desire to shape public spaces as we please. What a lucky coincidence, and an opportunity to reach out beyond our neighborhood to make good friends with other placemakers.
The Basic Stuff
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How to get involved
This project is funded by members, and donations of any kind are welcome. We are happy for anyone to partake in the building effort, or help us gather all items required to make the domes - see the list right here.
If you wish to participate, drop us a line using the form below - Many thanks!
Ideation
Part of The Ephemeral Architecture of Burning Man :
Black Lotus Society Camp with true geodesic sphere of 24' diameter.
http://thisisblackrockcity.blogspot.com/
- September 2018 -
I guess it all started at these numerous happy hippy festivals, recollecting good memories of late nights where old friends and new buddies would all find shelter under domes of all sizes, chatting relentlessly until the sun picked us up for the next day. A cosy vibe resonates in these angleless cocoons, bringing everyone together, and the emerging feeling of content is indescribable.
Looking beyond the realm of short-lived festivals, there are many benefits to this round shape, namely that it is windproof, energy efficient and lightweight, making geodesic dome very well adapted for potential greenhouse purposes down the line.
For now though, it is a good excuse to spend some quality time gathering a troop of capable Homo Sapiens, merrily waving their tools, rubbing shoulders against each other while chats and vessels are being passed around. Or so I envision.
My brain alone can only go that far, so I offer to some close friends to hop in the game, giving them the freedom to come up with their own activities and installations, away from too narrow guidelines.
A cosy brainstorming session.
Inspired by cards from the Placemaking kit provided by Toby and Bhav, and facilitated by nothing else but a common interest in mutual understanding, the crew gives birth to dozens ideas, speaking loudly, gesticulating and throwing words at each other. Then ideas are refined, intentions are set and before gathering around a burning firepit, the activations and installations are been adopted by their future caregivers.
Design
Right : 3D print of a reduced scale model.
Left : The Play Doh "blob" is human-sized, used for scale reference.
- October 2018, week 01 -
After watching a short, insightful video covering the many types of domes available, and designing a reduced-scale model * to get a sense of space, the decision was made to go for the most straightforward option : a basic V2 dome. This choice involves less connectors and sticks, which logically is easy to put up and take down; it is not very large, yet able to fit a group of people standing around a table, and by the fact of its shape and height, it still makes a bold statement of originality.
Selecting connectors and other materials specifically for easy set up and take down is necessary to be able to relocate the dome on a whim - who knows what festivals are around the corner. Scouting for the best option on the net, "Hubs" kits popped up. After a long exchange of emails with Jo, exectuve assistant from Build With Hubs, we were offered a discount on a kit - thanks Jo!
a connector by Hubs, easy to clip in and out.
Pollution Pods, An artistic installation by Michael Pinsky, pushing the Hubs connectors to their limits. Gorgeous, but a little too pricey for a bootstrapped project.
Jo deserves some extra credit for being so patient : we initially discussed several options to reduce the carbon-footprint linked with the shipping of the hubs. We considered exchanging digital designs between the Hubs team and Hackland, then make use of our digital fabrication tools here to produce replicas of the connectors, completely eliminating the shipping. The strength offered by 3D printing was limited however - I favored a safer option for future dôm-ers, and let these connectors fly towards us. I am secretly hoping to make up for it by sourcing other elements locally.
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* Thank you very much to piuLAB from Milano for putting their model of connectors online, and making it easy for us to make our first reduced-scale model.
Prototyping
Putting things together at Hackland , recycling unwanted bed slates and getting many super helpful hands to pitch in.
- October 2018, week 02 -
Thanks to the many friends with garages holding up unwanted bed slats, the wood is sourced and gathered at Hackland , a Headquarter for creation, open for all.
Many cups of coffee and chats lead a small crew of super helpful and skilled hands to preparing all 65 sticks required, adjusting their length to the millimeter, chamfering the angles, sanding and drilling in the connectors and weighing the pieces produced to make sure they match the 30kg range that the hubs can take.
Final stage: outdoor testing!
A kilometre away, a gathering of unwanted pallets is taking place. On a former bowling green, now prone to flooding, a rough floor is set up; hopefully it will keep the future dom-ers dry and happy.
Keeping our feet off potential puddles.
The result is shabby, but the team driving around to gather these pallets get to realise the sheer amount of WASTE generated by these pallets. Once stacked together in a recycling centre in Waitakere, two days’ worth of collecting pallets make a pile three times taller than us. It is... enormous.
Answering a call for Quick Response local fundings, we apply for enough cash to cover gas and the hire of a trailer each week to slowly divert ALL MATERIALS worth saving from the landfill to community spaces. Albert - Eden council, if you are reading this: Here is a good fight to pick.
- October 2018, week 03 -
Finally, under the scorching sun, we put together the dome we have been working on for the last month:
We take a second to savour some shade; the first element required to bring more people to this unused space.
The size of the dome is ideal to gather as a small group, sit in a circle and speak sweet nonsense. Running the events and installations this weekend seems now to be stretching it, time and energy wise, so we will let the placemaking week fly by. See you next year.
Regardless, this setup is an exciting starting point, and we discuss possible upgrades that can make the dome more welcoming and "cocoony". It is a good time to reflect on what happened over the last month, and figure out the value of what took place, in the form of an unforgiving spreadsheet .
Contributors, Friends and Supporters
Hackland is an independent, not for profit Hackspace not far from us, hosting the many inventions and tools of very creative people.
A bunch of humans dedicated to experimenting with the concept of locally productive, globally connected Fab-Cities at New Zealand scale.
Many thanks to Creative Tim , for allowing us to use this sparkling Bootstrap template, The Krita Foundation , for designing a professional open source painting program used here on a daily basis.