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Tiny Houses

One-of-a-kind tiny house takes a geodesic approach to downsizing

By Adam Williams
October 14, 2024
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The Mini Dome is hailed as the world's first pentakis dodecahedron tiny house and features an unusual geodesic dome structure
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome is hailed as the world's first pentakis dodecahedron tiny house and features an unusual geodesic dome structure
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's living room includes a sofa bed and a small table, with some board games on hand for occupants
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's sofa bed, shown in the bed position
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's interior has a floorspace of 308 sq ft (28 sq m) and features an interesting layout centered around a large kitchen/bathroom/bedroom unit
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's triangular windows help fill its interior with natural light
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's bedroom is a mezzanine and includes a queen-sized bed
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's bedroom is reached by a space-saving spiral staircase
Dodeca Domes
The Mini Dome's bathroom has a toilet and shower (but no sink)
Dodeca Domes
View gallery - 8 images

Hailed as the world's first pentakis dodecahedron (or 60-sided) tiny house, this pint-sized geodesic dome home has been expertly designed to maximize its limited space. Named the Mini Dome, it's currently available for vacation rentals and will soon be up for sale in bare hub kit form too.

Popularized by famed architect Buckminster Fuller, geodesic domes are made up of interconnected triangles and, thanks to their unusual looks, are a popular choice with hobbyists for greenhouses and eco-homes. The Mini Dome was created by Dodeca Domes' Joshua Tulberg and consists of a welded steel hub and wooden struts. It's supported on a raised pier and beam foundation and also has excellent insulation.

The interior measures 308 sq ft (28 sq m) and is spread over two floors, with a very open layout. The front door opens onto the main living area. This is enlivened by triangular windows and the actual inside shape of the home is really eye-catching.

The layout is cleverly arranged to suit the curving walls and to make the most of the available space, and it includes a sofa bed, as well as a dining table for two people. A large central unit serves as kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, plus it hosts a TV for the living area. Focusing on the kitchen, this includes a fridge/freezer, a sink, coffee maker, microwave, and a toaster, as well as cabinetry. The bathroom, meanwhile, has a shower and toilet (there's also a hot tub outside).

The Mini Dome's interior has a floorspace of 308 sq ft (28 sq m) and features an interesting layout centered around a large kitchen/bathroom/bedroom unit
Dodeca Domes

The Mini Dome's bedroom is reached by a space-saving spiral staircase and is a simple mezzanine with a queen-sized bed, though there does appear to be plenty of space there to stand upright, unlike the upstairs bedrooms in many tiny houses.

If you'd like to stay in the Mini Dome, it's currently up for rent on Airbnb. As mentioned, Tulberg aims to sell the bare hub kit for US$15,000 in 2025.

Source: Dodeca Domes

View gallery - 8 images

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Tiny HousesBuilding and ConstructionTiny FootprintMicro-HouseHouseHomeAirbnb
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Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.
10 comments
jennyatthebeach
I understand it is a tiny home but I don't see a closet or a bureau. Where do they keep their clothes?
veryken
No cooktop, no cooking exhaust, not even a pellet stove for space heating, but I like it as a selfish compact space. Neighbors will surely hate it.
Techutante
Yeah, zero storage. There's room for like 2 board games and some food. Wasted space over the fridge, no dish washer, no laundry of any kind. Could have extended the "bedroom" balcony to cover half the room instead of the corner and had a closet at least.
Spud Murphy
Clothes storage may be under the bed, you can get beds with drawers in the base. But the real issue for me, apart from all the other things lacking as mentioned by others here, is no sink in the bathroom. So how do you wash up? Do you take a dump and then go use the kitchen sinks to wash up? Real hygienic, not...
zort
Pretty spiffy but there's way too much potential space wasted overhead.
CarolynFarstrider
Yes, nowhere to keep your stuff, such as clothes, linen, books etc. OK for a working office or garden room, but not for actually living in!
Uncle Anonymous
I like this design and would love to have one. However, from my point of view, it needs a little refining. As others have mentioned, storage and something to cook on are an issue. But with IKEA, these issues are easily solved. Where I have a minor problem is heating and cooling. I don't see any opening windows or a ceiling fan, plus there doesn't appear to be any AC. What brought this on was the location of the bed near the top of the structure. Heat rises so in the summer, this could become unbearable.
ImpoverishedFreegan
At 25k move in ready, I'd buy this. Now it definitely has issues but with housing prices and rent? Doubtful this would be under 45k though after paying to build it.

Entire 2nd floor is possible. Sink IDC, using kitchen is fine. No washer/dryer sucks but not end of world. Heat pump needed. Cooking? Electric multi purpose devices are fine for me like grill/air fryer. Space, minimalist don't need more than 12 sets of clothes & 2-3 electronics.
Grunchy
It's something the size of a shed you can build in the backyard and rent out on AirBNB, like this one (located in Portland, Oregon).
You wouldn't actually "live" in it, come on. Who do you think you are, Henry David Thoreau?
Oirinth
looks almost liveable, assuming its got underfloor heating. I can see it being suitable for a Bnb, but its missing storage unless its designed for a nudist community?

I'd also want a cooking extractor or all your soft furnishings are going to smell of food
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