- The dome homes can cost just $350,000. The average US house in 2023 is valued at $330,000.
- The domes are designed to resist extreme weather events, which displaced 3.3 million Americans last year.
- They are constructed from fire-proof materials and their shape allows them to withstand extreme wind, architects say.
Extreme weather driven by the climate crisis forced 3.3 million Americans out of their homes last year. So some are seeking out a new type of house designed specifically to withstand the consequences of a warming Earth: geodesic domes.
And — surprisingly enough — the unique buildings cost the same as your typical American home.
The total construction costs for these eccentric, newly-popular homes range from about $350,000 to $450,000 if built in rural areas, The New York Times reported. That's just $20,000 shy of the average value of a standard US home in 2023, which comes in at $330,000, The Guardian reported in May. However, construction costs can reach closer to $600,000 in urban areas.
Dennis Odin Johnson, who owns a dome-home company called Natural Spaces Homes in Minnesota, told the Times his clients often aren't particularly wealthy, and instead come to his company out of concern for the threats extreme weather poses.
"They want something that's going to last," Johnston told the outlet.
Johnson told the Times he expects to sell 40 dome homes by the end of the year, doubling his company's sales from 2022, the Times reports.
These homes are particularly adept at withstanding events like flooding and hurricanes, architects told the Times. The homes are often built out of fire-resistant materials like steel, and the dome shape provides resistance against extreme winds that standard square homes do not. Many also have solar panels and backup generators in case of a power outage.
