3 ms·
The idea in itself is not "new", pneumatic formwork (to cast concrete) has been largely used in the past, to build (mainly) waterpipes/aqueducts, but also for c
by jaclaz 9y ago
The idea in itself is not "new", pneumatic formwork (to cast concrete) has been largely used in the past, to build (mainly) waterpipes/aqueducts, but also for civil buildings, As an example this company was established in 1956:
http://www.socapsrl.com/about/ http://www.socapsrl.com/about/
And - igloo like - reinforced concrete "thin" structures for domes were largely used since the '60's:
https://www.architectural-review.com/rethink/viewpoints/skill-inflatable-concrete-domes/8641827.article https://www.architectural-review.com/rethink/viewpoints/skil...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binishell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binishell
And of course building "arch" tunnels in snow is common enough, and used - as an example - to build (each year) "ice hotels":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hotel
It is the mix of the two that might be interesting because of the reduced amount of materials that can be tranported in remote north (or south).
- michaelbuckbee 9y agoResidential too - http://www.monolithic.org/ http://www.monolithic.org/ - that site has some neat designs.
- dredmorbius 9y agoThe "Flintstone House", a/k/a 45 Berryessa Way, Hillsborough, CA, would be another example. Bay Area residents may recall sighting this from Interstate 280, whilst crossing the Crystal Springs Canyon bridge. http://www.flintstonehouse280.com http://www.flintstonehouse280.com https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstone_House https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstone_House http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flintstone-house-hillsborough http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flintstone-house-hillsbor...
- digi_owl 9y agoOne variant of this that i ran into recently was from a british company, meant for erecting temporary shelters etc. Basically a balloon wrapped in a canvas saturated in cement powder. Basically you unrolled, inflated, hosed down with water, and waited for it to harden.