A circular water reservoir with a fixed kernel in the centre of the house, a floating ground disc and a floating dome.
The floating ground disc has the form of a CD-disc and can rotate around the kernel axis.
The dome is located outside the floating ground disc and is a rotating dome.
The central kernel axis keeps the ground disc in place, whereas the ground disc keeps the dome in place.
The kernel and the water reservoir are built of concrete and are placed on a high layer (1 m +) of insulation.
The ground disc is placed on a 0.50 cm thick layer of polystyrene, whereas the dome is floating on a meter thick ring of polystyrene.
The bearing construction of the dome is built of 16 mm rolled, reinforcing steel. The construction consists of just 20 curved, reinforcing steel bars, which form a pattern like the leaves of a lotus flower.
The idea behind the dome-shaped construction is obvious. It has been chosen, firstly, because of its shape, which provides maximum space in proportion to the size of the surface, and secondly because of its high carrying capacity. All bearings are mounted by suspension (read: pull) without the use of bearing pillars. So a dome with a diameter of 14 metres will be able to bear a weight of about 60 tons.
The dome also forms a perfect framework for carrying the climate shield that encircles the house. A large number of materials are suitable for shield covering. An obvious solution would be to fasten moulded polystyrene plates, laminated with fibreglass, on both sides of the shield. This solution would protect the house with an external rain shield, at the same time providing an internal vapour barrier layer.
Protective and insulating materials such as light-concrete blocks, mineral wool or straw bales would also be suitable. Depending on the climate, even more innovative insulation materials could be used, e.g. air cushions, like those used in air mattresses.
The inner side of the framework would typically be covered with gypsum boards. Once again, depending on the climate, even materials such wood chips, clay or plastering would be suitable for this purpose. The dome is provided with two big sliding glass doors, covering ¼ of the total surface of the dome. The glass doors are provided with conventional solar collectors or solar power systems to generate electricity. Compared to traditionally mounted solar collectors, this system provides optimal thermal and/or electrical efficiency