The Geodesic Earthworks Kit...

1) The Geodesic Earthworks Kit...
....Kit Components and Rationale for this
novel Construction Technology!

The Geodesic Earthworks Kit brings together for the first time in kit form two very innovative yet
under-utilized building technologies within the home construction industry: the Geodesic Dome and
Earth-sheltering.

Kit Components: Struts, Hubs and Tiles:
The Geodesic Earthworks Kit is composed of (1) aluminum struts and (2)hubs which form the Geodesic
Dome framework; a system of very exactly sized and angled triangles. This framework looks like this:

For the four-frequency Geodesic Dome seen here, there are 250 struts with 91 hubs that serve to
attach or intersect these struts. The resulting large triangular spaces are "closed" using our (3)"Bucky
Tile," engineered to size and shape and factory painted to form a finished interior "shell." These tiles fit
into the struts which are designed to accept them. There are 160 triangles in this dome configuration.
In the Geodesic Earthworks Kit, every space that is not used for a doorway or window gets a tile. Our
entryway will also be composed primarily of these same components.

So...the Geodesic Earthworks Kit (GEK) product is a custom “shell” specifically designed
to be earth-sheltered that rapidly constructs to give an interior dome shell surface that is
finished upon assembly. This is a HUGE money-saver! The shell then has structural duties in
that it is the concrete "form" that receives the exterior shotcrete step that, when set-up and
cured, will hold the earth-load as described in other areas of this website. The GEK is
thought to be the only building system which has finished surfaces preceding structural
construction steps! The components used in the GEK are functional, being chosen and
designed specifically for ease of construction and to take advantage of the principles of
Passive Annual Heat Storage. The panels/tiles are strong, thin and bright white galvanized
metal to allow natural light to be reflected throughout the dome and to allow heat to leak into
the shotcrete layer and then captured in the surrounding earth-bed.

Rationale
This is a marriage made in heaven. Geodesic Domes have been around since the 50’s and are renowned
for their inherent strength; a strength born from the geometry of the dome itself. Interestingly, this
geometry also allows for a maximum volume to be enclosed by a minimum of surface area and
therefore a minimum of building materials! Earth-sheltering, using earth to buffer the living space of
the home from nature's temperature extremes has been recognized since 1979 by the U.S. Government
as an established building approach and requires very strong structures. Both are hugely energy-
efficient. The result is the Geodesic Earthworks Kit; a construction technology so novel, it's patented!
And it's timely! Independence from unchecked utility bills is THE most important issue for homeowners.

An electrical engineer from a large northeast contracting firm stated:

Neither people nor the planet can afford any longer the price-tag attached to expensive, commercially
generated energy. The traditional energy-dependent homes of conventional construction
methodologies, part of what we can now refer to as the obsolete construction paradigm are a big part
of that problem. As was stated on this Home Page, statistics suggest the U.S., with 3% of the world's
population, utilizes 25% of the world's energy. As much as 40% of this energy (in all its forms) is
consumed by America's homes for heating and cooling, etc. That's a tremendous amount of energy:
Energy that would never be needed if our homes didn't have this energy appetite.

NY Congressman Maurice Hinchey has stated that we need a 2nd industrial revolution: one to end our
reliance on oil; in its broadest perspective this needed revolution would end the crises imposed on us
by our open-ended consumption of commercial energy resources (and its attending open-ended
costs!). Bucky Fuller would say we must employ ‘Design Science’ principles: utilize technological
innovation to do less and accomplish more. The challenge is to employ the artifacts/inventions at our
disposal (with special emphasis on our solar energy input) for the purpose of ending, or at least to
significantly curtail the huge energy consumption of the homes we live in to create a sustainable future.

The Geodesic Earthworks Kit is such a product, in that its goal is a home that maintains comfortable
living temperatures the year around without the use of mechanical heating and cooling devices.
Possible? Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS) states that it can and has been done. The Geodesic
Earthworks Kit is designed to enable it's owner to incorporate the PAHS techniques completely to
achieve THE most important aspect of home ownership: energy-efficiency...energy-independence?!.

The Geodesic Earthworks Kit, designed to be earth-sheltered, is composed of hubs, custom struts and
our unique Bucky Tiles which function as both concrete/Gunite forms (external application) and a
finished interior surface!

“The system can not produce any more kilowatts than we’re now
producing…not without another nuclear power-plant springing-up
in someone’s back yard. That doesn't go over well. New building
and solar technologies are our only option.”

The Kit is firstly a system of forms engineered to accept a Gunite/mesh
exterior application! The inside surface is finished on Kit
    construction...which may only require a couple of days!

The Kit requires NO: 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8's, plywood sheets, shingles,
siding, interior ductwork, gutters (but there is a drainage system)
conventional insulation (look at all the material we need to use when we
forego the asset of the Earth as a building material)!

We don't need to run into our first piece of lumber until the internal walls
and second floor are being installed...unless you opt for it.
Also significant is the huge savings in time and labor needed to construct the
                            Geodesic Earthworks Kit.