Vacation Dome House By Steve Areen, Thailand

With Hajjar's guidance and design ideas, and Steve's son-in-law Tao's masonry skills, Steve created his own dome and painted in six weeks. The cost for the basic structure was under $6000. It took a few more weeks to add the details, such as doors, screens, pond, upstairs structure, stonework and landscaping. All this, including furnishings, was under $3000, bringing total cost to about $9,000.
As much as Steve loves his dome home, he probably would not have built it if it was a long process. The low cost and time-efficiency of using blocks is what enticed him into building.
Because suitable compressed earth blocks were not available at the time, cement blocks and clay bricks were used. Now the goal is to take this design ..which is quick, affordable, strong, beautiful and fun, ..and build with more sustainable materials that better insulate for colder climates. Hajjar recently built a compressed earth brick press and is preparing to build a earth block dome at his next workshop. He is also developing a system for building with cellular concrete, which will offer much better insulation.