michael jantzen’s dome cluster house from 1982 explores energy efficient, low-cost building

in 1982, michael jantzen designed and built ‘the dome cluster house’ for his mother and four of his sisters in southern illinois, the US. the project was just one in a series of structures in which the architect explored how to create energy efficient and low-cost housing. inspired by his midwest upbringing, the dome cluster house also experimented with the use of off-the-shelf agricultural components to create a forward-thinking alternative to a conventional family home. 

images courtesy of michael jantzen

being raised in the US midwest, jantzen was very aware of the agricultural buildings that dotted the landscape. he was particularly attracted to the painted steel dome silo roofs that topped the concrete cylindrical silos on southern illinois farms. these painted steel domes were lightweight, very strong, and low-cost. they could also be assembled quickly by one person and were available in many different diameters up to 9.1 m (30 ft). using these domes, jantzen’s idea was to create a modular prototype that could be replicated anywhere in the world as a possible solution to housing and shelter crises.

the entire house was made from painted steel silo roofs

the architect first created a simple way in which to merge any diameter of the domes together in a modular fashion in order to make any size structure, in the same way soap bubbles join together. he determined that this particular house needed to be around 158 sqm (1700 sqft) in size to accommodate the needs of his mother and sisters.

four 7.9 m (26 ft) domes merged together like soap bubbles form the exterior shell of the 158 sqm (1700 sqft) house

jantzen assembled and merged four 7.9 m (26 ft) diameter domes together into a Y formation with one dome oriented to the north and three to the south (for maximum solar exposure) to form the outer shell of the house. he then erected and merged four 7.3 m (24 ft) diameter domes inside the outer shell to form an interior shell with 30 cm (1 ft) of space between the two. that space was filled with cellulose insulation.

south-facing view with all of the round windows fitted with operable louvered sun shades

the super-insulated dome cluster was mounted onto a concrete foundation and floor that provided a large amount of thermal mass for wintertime solar heating, which was obtained through the south-facing windows. the only backup heater required throughout an entire southern illinois winter was a small woodstove that, because of the large amount of insulation in the house, only used one cord of wood.

a storage structure for the main house made of the same silo roofs only smaller, with a large sliding entry door

in the summer, the house didn’t require air conditioning thanks to the super insulation and the operable louver sun shades that were mounted onto the outside of the windows. as the house was designed to be extremely airtight in order to maintain a high degree of heating and cooling energy efficiency, an air-to-air heat exchanger was used to provide fresh air into the house.

interior view during construction before the interior domes and insulation were assembled

the house also utilized the most energy efficient lighting and appliances available at the time, along with domestic water conservation techniques such as a low flush toilet, and low volume water conserving faucets. the domestic water was also solar heated with a highly efficient backup electric water heater that was seldom used. jantzen also designed and built all of the interior furnishings and furniture, which were modular and mass-produced from wood.

interior view of the finished dome cluster house looking toward the kitchen and dining area

main living area view

detail view of the dining/storage table all made of painted wood

view toward the kitchen area with the most energy-efficient lighting and appliances available at the time the house was built in 1982

a four-person bunkbed designed and built by michael for his four sisters

michael’s mother in her bedroom with storage closets in the background

michael’s mother at her bedroom makeup mirror, which is mounted to the bathroom module

project info:

name: the dome cluster house

location: illinois, the US

architect: michael jantzen

year: 1982

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.