Japanese Prefab Houes: The Foam Domes
We came across this great piece by the guys at Pink Tentacle about these amazing prefabricated houses in Japan. They resemble igloos, and are made out of Styrofoam (the same stuff used coffee cups and packaging) and can be assembled in two to three hours. The amazing part is, this isn’t a concept product or anything – these are being manufactured for real by Dome House Japan Co.
Take a peek at how nice they can look inside:
Why Styrofoam? Well apparently – …unlike wood and metal structures, for example, the styrofoam Dome House does not rust, rot or attract termites. It is also highly resistant to earthquakes and typhoons. In addition, the walls, which are treated with a flame retardant, emit no toxic fumes in a fire…. The styrofoam used in the Dome House’s 175-millimeter (7 in) thick walls is significantly denser and stronger than ordinary packing foam. The material has excellent thermal insulation properties, resulting in higher energy efficiency and lower heating and cooling costs.
You can live in them for yourself on your next visit to Japan at Aso Farm Village in Kyushu, where they have 330 of these setup as private cabins, spa’s and saunas and they surrounded by rotenburo (open-air baths).
After the jump: A video to demonstrate the ease and speed of assembling a dome house.
via Pink Tentacle
link Japan Dome House Co
Technically they are made of expanded polystyrene. Styrofoam (as used in coffee cups and packaging) is much more expanded and thus weaker. Perhaps I’m splitting hairs here, but my understanding is the difference between what your coffee cup is made of and what these are made of would be similar to the difference between particle board and hardwood.
I went to see these domes at Aso Farm Village in Kyushu. Most of the domes are the size of your first pictures and do NOT look like the interior shot. But as you have written, these domes CAN be made that size and outfitted that way.