'Dome Homes' Were All Over In The '70s Until One Fatal Flaw Led Them To Vanish
"You don’t need to know that much, you just need to go ahead and try it out." With these words, architect and designer Steve Baer perfectly summed up the spirit of the 1970s. Pushing the boundaries of what was possible wasn't so much the goal as it was simply living life to the fullest, and from these efforts emerged a new style of living that quickly grew into a countrywide craze. But as time went on, the charm wore off, and after one fatal flaw became impossible to ignore, these futuristic homes disappeared for good.
Relics of the Past
But if you drive through the small city of Trinidad, Colorado, the ghostly remains of several "dome homes" can still be found, their colorful exteriors cracked and faded from decades of neglect. Today, the thought of sheltering in one of these rusted, trash-strewn structures seems like a prison sentence — in the '70s, however, they were a paradise.
Return to Nature
Longing to escape the consumerism and conformity of American life, many young 20 and 30-somethings began advocating for a return to nature, often moving to the countryside with little more than the clothes on their backs. Still, there were some aspects of "traditional" living they just couldn't shake.
A New Way of Life
While garden-grown food and hand-stitched organic clothing stood in stark contrast to the supermarkets and retail stores back home, adequate shelter was one facet of modern life these pioneers struggled to substitute — though that didn't mean they wouldn't try. "We wanted to create a structure that didn’t remind us of anything — a new kind of space in which to create new selves," said one free spirit.
Simple Shelter
With little to no building experience under their belts, most turned to simple structures like yurts and huts to keep from the elements. Yet in the minds of many of these young men and women, there had to be a better way to push the boundaries of architectural possibility — and thanks to Buckminster Fuller, they did just that.
