A house built from geodesic domes off the coast of Florida was designed to withstand gale-force winds and powerful storm surges but not sea-level rise.
image: (2016) By Andy Morffew, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61980535
Scientific American writes:
It was an architectural icon, a forebear to hurricane readiness and a cautionary tale about building too close to the shore.
The Cape Romano dome home, completed in 1982 on a sand spit of Marco Island, Fla., has succumbed to the sea.
Hurricane Ian knocked down what remained of the 40-year-old string of six concrete-reinforced geodesic domes that were adjoining rooms in the 2,400-square-foot modular house. Its spherical walls were built to deflect 150-mph winds that would level most conventionally designed homes.
The dome home was ahead of its time and a harbinger of storm-resilient living until it was abandoned in 2007 after the beach it was built upon eroded away, leaving the domes on pilings about 100 yards offshore.
Two of the original domes collapsed after Hurricane Irma. The final four remained a spooky relic until last week. Then they went underwater.
Alex Demooy, owner of the Naples-based charter tour company Breakwater Adventures, was among the first to photograph the spot where the domes once stood….
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