You are here

Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside & Southwest » Allegheny Highlands » Alleghany County » Covington (Independent City) » Geodesic Dome House

Geodesic Dome House

-A A +A
1987. 538 E. Gray St.
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)

Located in a neighborhood of ranch houses, this geodesic dome house built by Nancy and William Cash is a highly visible and rare urban example. They began by building a traditional Colonial Revival house, then moved on to a ranch-style design, and, finally, graduated to the dome. Inventor Buckminster Fuller had advocated the geodesic dome form for housing after World War II, but it was most often adopted for vacation homes, especially in areas subject to high wind and/or snow loads. Available in kit form since the 1960s, this dome came in pie-shaped triangles made of 2 × 4s that were fitted together, sheathed with plywood, and insulated with foam. The house has brick walls to which the domed superstructure with gambrel-roofed projecting bays has been attached.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,