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I Used A Mix Of Concrete And Dish-Washing Detergent To Build This Amazing Dome House In Costa Rica
A little while ago I moved to Montezuma, a charming hippie-surf-town in Costa Rica. And I decided to build a dome house. But not just a regular dome… no, I wanted it to be something extraordinary, unique, and stunning. Something that takes your breath away.
No one here knew about the material I wanted to use or how to construct a dome, let alone three connected ones. I remember first meeting my contractor, with his muddy work boots and leather hat and being taken by his personality and humor right away. When I told him about my project he laughed and told me I was a little crazy. But he was also curious about the idea and agreed to help me. My architect friend went off to a workshop to learn about this building technique, so he could teach me and my workers.
We made all blocks for the domes ourselves, using a special ‘aircrete’ mix of concrete and foam from dish-washing detergent, and handcrafted molds. I bought the town’s whole stock of dish-washing detergent to make the foam and inject it into the concrete mix. Getting the foam density right was one of the most tricky parts, so there was lots of foam weighing, mixing, blocks collapsing, and molds leaking. But eventually, we got there and set out to make the 1200 blocks needed for the construction.
I started most days with the workers at six in the morning and often worked alongside them on the construction. We faced many challenges but the guys impressed me with the creative ideas they came up with to improve processes. My heart always jumps a little when I think about them. They were so dedicated to the project and worked incredibly hard. They didn’t just build a house, they made magic happen.
Things took longer than expected, I spent more money than budgeted, and worked harder than I had thought. But I enjoyed it very much. We were creating something outstanding and word spread in town about the strange Star Wars domes being built uphill. Many people approached me and were curious to check out the construction. Those domes definitely earned me a lot of attention, respect, and admiration in the community.
I really enjoyed coming up with design elements and artwork for the house. I did a lot myself but I am also happy that some friends contributed with beautiful artwork – paintings, welded iron doors and windows, and my beyond awesome roof that opens up to gaze at the stars at night – directly from bed.
And now we’re done! I feel so proud, happy and still cannot believe what a stunning place we’ve created. And I have so many stories to tell from this project…
—
Green Moon Lodge is now bookable on the website (and can also be found on Airbnb). Introductory offer of 65 USD per night for 2 persons for a limited time.
Looking forward to welcoming you to this magical place!
More info: greenmoonlodge.com
The bedroom dome with large lounge windows for jungle gazing
Set in the middle of the jungle, only 3 minutes from the beach
Under the starry night sky.
That’s me, Katrin. So happy with that wonderful place
And this is how it looked at the beginning. Foundation work
My contractor and architect
Testing, testing, testing the foam. And some bubble fun
Mixing the foam into the concrete… full power!
The handcrafted molds for the blocks. Pouring in the aircrete and after one day the blocks can be removed and laid out to cure
The first layers of blocks are done! Getting the hang of it
Things are taking shape…
We cut out the holes for the windows
Lookin’ good!
Dusting off and finally adding some color
We did it! Me and my incredible helpers. The core team was three of them, the rest supported a little here and there
And this is it, the Green Moon Lodge in Montezuma, Costa Rica. It is a stunning one-bedroom home for design lovers and now available for rent
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What do you think ?
Jo Bebe 5 years ago
I liked the place, the doors are cool.....but what was this? An advertisement?
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Obviously. Anyone can write an article on BoredPanda, it will bubble to the frontpage if enough clicked/upvoted... so it's a smart & free advertising campaign; even if not directly linked it's easy to find from the description.
Load More Replies...
Country Nana 5 years ago
Y'all are so quick to snark before finding out the details! And, by the way, most people who live in warm climates like Guatemala, Mexico, Hawaii, Greece, etc. Use bright colors for the outside of their houses.
Chris Kourou 5 years ago
This is the house trance music would leave, if it was a person :) kudos though
Mike 5 years ago
Interesting building method. One worry - I didn't see anything much holding the blocks together other than gravity and possibly some cement. Pieces of rebar would go a long way toward adding structural integrity for during storms that throw debris at the walls. At first I thought the green was SOO BRIGHT, but it seems to adjust a little when seen in larger scenes.
Katrin (Post author) 5 years ago
Mike, we used a very strong mesh layer inside and outside, and added fiber glass to the plaster. This, combined with the dome shape makes it a damn strong structure.
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Amaranthim Talon 5 years ago
I liked all of it - EXCEPT the hideous green exterior- yuck to that. More muted color to blend into the jungle would have been much better.
Susoul Cats 5 years ago
wow... you destroyed nature, to appreciate it, and put a permanent structure in the middle of one of the last places thatch untouched by humans. But other than that not a bad idea.
Katrin (Post author) 5 years ago (edited)
Susoul Cats, the area it is built in is actually in a village, with several neighbors and houses around. I specifically selected a place where I didn't have to cut a single tree! Quite the opposite, I planted many new ones :) I also worked exclusively with local craftsmen and aircrete structures have a much lower environmental impact than regular concrete structures.
Load More Replies...
Meeow 5 years ago
After watching the video: The backyard land wish they could do a better work, all the brown mud will flood after heavy rain. Dishwashing Detergent I never heard of it, just wonder how it hold when the hurricane stop by, she changed this dome to airbnb I just worried the guest safety, they better double their insurance.
Mihail Amarie 5 years ago
Wow, that's a nice home and it looks good. Good luck building such a thing in the US, with the crippling amount of permits and regulations required here, prices are artificially inflated more than 3fold what they should be, if you ever get the chance to build it in the first place. Some times I wish we had a constitutional amendment to place limits on amount of regulations and codes cities and counties can burden people with...
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Just what the jungle needed, a clearing and more houses (plus a path to the beach, naturally); and then humans coming in and out every day (as they're short-term tourists making the most of their trip); plus light in the evening (as dusk falls so quickly in the tropics!) to disturb natural patterns of those animals not scared off (of course fatally attracting insects). And naturally made from sustainable materials found locally, chiefly cement and concrete. All in all A+ effort.
Jordan W. 5 years ago (edited)
Uhm are you ok (why is this downvoted) edit
Load More Replies... Jo Bebe 5 years ago
I liked the place, the doors are cool.....but what was this? An advertisement?
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Obviously. Anyone can write an article on BoredPanda, it will bubble to the frontpage if enough clicked/upvoted... so it's a smart & free advertising campaign; even if not directly linked it's easy to find from the description.
Load More Replies... Country Nana 5 years ago
Y'all are so quick to snark before finding out the details! And, by the way, most people who live in warm climates like Guatemala, Mexico, Hawaii, Greece, etc. Use bright colors for the outside of their houses.
Chris Kourou 5 years ago
This is the house trance music would leave, if it was a person :) kudos though
Mike 5 years ago
Interesting building method. One worry - I didn't see anything much holding the blocks together other than gravity and possibly some cement. Pieces of rebar would go a long way toward adding structural integrity for during storms that throw debris at the walls. At first I thought the green was SOO BRIGHT, but it seems to adjust a little when seen in larger scenes.
Katrin (Post author) 5 years ago
Mike, we used a very strong mesh layer inside and outside, and added fiber glass to the plaster. This, combined with the dome shape makes it a damn strong structure.
Load More Replies... Amaranthim Talon 5 years ago
I liked all of it - EXCEPT the hideous green exterior- yuck to that. More muted color to blend into the jungle would have been much better.
Susoul Cats 5 years ago
wow... you destroyed nature, to appreciate it, and put a permanent structure in the middle of one of the last places thatch untouched by humans. But other than that not a bad idea.
Katrin (Post author) 5 years ago (edited)
Susoul Cats, the area it is built in is actually in a village, with several neighbors and houses around. I specifically selected a place where I didn't have to cut a single tree! Quite the opposite, I planted many new ones :) I also worked exclusively with local craftsmen and aircrete structures have a much lower environmental impact than regular concrete structures.
Load More Replies... Meeow 5 years ago
After watching the video: The backyard land wish they could do a better work, all the brown mud will flood after heavy rain. Dishwashing Detergent I never heard of it, just wonder how it hold when the hurricane stop by, she changed this dome to airbnb I just worried the guest safety, they better double their insurance.
Mihail Amarie 5 years ago
Wow, that's a nice home and it looks good. Good luck building such a thing in the US, with the crippling amount of permits and regulations required here, prices are artificially inflated more than 3fold what they should be, if you ever get the chance to build it in the first place. Some times I wish we had a constitutional amendment to place limits on amount of regulations and codes cities and counties can burden people with...
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Just what the jungle needed, a clearing and more houses (plus a path to the beach, naturally); and then humans coming in and out every day (as they're short-term tourists making the most of their trip); plus light in the evening (as dusk falls so quickly in the tropics!) to disturb natural patterns of those animals not scared off (of course fatally attracting insects). And naturally made from sustainable materials found locally, chiefly cement and concrete. All in all A+ effort.
Jordan W. 5 years ago (edited)
Uhm are you ok (why is this downvoted) edit
Load More Replies...
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