As to the practicality of living in a circular home, there are many instances
of people living successfully in circular structures, currently and
historically: Mongolian yurts, Iron Age round houses in the UK, pallozas in
Spain, trulli in Italy, rondavels in South Africa, teepees/tipi, used by the
tribes of the Great Plains, USA, the raun haus in Papua New Guinea, cob round
houses in North America, igloos in Canada's Arctic and Greenland's Thule area
etc. But again we often have a long-established negative conditioning around
this kind of living: we associate this kind of dwelling with nomadic
„primitive“ lifestyles, basic living conditions, poverty. Wealth and status
are on show in rectangular „solid“ homes, not in „temporary“, flexible,
round homes. In other words, we have been taught to be prejudiced against
(temporary, flexible) round structures for living in.

If we can turn this prejudice around and embrace the idea of using flexible
materials, for long-term round homes, then we can more easily imagine the
benefits of building homes as spheres: A sphere, in principle, allows an
extremely strong-yet-light, thermally efficient, durable structure – and with
flexible coverings / materials those issues around building with compound curves
are resolved. How could you build an entire city in this way?

All parts of an Ekinoid home/city will be delivered on-site for easy
fabrication. We think one crane (possibly two) and a team of approximately four
people (one skilled, three unskilled) would be adequate for the one-week
construction time needed for each house; and after, these newly-skilled people
(the new owners) might then help to build more Ekinoid homes, and support new
owners/builders. This training would, in principle, work exponentially and would
therefore service the whole new community in a very short time.

Because Ekinoid homes will all be off the grid, there will be no need to put
in the infrastructure commonly demanded for normal utilities and services –
which means that in many suitable areas roads, power lines, pipes, drainage
etc., need not be built. What this will mean, in practice, is that far greater
areas of land may be happily used for new habitation, at little extra cost. The
local geography and conditions will define the structure of Ekinoid towns and
cities. How can the houses be completely independent of infrastructure?

To be independent of infrastructure you need to be able to access homes
without using a local road network, to have no pipes for water and sewage or
wires/pylons for power. Each Ekinoid home will use water captured locally (from
the roof where possible, and then filtered depending on planned use), will
compost all their own organic waste, will use a combination of thin-film solar
panels and roof-mounted VAWTs (Vertical Axis Wind Turbines) to generate their
power (Ekinoid towns may of course choose to share their power generation),
locally, between each other). Of course there will be regions with little wind,
low water and little sunlight so these will present challenges for energy
production … we will take each area on its merits and endeavour to come up
with workable loca energy solutions. Internet access is still an unknown for us
at this time, regarding large-scale access; it might be via satellite in remoter
regions. Why are these houses suitable for inhospitable regions?

When there is no need for foundations for houses, roads or piping then vast
new regions of marginal land become easily available: moorland, tundra, desert,
flood plains – all these become available to a 4-wheel-drive vehicle; and
every house would not need a vehicle, there might well be a pool of vehicles
shared by the local community.

The Ekinoid Project focuses on the idea that a spherical structure can
deliver a practical, affordable housing solution, suitable for any environment.
A structure whose parts can be both mass produced (locally, wherever
practicable) and fabricated on-site – by unskilled hands (using detailed
written and video instruction, as well as personal support from a previous
Ekinoid-home-fabricator). Ekinoid homes will be designed to suit the local
climate and terrain.

Structurally light yet exceptionally strong, the Ekinoid home will very
significantly reduce raw material requirements, and will free up the land
underneath; it will allow occupants to fulfil their own power needs (and meet
their requirements for potable water and in-house sewage treatment [which will
also benefit the land beneath]; and some of their food needs via in-house
hydroponic production). What is the current status of the project?

We are in the very early stages of development. As you can see from the
website we have developed the idea to the stage of a Proof Of Concept regarding
the structure and are now approaching universities locally in the UK to get
various departments involved. But we are putting the call out globally – we
would welcome involvement from companies, institutions and universities
worldwide … what we really hope for is a small, committed team of people who
share our vision for this project, who can see the need to make this work, and
on a huge scale. The cost of an Ekinoid home?

Although we are at a very early stage in the design process, and it is
therefore difficult to forecast precise costs, it is our challenge to try to
produce all the necessary parts for an Ekinoid home (excluding white goods,
furnishings, hydroponic systems etc.,) for around 50,000 GBP (approximately
60,000 Euros, 78,000 USD, 74,000 AUD); either as an outright purchase or
under a lease agreement. We would seek to offer this in conjunction with
governments and corporations willing to make large areas of land (previously
designated as unsuitable) available, possibly with an annual management fee
built in. If we could offer this package it would provide an extremely
attractive, and clearly affordable, option to the public.