Moon Cocoons

by Chuck Hall

Back in the 1980s, when NASA started planning for a permanent base on the Moon, it was decided that it would be far more economical to use materials already on the Moon than it would be to go to the expense of shipping all the necessary building materials there. So NASA started looking for designs that could be built from lunar materials. Enter Nader Khalili, a California architect. At the 1984 NASA symposium, "Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century," Khalili presented his unique design concept, the ecodome, nicknamed the ‘moon cocoon.’ Ecodomes are made of dirt-filled tubes. If you were to build one of these structures on the Moon, you’d only need to take the cloth tubes with you…you could use moon dust for the rest.

Ecodomes are constructed using tubes of cloth filled with a mixture of sand and clay or concrete powder. The tubes are then stacked, coil-method, in much the same way we made pottery in grade school. Barbed wire is placed between the rows of tubes to hold them in place. Once they are stacked into the shape of a dome, they are covered with stucco, adobe or plaster.  Chicken wire can be inserted between the tubes to give the plaster something to adhere to. Windows and doors are incorporated into the buildings by simply stacking the tubes of earth around them. This method of building is similar to the earth bag method, but theoretically more sturdy and stable because you’re using one long coiled tube instead of many bags. You can also build accents into the domes using the coiled tubes. For example, Khalili has built benches by stacking them, like logs, until reaching a comfortable sitting height.

The unique and beautiful result of this method in the hands of a master builder must be seen to be believed. Khalili’s site, www.calearth.org, has a gallery of photographs of a village he designed using this method.

Khalili offers a kit for those interested in building their own ecodomes. A 400 square foot kit sells for $2400, and an 800 square foot kit is $3200. Ordering information for the kits is available at: http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm. Although the kits meet code requirements in his home state of California (according to Uniform Building Code standards), you might want to check with your local building inspector before ordering, just to make sure you don’t have any nasty surprises further down the road.

Although a 400 sq. ft. home is a lot smaller than most of us are accustomed to, one of the principles of sustainable living is simplifying. By getting rid of some extra ‘stuff,’ you may find life in your ecodome quite comfortable. Another benefit of ecodome kits is that they are expandable, if you find you just can’t live in 400 sq. ft., you can always add on.

If ecodomes tickle your fancy, Khalili offers building seminars, open houses and workshops at his village in Hesperia, California. For more information, visit: www.calearth.org.