In 2011 Steve Areen built himself a small orange dome home on a mango farm in northeast Thailand. With a friend’s design ideas, a skilled local mason and a few months of work, the basic dome was up and painted in six weeks, and the finished house, with its lotus pond, grass roof and rooftop sala, cost him about US$9,000.

Circular foundation of Steve Areen’s dome home marked out on cleared ground in Thailand
Early foundation work for Steve Areen’s dome home

How Steve Areen’s Thailand dome home began

Areen tells the story in his own account of the dome home. He was visiting his friend Hajjar Gibran, who was building domes at his retreat centre in northeast Thailand, the region Thais call Isan. Gibran and his wife offered Areen a spot on their mango farm to build one of his own.

It became a team effort. Gibran contributed guidance and design ideas, and the masonry was done by his son-in-law, Tao. Areen worked alongside them, and the photographs follow the build from a circle marked on bare ground to a furnished home.

Unfinished dome walls with large circular wooden window frames
Building the masonry shell of the dome. Photo: Steve Areen.
Builder working beside an arched opening in the dome walls
Round wooden window frames set into unfinished masonry
Construction materials beneath a partially plastered dome

Construction timeline and cost: six weeks to a standing dome

According to Areen, the basic dome was standing and painted after six weeks. A few more weeks went into the details that turn a shell into a home:

  • doors and screens for the round openings
  • the lotus pond beside the entrance
  • stonework and landscaping
  • the upstairs structure on the roof

He puts the basic structure at under US$6,000, and the details, furnishings and plumbing to the well at under US$3,000, for a total of roughly US$9,000. Those were Thai prices for labour and materials in 2011, on land that his friends provided.

Orange dome with a broad open entrance and circular side window
Person standing above the orange domes during construction
Table between two circular windows inside the dome home
Stone-floored wash area seen through an oval doorway
Steve Areen’s completed orange dome home with a rounded entrance in Thailand
Steve Areen’s completed orange dome home with its rounded entrance. Photo: Steve Areen.

Round doors, windows and natural light

Circular windows, arched doorways and skylights fitted with basket lights bring daylight deep into the curved rooms. Areen used plenty of natural materials: bamboo, stone and reclaimed mahogany sit alongside steel and plywood, and the dome wears a grass roof.

The bathroom has its own small dome, with a round stone shower, a bamboo waterfall faucet and a locally made pottery sink. There is even a swing-out stove.

Rounded wooden entrance door surrounded by diamond-shaped tiles
Compact kitchen with round windows and a striped counter front
Mosaic shower surrounded by plants and circular windows
Round basin beneath a stone counter and bamboo spout
Bed with a red cover seen through a pointed archway

A rooftop sala, hammock and lotus pond

Steps climb the outside of the dome to an upstairs sala, the open-sided Thai pavilion found at temples and homes across the country. Areen’s version is a gazebo on steel poles with a thatched roof, and it is a perfect place for a hammock in the afternoon heat. Below, the lotus pond and garden planting soften the edge of the bright orange walls.

Hammock hanging beneath the radial frame of a thatched roof
View from a hammock beneath the dome home’s rooftop shelter
Thatched rooftop shelter reached by steps along the orange dome
Small pond and planted garden beside the orange dome home
Steve Areen beside the curved outdoor staircase on his dome home
Circular window and outdoor steps on Steve Areen’s dome home
Circular window and outdoor steps on Steve Areen’s dome home. Photo: Steve Areen.

From dome home to aircrete domes

Areen notes that Hajjar Gibran later developed an aircrete building method, which he calls a much improved way to build. Aircrete is a lightweight, insulating mix of cement and foam that is easy to shape. Domegaia, which teaches aircrete dome building in workshops in several countries, says its cellular structure keeps interiors cool in hot climates and warm in cool ones, and that it uses less cement per volume than dense concrete.

Planning a dome of your own? Work with a builder who knows your local climate, soil and permits. For more inspiration, browse our hand-built homes feature, other storybook buildings, or Dick Clark’s former Malibu-area retreat.

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