These Homes Are Made of Styrofoam But Are Typhoon Resistant

Styrofoam homes may sound like a recipient for disaster, but some people think they’re the future.

Will we all live like smurfs in the future? Styrofoam homes may sound like a recipient for disaster, but some people think they’re the future. According to Japan Dome House Co., the company that produces them, they don’t have the maintenance problems of wood or metal structures, and they are “highly resistant” to earthquakes, fires, and typhoons.

Made with 7-inch-thick 100% expanded polystyrene foam modules, the 480 domes at Aso Farm Land resort village in Kyushu look like a suburban community on Planet Tatooine, right out of Star Wars.

But isn’t styrofoam bad for the environment? Well, the one used in the Dome House’s 175-millimeter (7 in) thick walls is significantly denser and stronger than ordinary packing foam, giving it excellent thermal insulation properties allowing for higher energy efficiency and lower heating and cooling costs. Hm, not bad.

Each module is only 175 pounds, and they can be carried and assembled by a couple of people in a matter of hours. How is that compatible with “typhoon resistant?” Well, we are not sure, but since it’s been approved by Japan’s safety-obsessed government, who knows?

Whether or not this type of home is truly “perfect for the modern age” as the company suggests, the price is just about right. Dome House kits start at around 3 million yen (under $30,000), excluding the cost of transport, assembly, interior construction, etc., so why not give it a go?

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Related posts:

Building Renovations That Should Have Never Happened Rare Dramatic Photo Captures 65-Foot-Tall Lava Dome in Hawaii Archeologist Creates Hyperrealistic Sculptures of Real Humans Who Lived Thousands of Years Ago 55 Interesting History Facts That Will Make You Go Wow

NASA Discovers Treasure Trove of Earth-Like Planets and Here is What Life on Them Might Look Like Historical Photos of Native Americans at the White House for Citizenship in the 1920s and 30s Elves Are So Real in Iceland They Even Have Their Own Homes NASA is Building a Rover to Explore Jupiter’s Moon Europa From Underneath Its Icy Shell

Some Beaches in Japan Have Star-Shaped Sand Found Nowhere Else in the World 2000-Year-old ‘Beware of Dog’ Sign Is Sure to Have Kept Unwanted Visitors Out Man in Australia Explains Why He Lets a Huge Huntsman Spider Live In His House Scientists Revive 32,000-Year-Old Plant Right Out of the Pleistocene