firsttime
BG
Submission Title
The Dome Home
Challenge Year
2020
Team Details
Location
New York, NY
School/Organization
Blue School
Award Status
1st Place
Team Category
Middle School
Directory Project Image
The Dome Home
Project Info
Team Members
Matilde Swartz, Eleanor Hughes
Coach(es)
Robert Gilson
What is the problem your team addressed for this challenge and how is it related to climate change?
Many places in the Caribbean are devastated by extreme weather and it's only getting worse because of climate change. As the planet is warming due to the greenhouse effect, sea levels are rising, oceans are expanding, and ice sheets are losing ice faster than it forms from snowfall. This is increasing water vapor in the atmosphere. Rainfall intensifies. For example, we now know that the rainfall from Hurricane Harvey was 15 percent more intense. Due to human-induced climate change, there is an expectation for more frequent category 4 and 5 storms, as temperatures continue to rise.
What does your design solution do? How does it solve or improve the problem you selected?
The Dome Home is designed to be able to sustain extreme weather We choose components of nature that can withstand shock This house is intended to be built in the Caribbean because that region has experienced more than 25 major hurricanes over the past 40 years, 50% of which, have been in the last 20 years This means that the Caribbean has become more and more prone to hurricanes as time passes Living in The Dome Home creates an environment where anyone can live through disastrous hurricanes Each element of this house is strictly designed to prevent the worst.
How was your solution inspired by nature? What organisms did you learn from and how did what you learned inform your design?
Oven Bird’s Nest Longleaf Pine Root The Curve of a Tree Woodpecker Skull
Judges Quotes
Judge's Quotes

“They focused on adaptation - which is an important concept for our society, especially when it comes to thinking about housing for people. I liked the way the Matinor team documented their process in terms of looking for function, finding biological models to do the functions, and integrating creative use of various different models to meet multiple functions for the Dome Home concept.”

— Mary Hansel, Operations Manager, New Buildings Institute

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