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From TRIMTAB: Bulletin of the Buckminster Fuller Institute - Vol. 12 No. 1, Spring 1999:

Reforming the Environment

Dome Village In Los Angeles

Ten years ago in Trimtab we reported on Ted Hayes, homeless activist and his Justiceville, USA. We’ve been following his work over the years and spoke with him recently on the phone. Hayes and his organization, Justiceville/Homeless USA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has transformed an unsightly 1 1/4 acre homeless encampment site in downtown Los Angeles into a community of formerly homeless people allowing them to become more productive, industrious, and responsible. In April of ’93, ARCO, under the then leadership of CEO and Board Chairman, Mr. Lod Cook, led the way with a contribution of $250,000. Mayor Richard Riordan endorsed the project and smoothed the way for progress through the city bureaucracy. The Village opened on November 5, 1993, providing housing and supportive service for 18-24 individuals and families. The 20 foot Omni-Sphere domes “stand as symbols of innovative solutions which depart from the way things have ‘always been done.’”

Their most recent addition is the CyberDome, a new computer education center. The computer education center is housed in a special 20 foot Survival Sphere Dome designed by Craig Chamberlain. The Dome Village has been sponsoring regular computer education classes since February 1998 which have provided positive results for many residents. Student volunteers from USC have assisted the Dome Village Program Director with teaching. It is hoped this program will be greatly expanded in 1999. A number of USC/CyberDome special events are planned such as “Cyber Teach-Ins” which will bring volunteers together with homeless and youth from the community for educational programs.

Hayes feels they have learned many good lessons from the current Dome Village. For their next project they plan to improve the domes by using an insulated structure. Currently the cities of Miami Beach, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley have expressed interested in setting up dome villages in their cities.

Hayes has also written the “National Homeless Plan” to “stop outlawing homelessness and to break the homeless cycle.” The Plan advocates the appointment of a cabinet-level Commissioner of Homeless who would have the task of coordinating a National Commission on the Homeless. The Commission would work with HUD and other government agencies to implement real solutions to transition people from homelessness to active economic participation (as outlined in the Plan). The Plan has been submitted to President Clinton and has gained support from Representative Richard Gephart, the Mayor of Los Angeles and others. For a copy of the full Plan visit their web site at www.domevillage.org/plan.htm...
...The Dome Village is located at 847 Golden Avenue in Los Angeles.

Ted Hayes and the Dome Village


11 posted on 12/06/2003 9:55:26 PM PST by RonDog
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From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (1996):

Stuffs

Strange things you see and say ...

By Star-Bulletin Staff


Omni-Spheres run $8,000 to $12,000. Photo by Craig Kojima, Star-Bulletin



That's no bubble, it's an Omni-Sphere

Out on the Waianae coast, where the strong fingers of hurricane winds can pop roofs like pull-tabs, there's a structure that the wind can't get a grip on. It's a dome-shaped structure next to Farrington Highway in Nanakuli, labeled Omni-Sphere.

It's an experiment to see how the concept flies in Hawaii, says entrepreneur Herb Silva. Manufactured of 15 Fiberglas-Lexan composite material panels, the 314-square-foot structure is pinned together like a jigsaw puzzle, and comes completely packed in a 4- by 4- by 8-foot container.

With a couple of friends, and missing the instruction book, Silva put this one together in five hours. It's water-proof, hurricane-proof, fire-resistant and warrantied for 30 years, and costs $8,000. An insulated version costs $12,000. And if you decide to move, disassemble it and take it with you.

Omni-Spheres are widely used on the mainland, particularly in California, as temporary homeless structures. "In Hawaii, the problem isn't so much homelessness as houselessness," Silva said.

So why don't we see these everywhere? They could be used for everything from single-family dwellings to storage sheds to an inexpensive domed roof. Portable classrooms, anyone?

Oahu building codes aren't set up for new technologies such as this, Silva said. He's working on it. In the meantime, people who want to use the Omni-Sphere are limited to shed-storage - if your neighborhood architecture squad allows it - and it's OK on the neighbor islands.

By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin


12 posted on 12/06/2003 10:00:43 PM PST by RonDog
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