A sphere house is a dwelling built in the shape of a globe or sphere, using the curved shell as both the structural envelope and the defining architectural feature. The most famous examples are the Bolwoningen in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, designed by artist and sculptor Dries Kreijkamp and completed in 1984.
Application
Sphere houses represent an experimental approach to residential construction that challenges conventional rectangular building forms. Their design and application involve several distinctive characteristics:
- Structural efficiency: A spherical shell distributes loads evenly across its surface, requiring less material per unit of enclosed volume than a traditional box structure. This makes it inherently strong.
- Energy performance: The sphere has the smallest surface-to-volume ratio of any geometric shape, which minimizes heat loss through the building envelope and can reduce energy consumption.
- Interior layout: The curved interior walls present unique challenges for furniture placement and room division. Floors are typically installed as flat platforms within the sphere at one or more levels.
- Foundation and support: Sphere houses are usually elevated on a cylindrical pedestal or column, which contains the staircase and utility connections.
- Materials: Construction typically involves reinforced concrete, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, or prefabricated panels assembled into a spherical form.
- Prefabrication potential: The repetitive geometry of a sphere lends itself to modular, factory-produced components that can be assembled on site.
The 50 sphere houses in ‘s-Hertogenbosch remain occupied residences and have become a notable architectural landmark. Each sphere has a diameter of approximately 5.5 meters and sits on a concrete cylinder roughly 3 meters tall.
Related terms
- Geodesic dome
- Shell structure
- Prefabricated housing
- Experimental architecture
- Modular construction
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