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The Hexayurt Project looks great, tons of info and more on the site...
The Hexayurt is a prize-winning shelter you can build yourself for about $200 (backup link). Suitable raw materials include common building materials ( fire safe insulation boards,) hexacomb cardboard and plastic. You cut six 4' x 8' panels in half diagonally to make the roof, and use six more whole panels to form the walls. It takes about two hours. The design (backup link) is in the public domain.Different materials are appropriate for different uses - insulation, extended life, low cost, durability in extreme environments and so on. The design is in the public domain, and is in active development as a Free/Open Source style project.
The Hexayurt Project also includes groundbreaking work (pdf) (backup link) on providing simple services like interior lighting at incredibly low cost.
Hi, Vinay here, inventor of the Hexayurt. If you have any questions, please post 'em here (or on the Hexayurt mailing list, linked from the site) and I'll try and answer them.
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That's a cool and efficient use of the material. Do you bevel the edges of the adjoining panels?
I've had the yurt up on my screen all afternoon, and people keep asking what the sphere is next to it.
Keep up the good work!
James
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I was wondering about the sphere myself.
Love the hexayurt concept!
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Sorry, thought my browser had hung up.
Can the Mods delete the duplicate posts?
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It's an (!) inflatable satellite dish made by these guys: http://gatr.com
fabulous bit of kit. 70 lbs packed, so it flies as baggage with a disaster relief crew, rather than as freight, so you get communications up from Day One.
As for beveling edges... It Depends. In thin-ish materials I don't think it makes any difference. At 1" it's quite nice both aesthetically and structurally, but cutting all those angles is a monumental pain in the ass unless you're mass producing a lot of units. Not recommended for home workshops (dust, etc.)
Here's one we did in Germany (note: contains German army, worry not, they're here to help!)
http://www.archive.org/details/RAW_FOOTAGE__Hexayurt_Folding_Combined_Endeavor - this is like a hour long, but has tons of details.
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If you want to use this in your backyard in states like California, which uses the International Building Code, please be aware of a 120 square foot limitation for sheds and so forth that can built without a building permit.
You might want to imagine a 5 sided yurt, that would result in a similar design, but with a higher center, and a savings of about 1/6th of the overall materials. With 8' long sides, the gross square footage is about 110 square feet.
There is or was an exception to the National Electrical Code for electrical low voltage of 24 volts or less and 150 watts or less if I remember correctly. No electrical permit needed for a low wattage, low voltage solar setup.
Your milage may vary, don't shoot your eye out, ask your mother, etc...
Gary Wheeler, AIA, LEED AP
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