Japan's Quirky Dome Homes

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Japan's quirky, quake-resistance dome houses are made from styrofoam.

ASO(Japan) Nestled near a volcano in southern Japan, 450 quake -resistance dome houses
put up by a health resort and decorated with flowers and dinosaurs are drawing visitors from across Asia.

A dozen polystyrene foam pieces, each so light that two adults can pick it up, are glued together to make the houses.
Despite the light materials, the domes withstood last year's deadly earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, where
Aso is located, said Mr Masaya Konishi! manager of the Aso Farm Land resort.

"These dome rooms were completely unharmed. Not a single pane of glass broke," he said.
Wind and earthquakes do not easily damage the dome houses because they have no beams that can be broken, he added.
Japan Dome House, the company that makes the polystyrene pieces used in the structures, says that after the 2016 earthquakes, sales spiked up two-to threefold.

Tourists looking for a quirky family holiday, espy the domes adorned inside and outside with images of Japan's popular
Kumamoto bear character, the mascot of the Kumamoto region.

Could this be the future for cheaper and safer homes for the future?

Published Nov 7, 2017-The Staits Times

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[Koguntetsu]

The Japanese have always fascinated me, particularly their architecture. I've always wanted to live in one of those traditional Japanese huts, the kind with fusuma (sliding doors instead of walls to alter the space allocation for a variety of occasions) and shoji (paper doors.) with tatami (typical floor mats.). However something about these houses is quite quaint, wouldn't mind having something like that myself honestly. Just wonder how those houses do in other types of conditions, such as storms and such.