Inflatable concrete dome house. Binishell technology and casting houses into pneumatic formwork

A domed frame house is a rather complex structure due to its geometry. Especially in interior decoration. The house turns out to be unique in appearance, but its cost is in no way less than a classic frame frame. I wrote about this here: Dome house - the cheapest frame frame? Checking with a real example

Can a monolithic concrete domed house be cheaper or comparable to the price of a frame house? The calculation will be lower, but for now let's look at the technology.

In the 60s, the architect Dante Bini developed the technology to literally inflate a house out of concrete (like a soap bubble). To do this, a membrane was laid on a round platform in a certain way, a reinforcing cage was laid on it, all this was poured with an even layer of concrete. The top was covered with another layer of membrane. And for an hour, until the concrete grabbed, a powerful compressor supplied air to the center under the lower membrane - the structure was inflated and a dome was obtained. The technology is called binishell.

Then, small vibrating platforms were passed over the entire surface, eliminating the resulting cracks. The pressure inside the dome was maintained for 24 hours. After the concrete had set, the upper membrane was removed and the entrances and windows were cut. It could be a house, hangar, shopping mall.

The process can be schematically depicted as follows:

Video of the construction of the building at that time:

The process, though fast, is complex. It is necessary to provide for the tightness of the membranes, the fittings should bend along with the growth of the building. Despite the speed of construction of a monolithic domed building, preparatory work is rather complicated and a very powerful compressor is needed, capable of creating a lot of pressure to lift a mass of concrete into a dome shape.

The house of director Michelangelo Antonioni, built in 1969 using this technology on the shores of the Mediterranean (now abandoned).

There are many such examples. But not all of them are built according to the original technology of its author.

Later, Danto Bini's son, Nicolo, developed a way to simplify this technology. To do this, a dome made of dense rubberized fabric was inflated at the facility, like children's slides in summer parks are inflated:

Fittings are laid on top (with a gap from the surface of the inflatable dome). Further, with the help of a concrete pump, the entire surface of the dome is poured with a concrete mixture using concrete shotcrete technology. The concrete composition is compacted at high speed and does not slip under its own weight:

A fairly well-known technology for laying concrete mix in the industry. No vibrating platforms needed.

If the building is in a warm climate, then it remains to smooth the surface of the concrete, cover it with waterproofing or water repellent. If the building is in a cold climate, then after a week you need to cover the surface with a layer of insulation - for example, polyurethane foam. How is it done when insulating buildings:

It is not recommended to apply from the inside. It's still chemistry and chemistry is flammable, it needs to be covered with something. It is better to insulate the outside and fill it with another layer of concrete 5-7 cm thick with a reinforcing mesh. You will get a warm pie of a domed house.

But PPU spraying is an expensive service. RUB 1,500 / m2. It is much cheaper to stick on foam with fixing with plastic dowels segments of foam sheets 5 cm thick in two layers. Foam price - up to 2000 rub / m3

Let's calculate the approximate costs of a domed house in diameter 12 m. Hemisphere area - 226 m2 (windows and doorways are not subtracted). The volume of concrete for an inner dome with a thickness of 10 cm - 22.6 m3. With the service of concrete shotcrete, brand M400 and delivery, let the cost be 6000 rubles / m3. Total: RUB 135600 Armature: 1.5 tons diameter 10 mm - RUB 60,000 Styrofoam 23 m3 - RUB 46,000 and an outer dome with a concrete thickness of 5 cm of a smaller brand with a reinforcing mesh - let it be RUB 72,000 Total for a warm monolithic dome: RUB 313 600 Plus the work of the builders and the price will be close to half a million. And also waterproofing, roofing, windows, internal plaster. And such a domed house with an area 113 m2 will be released in 1 million rub. Which is pretty good.

The only question is where to get an inflatable tent for pneumatic formwork? There are such soft gas tanks for biogas plants:

They can stretch and do not need to be inflated to this size. They are quite suitable for this technology.

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