Galilai: A Dome House Which Can Be Rotated Up to 348 Degrees

By: | May 25th, 2016

Image courtesy rayalexanderarchitect.com/

Galiläi is an architectural masterpiece designed by architect Raymond Alexander. It is a 19,000 square foot dome house that can be rotated up to 348 degrees to escape the wind and the sun with a push of a button.

Overlooking False Bay in the Western Cape province of South Africa, this dome house is located in the Spanish Farm suburb of Somerset West. This rotating house belongs to German businessman Harard Scheppig. He and his wife built this house out of curiosity.

Here are some more details of this amazing house:

  • Galiläi was ready in 2001… it took two years of planning and another two years to build it.
  • The house can be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise.
  • It is powered by a 3.8 KW laser-controlled German Bauer gear motor.
  • To reach the upper level of this house, you have to use the retractable bridge. However, one can enter the lower level of the house directly from the entry gate.
  • Special plaster covers the concrete shell of the house that prevents the concrete shell from cracking.
  • The top floor of Galiläi has a 49-foot diameter and weighs about 850 metric tons.
  • There are five bedrooms and a living room that has a marvelous dome which is illuminated with constellations. The constellations of the southern and northern hemispheres are made with high-quality glass fiber cables.
  • There are wide sliding glass doors that open to amazing mountain and bay views.
  • Galiläi has no straight walls and is designed in a way to bring in natural light and cut down on electricity costs.
Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

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