An out-of-this-world bubble house in Brisbane’s west has hit the market for the first time – and it even has a unique link to NASA.
In what may well be one of the weirdest homes you’ll ever find in Australia, its architect owner Graham Birchall took almost a decade to complete the construction – a true labour of love that’s part NASA space base and part-Queensland engineering genius.
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In love with the adaptability of circles, Mr Birchall built the concrete home after work and on weekends.
Incredibly, he did so without the assistance of modern computer software to undertake the incredibly complex calculations required for the design.
Interest is coming in from all over the globe for the property, with inquries from as far as France, after the home hit the market Monday, according real estate agent Helene Shephard of First National Ipswich.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, four-car space house sits on 0.51ha of riverside land and is described as ”a world-first opportunity”.
The structure is made from 11 intersecting circular domes that range in size from 4m to 8m in diameter.
Located just 20 minutes from Ipswich, the abode was listed as one “that will change how you live in the world right now”.
“What started as a thesis idea 36 years ago by Mr Birchall grew into the current family home.
“The intersecting circular domes are the key formations, while the remote iris circular shutters provide privacy, function and form”.
So where did the inspiration for the iris shutters come from?
“I remembered that NASA’s Mars Rover had one of these things on it. So I thought to myself, they might be able to help me with that. So I rang them up,” Graham Birchall told IpswichFirst in 2017.
“They said, this is our email address. Put down what you want and I’ll send it to you.
“Within two days I had the drawings of the Mars Rover. It didn’t help me at all but I’ll still amazed that they released it to me.”
The engineering inside it includes the use of an internal water cooling fountain as the airconditioning system.
“A traditional boat builder and carpenter crafted the kitchen complete with all the curves,” Ms Shephard said.
It has 11 domes, 20 rooms and 1,050sq m of floor space over three levels with an entry tunnel on the first level along with a library, media room, sports bar, and even a golf tee.
The second level has a private office, bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchenette as well as a sitting room and cathedral room, while the basement has a wine cellar, lock up garages and a workshop.
While homes in the area can go for just over $1 million, the agent was reluctant to speculate on a price tag for ‘The Bubble House’.
The unique home at 79 Elanora Way, Karalee is listed for expressions of interest.
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