We built a hexayurt for Burning Man 2006, which happily housed Campus Minimus and friends during the hottest part of the days. The components of the dome are currently in my house's garage, although I no longer live in Arizona. My other campmates live too far to get it, so it needs someone to take it to the Playa and beyond!

If this dome will be used on the Playa, please take it. It is ready to go, with all of the necessary pieces already prepared except for the ropes and the carpet. It consists of 24 conduit struts at 10', and 6 at 8'8", a few tupperwares of bolts of different lengths (depending on if the vertex connects four, five, or six struts), and fabric to cover the entire thing. The fabric is sewn to cover the various triangles of the structure easily, with reinforced grommeted corners for tying. Accessories include an 8' ladder (slightly damaged from backing the RV into it), 6 rebar stakes bent into candycanes, a sledgehammer, a fabric bag to hold most of the stuff, two spare 10' struts, and one spare 8'8" strut (no spares were needed).

The dome structure assembles very fast (10 to 15 minutes) with a team of three or four people. It is very difficult to build with fewer than three people; a minimum of four is recommended. The apex connects with a long screw with a loop at the end, for hanging lights or whatever. The rooftop fabric panels are all connected at the center with strong wire thread, that connects to the apex's bolt. The wall panels are threaded onto the upper horizontal struts (the 8'8" ones).

It is up to the user to devise a method of tying it all in place, but the reinforced grommeted corners help a lot. Rope and/or bungees are recommended. This step is not straightforward, and may never be carried out the same way twice. Be ingenious and creative, and the dome will be constructed very well. We had a front and back to the dome, based on how we tied the fabric open or shut. You may even devise a way to shut it when nobody is home. We snuck through certain gaps in the fabric as a backdoor.

It is a good idea to find carpeting for the dome and pre-cut it before reaching the playa. It may also be helpful to put a big tarp under the carpet (a big tarp may be included in the fabric bag).

Although the dome may appear stable once constructed, definitely stake down the six corners with the rebar stakes. The weather may be ok at one point, but if the dome is not secured it may compress a bit in the wind to lift opposing corners. I suppose the wind could even blow it over, but we staked it down before it came to that. Stake it down while the weather is still good.

The photos below show the dome structure in the back of my Mesa house, to show its scale, and also to remind you to prepare the carpet at home. Some photos of its construction on the playa are included to demonstrate the order of construction. Be sure to slide the fabric onto the upper horizontal struts during construction. The photo with the RV in front of my house shows the piled struts ready for transport, next to the ladder and fabric bag. The fabric bag is fuller now than in this photo, possibly because the under-tarp is in it too (I don't remember). If you take the dome, be prepared to transport and store what you see in this photo.

If you would like to take possession of this dome, you'll need to arrange to pick it up with my sister, Maryanne. It's in my garage at 962 S 21st St in Mesa. Email me at professionalnomad (at) hotmail.com and tell me how it will be used if you take it. You can only take it if it will definitely be used on the Playa in 2007. It would be great if it also went to Toast!, and to any other events in the meantime. But if you won't be taking it to the Playa in '07, then please don't take it.

Thanks to Ruvi for helping me resize the photos. I left the large versions there too, cuz they look cool all zoomed in. Or go to the dome directory for the basic files.

Live it up on the Playa and at Toast! for me this year!