See Inside a $2.1 Million Joshua Tree Home Inspired by Space Domes

The otherworldly property, known as Bonita Domes, has just hit the market for $2.1 million.

Jeffrey Weiss, the current owner, purchased the home in October 2020 for $808,500, according to listing records. This is the first time he has put the property up for sale.

Homes in Joshua Tree have a median price of $440,000, according to real estate data platform Realtor.com. There are currently 181 single-family homes for sale in the area, with prices ranging from $119,999 to $18 million. The Bonita Domes property is the third most expensive listing in the area.

The domes were built by a woman named Lisa Starr for seven years, listing agent James Bianco of Coldwell Banker Realty told Insider.

The structures were built primarily using earth excavated from the site, Starr, a drum maker and spiritual healer, wrote on his website.

Starr built the domes based on a design by Nader Khalili, an Iranian-American architect who died in 2008, Bianco said.

Khalili was a pioneer of SuperAdobe architecture, a construction method where sandbags of moist earth are stacked with barbed wire in layers or coils to create structure.

Khalili founded the California Institute of Earth Architecture, or CalEarth, a nonprofit organization that researches and develops sustainable building designs, in 1991.

He developed the SuperAdobe building system by integrating “traditional Earth architecture with contemporary global security requirements,” according to the CalEarth website.

“He was commissioned in the mid-1980s by NASA to design lunar and space habitations. So the result was a shelter using the most stable of all architectural elements – the arch or the dome – and he also found local materials that would insulate and protect,” Bianco said.

Inspired by Khalili’s work, Starr decided to adopt her construction method to create her own SuperAdobe home.

Starr wrote on her website that she connected with Khalili’s building philosophy after attending a week-long workshop hosted by CalEarth in 2010, and purchased the plans so she could build her own. House.

Starr completed the house in 2014 and lived there for the next six years, until 2020.

The 1,339-square-foot home features three domes: a main residence that has five bedrooms, a public bath, and a cocktail bar.

The five bedrooms can each comfortably sleep about two people, Bianco said.

“The door goes down and you have to crawl in there,” Bianco said. “At first you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I have to crawl in this space,’ but they’re actually quite spacious.”

The property also includes an on-site meditation temple, Bianco said.

Domes include built-in features, such as tubs and displays.

In 2021, Weiss added a pool and landscaping to the grounds around the house.

The fire pit and kitchen are more comfortable to use when the sun is down, Bianco said.

There are many other unique homes in Joshua Tree, California. According to Bianco, part of the reason is that homeowners there want to create something as different as the atmosphere itself.

Bianco thinks the property is a great investment opportunity: “I can see someone owning it as a trophy.”

The property is well suited to be an event space where weddings and parties can be held, he added.