Kanye West's domed low-cost housing prototypes have been demolished on his property in Calabasas, California, following reports that the musician failed to secure a building permit.

News site TMZ reported that three of West's four domes were torn down last week just days before the 15 September deadline set by Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. They were requested to be taken down because they violated building codes.

West built the wooden lattice structures on his 300-acre (121.4-hectare) property in Calabasas as prototypes of his prefabricated, affordable Yeezy Home units.

The hip-hop artist and producer encountered a number of problems after neighbours complained to the Los Angeles County Department of Works about the construction noise, drawing attention to the project.

West reportedly claimed the structures were temporary, but inspectors found them built atop concrete foundations, which they said suggested otherwise. He was then told to secure a building permit within 45 days, otherwise the structures would be demolished.

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Just one of the structures now remains on site, and it is unknown if West will restart the project on his California plot, or build elsewhere.

West unveiled his ambitions to create the low-income housing or accommodation for homeless people in an interview with Forbes. The project marks his first foray into architecture and first project from Yeezy Home – the architecture arm of his Yeezy label.

The domed structures are designed to be topped by circular openings to let light in, and take cues from the houses on the fictional desert planet of Tatooine, the home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars series.

The musician has been vocal about his passion for architecture for many years, telling students on a visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2013 that "the world can be saved through design".

Photograph courtesy of TMZ.