Space Frame Domes

Domes

Domes are constructed following a method that requires a tough, inflatable Airform, steel-reinforced concrete and a polyurethane foam insulation. Each of these ingredients is used in a technologically specific way.

Domes can be designed to fit any architectural need: homes, cabins, churches, schools, gymnasiums, arenas and stadiums, bulk storages, landlord dwellings and various other privately or publicly owned facilities.

They are cost-efficient, earth-friendly, extremely durable and easily maintained. Most importantly, a Dome uses about 50% less energy for heating and cooling than a same-size, conventionally constructed building.

Brief History

In Europe, the earliest domes were made of stone. The Roman Pantheon, built almost 2,000 years ago, is a good example of early dome engineering. Indigenous peoples in Ethiopia and other places have used curved bows to create their huts, creating a primitive yet effective dome.

Beginning in 1970, Domes have been built and are in use in virtually every American state and in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Starting With Stone

Domes are mostly credited to the Romans, who built the Pantheon, despite the fact that domes have been found in earlier cultures. The Pantheon held the title of world's largest dome (142 feet in diameter) for more than 1,000 years. It is agreed that the first domes were created thanks to builders experimenting with arches in order to solve the problem of columns interrupting interior spaces. This type of dome is called monolithic (made of one stone). However, they are usually composed of bricks or blocks

Early monolithic domes were solid pieces, causing them to be quite heavy. To decrease the weight, builders cut out windows since that did not disturb the structural integrity.

Adding Some Steel

Domes were initially made of stone, concrete or other materials. The addition of windows decreased the weight of the overall structure without sacrificing strength. However, this did not stop a dome from cracking under its own weight and the strength of tension over time. Michelangelo, in his design of St. Peter's Basilica, included tension rings made out of steel to keep tension from destroying the dome. Unfortunately, the height of the dome made it necessary for more tension rings to be added in the 1800s.

Learning from the Basilica, Thomas U. Walter, the designer of the current U.S. Capital Building dome, used a double-dome approach. The large outer dome, what a person sees from outside the building, is only a shell held up by iron ribs. Inside of that shell is a smaller dome with an open top. Unlike others, which were stone supported by iron, the Capital Building dome is 100% cast iron meant to look like stone.

Moving to Triangles

All previous domes held to a single principle, the arch. Buckminster Fuller, an American engineer and architect, changed that in the 1950s with his creation of the Geodesic dome. Instead of using the arch, which gives the traditional shape of a turned over bowl, Fuller used triangles and was thus able to pull domes from half a sphere to almost complete spheres. Disney Epcot's Spaceship Earth in Orlando, Florida, is the most recognizable dome of this type.

Modern Domes

Domes may be best known for enclosing spaces of religious and political significance, but in modern times, the dome has found a new importance as the ceiling over sports arenas. The Astrodome in Houston, Texas, was the first such arena to have a dome. It opened in 1965. The Georgia Dome (Atlanta), built in 1992, once held the record for the largest domed structure in the world. In 1999, it was supplanted by the Millennium dome in London. In Ontario, Canada, you can find the Rogers Centre (renamed in 2005; formerly the SkyDome 1989-2005). Rogers Centre was the first sports arena with a fully functional retractable dome.

On a much smaller scale, domes are being marketed to the individual consumer. Monolithic, a company based out of Italy, Texas, creates domes for use as personal dwellings, churches, schools and sporting arenas.

Advantages

Strength

The Monolithic Dome has many different aspects that make it the best choice in construction. Domes are extremely durable and strong. While the average building life is measured in decades, the Monolithic Dome can be measured in centuries. They are fire, water, and wind resistant, making them impervious to hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other threatening natural disasters. In one instance, after Hurricane Frances hit the coast of Florida, a dome built right on the shore was one of the only buildings left standing. The residents simply closed their hurricane shutters and let the storm pass, their home suffering very little damage.

Fireproof

In another case in California, firefighters took refuge in a dome home to escape a ravenous forest fire surrounding it. The fire caused only minimal damage to the home. In one industrial example in Channelview, Texas, an electrical fire caused 300 gallons of transformer oil to ignite and burn three wood-framed structures while the Monolithic Dome storage unit remained intact, preserving the materials inside.

Energy Efficiency

The Monolithic Dome is not only disaster proof, but also extremely efficient. The dome structure allows for a wide variety of floor plan designs because it needs no interior support. This allows you to take advantage of the wide open space of your building. Because of the structure's tightness, they conserve vast amounts of energy, making them more cost effective to run and heat. In a regular stick home, the amount of airflow going through the home is equal to having a door open all the time. The Monolithic Dome, however, is so well insulated and tight that the airflow amounts to an opening the size of two pencils. In one instance, the total energy costs for a two bedroom Monolithic Dome home for the year of 1999 was less than $400.Trinity Christian Center's Monolithic Dome church in Soldotna, Alaska encompasses 8,000 square feet. In 1999, Pastor Ray Ansel reported that their "natural gas heating averaged $72 per month. Heating a traditional building of similar size would cost $1,000 or more per month."

Low Maintenance

A dome is also significantly easier to maintain than a regular building. There is no worry about roof repairs, wood rot, termite damage or any other sort of inconvenient maintenance required in a conventional structure.