A geodesic dome is a shell structure built on top of the surface of a sphere. Based on hexagons and usually made of a series of similar triangles connected at the vertices. Although they are usually based on a sphere, they can also be constructed from any combination of curves, simple or complex. For example, with a cross section of an ellipse in one direction and a sphere in another, with axes at right angles to each other. With more complex forms, the calculation of shell segments becomes more complex, and the number of different sizes and fittings will be.
The use of triangles makes the structure rigid and very strong, the stresses are transmitted through the structure. Even with bright structural elements, these domes are able to withstand the extremes of wind and even earthquakes. The American Antarctic base Amundsen-Scott, the South Pole, was used for many years and experienced extreme weather conditions and was buried under tons of snow.
The first dome was designed by Walter Bowersfeld in 1925 for the German planetarium. Buckminster Fuller, 20 years later, called the structure "geodesic" and developed the dome math. The advantages of geodesic domes are that they are extremely durable for their weight with a very stable surface and encompass the largest volume for the smallest surface area.
Gedesic Domes have been used in different places. Climatron is a greenhouse in the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.
The dome is the first fully air-conditioned greenhouse in the world, and the first geodesic dome is in rigid acrylic glass panels. The difficult climate control without the use of internal partitions supports the climate of forest rain forests.
Buckminster Fuller designed the Montreal Biosphere American Pavilion for Expo 67, which is currently used as a museum for the St. Lawrence River.
Established in 1971, Cinesphere is the first Imax cinema in the world. This is a triodic dome structure similar to a geodesic dome. American industrial designer James Tennant Baldwin, a student of Buckminster Fuller, invented (and built) a permanent, transparent, insulated structure of aluminum and Teflon, which he calls the "pillow pad." Dome pillow weighs only half a pound per square foot. and resisted winds of 135 miles per hour. This principle has been applied in large applications such as the Eden project in Cornwall, England. This is a steel frame with inflated skin of hexagonal cells stretched over it. Hexagons are sealed at the edges and form a thermal blanket that insulates buildings.
More interesting dome and greenhouse
