Contents

Introduction
History of domes
Geodesic domes
Monolithic domes
Conclusion & Recommendations

Introduction
Dome : Any Structure with its concavity facing downward
Throughout history, they have been the architectural form of choice wherever
efficiency and strength are required of a structure.
Superbly energy-efficient, fire-safe, and with an inherent strength that enables it to
withstand whatever nature throws at it, hurricanes, earthquakes, even tornadoes.

G eo d esic d o mes
Mo n o lith ic d o mes

History of domes
Found in prehistoric structures

Frequently used by the Romans

Became a feature of Muslim architecture

after the invasion on East Rome by them

Popular feature of the grandest houses and
palaces during 18th century

Geodesic domes
A spherical or partial
spherical
shell
structure or lattice
shell based on a
network of great
circles
(geodesics)
lying on the surface
of a sphere

 History of geodesic domes

The first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every
respect was designed just after World War I by Walther
Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company,
for a planetarium to house his new planetarium projector.
Some 30 years later, R. Buckminster Fuller further investigated

this concept and named the dome "geodesic

Since then they have been very popular and are used in many
industrial constructions.

Advantages
Provides an enclosed space free of structural supports
The basic structure can be erected very quickly from
lightweight pieces by a small crew
Withstands considerable wind loads

Disadvantages
As a housing system, they can have numerous drawbacks and
problems.
Building materials normally come in rectangular shapes
therefore so much material is needed to be scrapped
Windows, wiring, furnishing etc. costs 5 to 15 times

Monolithic domes
A monolithic dome (from Greek mono- and -lithic, meaning
"one stone") is a structure cast in one piece over a form,
usually of concrete or similar structural material
Monolithic domes are a form of monolithic architecture
Earliest form of monolithic dome structure could be
considered to be the igloo
The 1st modern monolithic dome structure was built in Provo,
Utah and opened in 1963 as an ice skating ring. Called Ream's
Turtle after its 1967 conversion into a general store by new
owner Paul Ream, the building stood until it was demolished
in 2006 for new construction.

Method of construction
1. It starts as a concrete ring foundation, reinforced with steel rebar. Vertical
steel bars embedded in the ring later attached to the steel reinforcing of
the dome itself
2. An Airform fabricated to the proper shape and size is placed on the
ring base. Using blower fans, it is inflated and the Airform creates the
shape of the structure to be completed. The fans run throughout
construction of the dome.
3. Polyurethane foam is applied to the interior surface of the Airform.
Approximately three inches of foam is applied. The foam is also the base
for attaching the steel reinforcing rebar.
4. Steel rebar is attached to the foam using a specially engineered layout of
hoop (horizontal) and vertical steel rebar. Small domes need small
diameter bars with wide spacing. Large domes require larger bars with
closer spacing.
5. Shotcrete a special spray mix of concrete is applied to the interior
surface of the dome. The steel rebar is embedded in the concrete and
when about three inches of shotcrete is applied, the Monolithic Dome is
finished. The blower fans are shut off after the concrete is set.

Advantages

Durability
Climate control
Advocating sustainable living
Small and Simple
Deep Day lighting
Low-Wattage Lighting
Energy Star Performance
Harvesting Rain
Advancing Materials
Community Effort

Durability

The
dome,
when
finished,
is earthquake, tornado and hurricane
resistant (FEMA rates them as "nearabsolute protection" from F5
tornadoes
and
Category
5
Hurricanes). Recently, a number of
monolithic domes constructed using
MDI techniques have survived major
disasters
In 2003, a monolithic dome
government building in Iraq survived
a direct hit by a 5,000 lb
(2,300 kg) bomb. The interior of the
structure was totally destroyed, but
the dome itself remained standing

Climate control
The spherical sections of the dome offer minimal surface area for the
volume they contain, so there is less surface for heat transfer with the
outside air
By placing the insulating foam on the outside of the concrete shell, the
concrete acts as a heat sink inside the building, reducing interior
temperature fluctuations far more than the traditional home's insulation
inside of a brick or stone veneer.

Advocating sustainable living

Sustainable living calls us to choose, today, for the results of our choices to
be a blessing, not a curse, on our descendants. Americans building choices,
thus far, have mostly been a burden on society and the environment
Other construction requires significantly more material, maintenance and
expense to match the long life and energy-conserving ability of Monolithic
Domes. By simply protecting the Airform from solar radiation, Monolithic
Domes will gift their communities with centuries of sustainable living.

Small and Simple

Smaller domes clustered or united by a common Airform minimize the
demand large domes demand for partitioning
Reduce interior construction and you climb higher on the sustainability
scale.

Deep Daylighting
Like light blanketing the retinal interior of our eyes, skylights or even
automatically-controlled shutters at the vertex of our domes could defer
our use of artificial light until the sun sets.
Even so, with flexible amorphous photovoltaic panels adhering to the
Airform, daily collected electricity (even on cloudy days) could power new,
more energy-efficient forms of artificial lighting.

Low-Wattage Lighting
Compact fluorescent (CFL) replacements for Edison-style incandescent
(incandesce means to glow from extreme heat) lamps provide comparable
illumination with less electricity
Lighting done with CFLs would be sufficient inside a dome in terms of
luminosity.

Harvesting Rain
The domes impervious Airform is a membrane suitable for directing
rainwater to a circular channel for single-point collection of occasional or a
seasons worth of rainfall.
A subsurface storage tank or a dedicated Monolithic dome could receive
the 200 gallons of water falling on a 40 foot dome with every quarter inch
of rain.

Energy Star Performance

A buildings energy costs (over
a very long lifespan with
Monolithic Domes) are its
single biggest demand on the
environment
A
neighborhood
scale
Monolithic Dome installed as a
bio-digester would convert a
ton of garden waste and animal
waste to community natural
gas which can be used as fuel

Advancing Materials
They will be even more sustainable when research proves that naturallyoccurring and industrial pozzolans (volcanic pumice and fly ash) can
replace much of the binder in a domes concrete shell
Industrial crops such as corn and the soybean will become the base for
organic rather than petroleum urethanes and solvents. SoyOyl has many
of the characteristics of rigid polyurethane without the fluorocarbon
byproduct of its production

Community Effort
They are easily designed for multiple roles over their long lifetime. Built
as a church in 2003, in 2083 its a school and a multifamily dwelling in
2183. Designing for the long-term is, perhaps, the most sustainable act
dome builders can display to a community.
They inherently resist the wasting of more precious resources in that they
sustain human life and protect our considerable investment of time

Disadvantages
Engineering
Only specially trained construction crews are suited for building a dome
using the modern techniques
The curved surfaces often result in oddly shaped rooms when divided up,
which can result in wasted space in narrow corners
It's lack of seams may make it too well sealed; dehumidifiers are required
in all but the driest climates

Social
The radically different appearance of the domes also decreases the appeal
for their use as private residences
Building permits may be difficult to obtain if local officials are not familiar
with them
Resale of a monolithic dome home may be difficult because of its
unconventional appearance

Conclusions & Recommendations

Until now, all the accessories were designed and
manufactured for the conventional rectangular structure.
Those are needed to be standardized for domes. That will
reduce the cost of a dome very much and they will become
much affordable.
More greener alternatives to be used as building material in
domes should be innovated.
They inherently resist the wasting of more precious resources
in that they sustain human life and protect our considerable
investment of time

Thank you