More Basics

Harnett Dome, Drury, New Zealand

Squashed spheroid or oblate ellipsoid

This 3v icoshedron was squashed in the aspect ratio of 0.618 (the golden ratio). The icosa face is shown, and the yellow shows that part of this 3v oblate ellipsoidal icosahedron which was used to build the Harnett Dome at Drury, near Auckland, New Zealand.

3vsqiy harnett dome
24m (80ft) diam.3v ellipsoidal oblate icosahedron, squashed to a ratio of 0.618, which did not use a larger size of timber than 100x50 (2"x4" as they call it in the USA)

Stretched spheroid or prolate ellipsoid

These two 3v ellipsoids, of 7m & 6m diameter respectively, are simply stretched spheroids. They are both truncated in different ways, with different openings.

wilson dome

This 3v icosahedron was stretched and then rotated. It was truncated along a diagonal to allow for a mezzanine in the high end. The original icosa face is also shown. This was the basis of the Wilson dome at Pukekohe, near Auckland, New Zealand.

wilson dome 3vieggroy

17mx12m 3v prolate ellipsoidal icosahedron

Super-spheroids

An 11m (36 ft) diameter four frequency (4v) super-spheroidal icosahedron, rotated to give the mid-point of the original 1v icosa face as the zenith, as used for Mark, Jody & Indigo Verhoeven's dome home in Umina, NSW, Australia. The blue outlines the original icosa face, sub-divided to give a 4 v icosahedron. This dome was built using 75x50 timber (2"x3")

Super-ellipsoids

The picture shows a 3v oblate super-ellipsoidal icosahedron at the end of "Dome Day". The dome was erected using the pole and lifting blocks with wire and adjusters. This dome was built in April 1998 for Ruth Sussman of Umina, New South Wales, Australia.

Free form geodesics

Free form domes are possible with a bit of imagination and some patience in the design phase. theatre dome

Free form amorphous flow geodesic structure, Whangarei, N.Z.,theatre/restaurant.

Free form amorphous flow of geodesic structure.

This picture shows a free form amorphous flow of geodesic structure combined with a longitudinally cut egg, giving an elliptical floor plan with the space spilling out one side. Thus free form, ellipsoidal and fragments combine - a far cry from the 3v spheroid which seem to dominate peoples thinking when it comes to geodesic domes.

FRAGMENTED DOMES

Some people are dome purists - their dome must be a complete dome, the more spherical the better. While I appreciate their sentiment, as I can also appreciate the sentiments of those whom must live in a box, I believe there is a place for chunks of dome fragment. This picture is of the Cameron Dome at Mystery Creek near Hamilton, NZ, and is two dome fragments separated by a clerestory. The higher fragment has a mezzanine floor.
The house shown below is fragments of a relatively simple dome fused together with a flow of triangular panels over the connecting "corridor".
camille's dome

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