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Müller Geodesic Solitude Johnny's Capsule Geodesic Clay Mud Dome Jurtendorf (Switzerland) Neolithics of Pfyn Strawbale Cabin Dome Geodesic Dome My Geodesic Dome Notes, Diary & Studies How To Manuals Pro & Contra Links References Geodesic Dome Notes & Calculator Geodesic Dome Diary Geodesic Polyhedra Polyhedra Notes Bow Dome Triangulated Bow Dome Star Dome Star Dome Diary Wigwam Zome Helix Zome Low Cost Dome (PVC) Miscellaneous Domes Site Search Enter term & press ENTER If you found the information useful, consider to make a donation:   Geodesic Dome Updates Mon, April 10, 2006: Added some thoughts on pro and contra geodesic dome . Mon, August 15, 2005: First version with links, and separated infos to Geodesic Dome Notes . My 6.33m 4V Geodesic Bamboo Dome Skeleton (2007) In 1922 Dr. Walther Bauersfeld developed a geodesic dome for Carl Zeiss in Jena Germany, he may be considered as the "inventor" of the geodesic dome. R. Buckminster Fuller then popularized in the 1960's the geodesic domes, gave it this name (from geodesy "surveying", greek geodaisia "division of the earth", geo "earth, land" + daiein "divide"), and received several patents for it. Since then a lot of parties have implemented his concepts further, and provide do-it-yourself kits even to build large living spaces. Some hesitation I have to consider this structure because it looks challenging, on the first sight it's beautiful, yet, the lengths of the struts need to be exact, and you have a lot of connectors, and seams therefore where it can leak rain, so insulation around those connectors is important. My Geodesic Dome Notes, Diary & Studies In my notes I solved some of the calculation challenges, and are still checking which cover technique to use for the dome: 4V Model Geodesic Dome Notes, very comprehensive overview of polyhedral domes Introduction of Ln notion & concacted nV notion Overview of variants with charts to compare Icosahedron-based domes (1V/L1 - 8V/L4) Octahedron-based domes (1V/L1 - 10V) Cube-based domes (1V/L1 - 8V/L4) Cuboctahedron-based domes (1V/L1 - 6V) Truncated Octahedron-based domes (1V - 4V/L3) Rhombicuboctahedron-based domes (1V - 3V) and for each of the 67 variants a dedicated dome/strut calculator Model building: 2V, 3V and 4V Icosahedron-based domes Real life application tips (connectors, separate function, cover) Geodesic Dome Diary, my diary building a full scale 6.4m diameter 4V 4/8 geodesic dome just started with tests, and cutting struts first erection of the skeleton Geodesic Polyhedra, comprehensive study & overview of platonic & archimedean solids triangulated and spherized (geodesized) Polyhedra Notes, study & overview of platonic, archimedean, johnson solids, uniform polyhedra and waterman polyhedra - the base information creating geodesic approaches How To Manuals DesertDomes.com , hints & tips, and the dome calculator (Icosahedron 2V - 6V) Geodesic Domes by Tom Davis (PDF) Pro & Contra My first reaction on the geodesic dome was of excitement to see such a construction form a half-sphere, though the smaller sub-division versions (like 2V) looked too edgy for my taste as I am more interested in round, smooth and circular forms. I realized, as mentioned above in the intro already, the many struts create many junctions and seams, and talking with geodesic enthusiasts increased my enthusiams but also increased my skepticism about the form, it remains a challenging structure to be built and extended to a living space. I've got a copy of "Shelter", written by Lloyd Khan author of "Domebook 1 & 2", where the 3rd volume was also published. He turned from a Pro to a complete Contra, mainly realizing the difficulties to really make it work in real life applications. Although I tend to agree with some of the arguments, but not all of them, see Refried Domes . The difficulty to build a circular or spherical form should not be mistaken with the geodesic dome challenges altogether: Circular, spherical, or dome-like forms require more planning, and tend to create more waste; but this is a result of a "rectangular" thinking and producing with such mindset the parts, entire nature does not create such rectangular forms, only humans do. Therefore it requires also more consideration, and a change of mindset in order to think differently to economically build a spherical habitat, see also the other domes approaches: Bow Dome Star Dome Wigwam Lloyd quickly replied to my query that majority of his arguments in Domes / Rectangles apply to polyhedral domes but not to domes (e.g. with bows) in general. Links Mathematics Monkeyhouse: Geodesic Dome , elaborate approach to domes DesertDomes.com , with its calculator Wikipedia: Geodesic dome Commercial Suppliers Pacific Domes.com , wonderful geodesic domes with tent-like setup, very informative website Worldflower Garden Dome.com , very informative site with many variants, struts sets available NaturalSpacesDomes.com , very informative site as well, solid housing approach, sell parts (e.g. hubs) separately too Good Karma Domes.com , solid geodesic domes Geodesic Greenhouse Kits.com , greenhouse application Red Sky Shelters.com , Icosahedron based tent CONBAM.de , german bamboo expert building domes too Living Dome.com , swiss-based event company, wooden struts with leather hubs (unique approach) Pneumocell.com , austrian experts on inflatable constructions Patents A couple of patents relating to geodesic dome I found via Google Patents , sorted by published year: Building Construction by R. B. Fuller (1951, 1954) Geodesic Pentagon & Hexagon Structure by Shoji Sadao (1972, 1974) Dome Construction by Donald L. Richter (1974, 1975) Geodesic dome-like Panels by Roger Mitchell Stolpin (1976, 1977) Geodesic Dome by Thomas J. Smrt (1975, 1977) Joint for Geodesic Dome by George C. Harper Jr. (1978, 1981) Geodesic Domes & Improved Joints Therefor by Ernest G. Aiken (1997, 1999) Structural Connection System for Use in a Geodesic Dome by Robert. W. Davidson (1999, 2000) Constructing geodesic domes by David S. Geiger (2003, 2006) Buckminster Fuller "Geodesic Dome" is a term which is closely tied also to "Buckminster Fuller", an inventor who popularized this approach, among many things he focused his work to make the world a better place for everyone: Buckminster Fuller Institute , some his works available, books are available in online store, community-based content which is useful The R. Buckminster Fuller Collection Standford University (requires account, which can be obtained for free), video and audio files I personally wasn't able to really connect with Fuller's original work, e.g. Synergetics makes no sense to me, and consider one of most unreadable books I ever encountered. Other people could make some sense out of it and got inspired to follow up: Invisible Architecture (The Nanoworld of B. Fuller) , an essay by Bonnie Goldstein DeVarco (highly recommended reading) A Fuller Explanation by Amy C. Edmondson (recommended reading) Bob Burkhardt's Endevour on Tensegrity & Synergetics , very informative and interesting R.W. Gray Projects , another interesting site on related ideas Kirby Urner's Synergetic Explanations , another good web-site which summerizes Fuller's work Communities Geodesic Domes , Tribe.net online community Dome Home , Tribe.net online community References "Domebook 1 & 2" by Lloyd Khan , no longer published, used books surely available Haven't had a chance to get a copy of them myself, but it's the 'classic' book on geodesic domes; "Domebook 3" (part of "Shelter", a book also by him) he is no longer in favour of geodesic approach, and partially on domes in general .:. Home   ·   About   ·   Tipi   ·   Yurt   ·   Dome   ·   Features   ·   Gallery Print   ·   Bookmark Creative Commons (CC) BY-SA-NC 2005-2017, developed, designed and written by René K. Müller Graphics & illustrations made with Inkscape, Tgif, Gimp, PovRay, GD.pm Web-Site powered by FreeBSD & Debian/Linux - 100% Open Source