Fuller invented the Geodesic Dome in the late 1940s to demonstrate some ideas about housing and ``energetic-synergetic geometry'' which he had developed during WWII. This invention built on his two decade old quest to improve the housing of humanity. It represents a brilliant demonstration of his synergetics principles; and in the right circumstances it could solve some of the pressing housing problems of today (a housing crisis which Fuller predicted back in 1927).
[From Robert T. Bowers' paper on Domes last posted to
GEODESIC in 1989.]
A geodesic dome is a type of structure shaped like a piece of a sphere
or a ball. This structure is comprised of a complex network of triangles
that form a roughly spherical surface. The more complex the network of
triangles, the more closely the dome approximates the shape of a true
sphere [sic].
By using triangles of various sizes, a sphere can be symmetrically
divided by thirty-one great circles. A great circle is the largest
circle that can be drawn around a sphere, like the lines of latitude
[ED: he means longitude]
around the earth, or the equator. Each of these lines divide the sphere
into two halves, hence the term geodesic, which is from the Latin
meaning ``earth dividing.''
[From Mitch Amiano]
The dome is a structure with the highest ratio of enclosed area to external surface area, and in which all structural members are equal contributors to the whole. There are many sizes of triangles in a geodesic [ED: dome], depending on the frequency of subdivision of the underlying spherical polyhedron. The cross section of a geodesic [ED: dome] approximates a great-circle line.
[From Pat Salsbury]
Well, the structures weigh less when completed because of the air-mass inside the dome. When it's heated warmer than the outside air, it has a net lifting effect (like a hot-air balloon).
This is almost unnoticeable in smaller structures, like houses, but, as with other things about geodesics, being as they're based upon spheres, the effect increases geometrically with size. So you'd be able to notice it in a sports stadium, and a sphere more than a half mile in diameter would be able to float in the air with only a 1 degree F difference in temperature!
[From Randy Burns.]
Underground concrete domes are rather interesting
1) They can use chemical sealing and landscaping to avoid leakage problems associated with wooden domes.
2) They are extremely strong. Britz [see
Dome References for more on Britz]
has obtained extremely low insurance rates on his structures. The
insurance company tested one building by driving a D8 Caterpillar tractor
on top of the house!
3) There's little hassle involved in dealing with materials that were really standardized for use building boxes. The only specialized tools are the forms, everything else can easily be used off the shelf.
4) They can be quite aesthetic. Britz has shown that you can build developments where the houses can't really see each other.
5) They are cheap and easy to heat, cheap enough that you can build a much larger structure than you might using conventional housing and use standard room divider technology to split the thing up into room.
[Keyed in by Patrick G. Salsbury.]
The following is quoted from ``Scientific American'' in the September 1989 issue. (Pages 102-104)
Surpassing the Buck
(Geometry decrees a new dome)
``I started with the universe--as an organization of energy systems of which all our experiences and possible experiences are only local instances. I could have ended up with a pair of flying slippers.'' -R. Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller never did design a pair of flying slippers. Yet he became famous for an invention that seemed almost magical: the geodesic dome, an assemblage of triangular trusses that grows stronger as it grows larger. Some dispute that Fuller originated the geodesic dome; in Science a la Mode, physicist and author Tony Rothman argues that the Carl Zeiss Optical Company built and patented the first geodesic dome in Germany during the 1920's. Nevertheless, in the wake of Fuller's 1954 patent, thousands of domes sprung up as homes and civic centers--even as caps on oil-storage tanks. Moreover, in a spirit that Fuller would have heartily applauded, hundreds of inventors have tinkered with dome designs, looking for improved versions. Now one has found a way to design a completely different sort of dome.
In May, J. Craig Yacoe, a retired engineer, won patent number 4,825,602 for a ``geotangent dome,'' made up of pentagons and hexagons, that promises to be more versatile that its geodesic predecessor. Since Fuller's dome is based on a sphere, cutting it anywhere but precisely along its equator means that the triangles at the bottom will tilt inward or outward. In contrast, Yacoe's dome, which has a circular base, follows the curve of an ellipsoid. Builders can consequently pick the dimensions they need, Yacoe Says. And his design ensures that the polygons at the base of his dome always meet the ground at right angles, making it easier to build than a geodesic dome. He hopes these features will prove a winning combination.
Although Fuller predicted that a million domes would be built by the mid-1980's, the number is closer to 50,000. Domes are nonetheless still going up in surprising places. A 265-foot-wide geodesic dome is part of a new pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Florida. A bright blue 360-foot-high dome houses a shopping center in downtown Ankara, Turkey. Stockholm, Sweden, boasts a 280-foot-high dome enclosing a new civic center.
Dome design is governed by some basic principles. A sphere can be covered with precisely 20 equilateral triangles; for a geodesic dome, those triangles are carved into smaller ones of different sizes. But to cover a sphere or ellipsoid with various sizes of pentagons and hexagons required another technique, Yacoe says.
Yacoe eventually realized that he could build a dome of polygonal panels guided by the principle that one point on each side of every panel had to be tangent to (or touch) an imaginary circumscribed dome. With the assistance of William E. Davis, a retired mathematician, he set out to describe the problem mathematically.
They began with a ring of at least six congruent pentagons wrapped around the equator of an imaginary ellipse. The task: find the lengths of the sides and the interior angles of the polygons that form the next ring.
To do so for an ellipsoidal dome, they imagined inscribing an ellipse inside each polygon. Each ellipse touched another at one point; at these points, the sides of the polygons would also be tangent to a circumscribed ellipsoid. But where, precisely, should the points be located? Yacoe and Davis guessed, then plugged the numbers into equations that describe ellipses and intersecting planes. Aided by a personal computer, they methodically tested many guesses until the equations balanced. Using the tangent points, Yacoe and Davis could then calculate the dimensions and interior angles of the corresponding polygons and so build the next ring of the dome.
After receiving the patent, Yacoe promptly set up a consulting firm to license his patents. He says dome-home builders have shown considerable interest, as has Spitz, Inc., a maker of planetariums located near Yacoe in Chadds Ford, Pa. Yacoe has also proposed that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration consider a geotangent structure as part of a space station. -E.C.
asemon@esu.edu (Alan Semon) writes: >I was once interested in the idea of living in a geodesic dome home and, >to the best of my recollection, these are some of the advantages: > >1. Heating and cooling the home become more efficient due to the fact >that there are fewer (even no) corners where heat may be trapped. The >overall air flow in a dome is substantially better than in a >conventionally constructed home (straight walls and such). > ...and there is less surface area per square foot of living space = less heat loss. >2. Many dome home designs allow the option of using larger lumber for >the dome. 2x6's or 2x8's instead of the usual 2x4's, although this is >an option in ANY home, it seems to be more commonly done in dome home >construction. > Although for many areas of the US, there is no financial advantage to using 2x6 construction. A dome with R-14 throughout can outperform a well insulated conventional house of comparable S/F. >3. For those solar minded people, the placement of the solar collectors >on the ``roof'' is less critical due to the curved nature of the top of >the structure. > >4. The inherent strength of the dome makes it suitable for either >earth-bermed or even earth covered construction techniques. In the case >of more common construction techniques, the structural members' >dimensions usually need to be completely reworked in order to carry the >extra weight. > >5. Hell, they _LOOK_ pretty neat! This might be a problem in certain >areas which one of those laws which say that all homes in an area _MUST_ >conform to certain guidelines concerning their architecture (bummer, >huh? :-)). -jg
[Based in part on a Brewer Eddy post]
The curved walls in a dome require either custom furnishings, 100% prefab design, or an ``open spaces'' approach. Each of these would be an advantage or disadvantage in one person's eyes or another's.
Mass producing domes is easy, greatly reduces the cost and could solve many of the housing shortage problems worldwide (especially emergency housing needs).
[Kerri Brochard][From Tom Dosemagen]
I have a dome and tried to find solar panels to be installed on the dome. I had no luck finding such a beast so I installed 320 square feet of panels on the ground close to the dome and ran all connections under ground into the basement. I live in south central Wisconsin and my experience with solar is not the greatest. My system works fine, but in order for the system to work the sun has to shine. That doesn't happen a lot here until late February or early March. My advice to people in our part of country is to take the money you were going to spend on solar and invest it. Then take your interest money and pay for conventional heat. My dome is 44 feet in diameter and with a 90% efficient furnace and my total heating bill for one season is right around $350.00. My exterior walls are framed with 2x6's. With thicker dome walls I'm sure that I could lower my heating costs by quite a bit.
[From Kirby Urner.]
The edges of a geodesic dome are not all the same length. The angstrom measurements between neighboring carbon atoms in a fullerene are likewise not equal.
Domes come in three Classes (I, II and III). The classification system has to do with laying an equilateral triangle down on a grid of smaller equilateral triangles, lining up corners with corners -- either aligning the triangle with the grid (I), turning it 90 degrees to bisect grid triangles (II), or rotating it discretely to have it cut skewly across the grid (III).
20 of these triangles make an icosahedron which is then placed within a circumscribing sphere. The vertexes of the triangles' internal points, defined by the grid pattern, define radii with the circumscribing sphere's center. By pushing each vertex further out along the segments so defined, until each is made equidistant from the center, an omnitriangulated geodesic sphere is formed (orthonormal projection I think cartographers call this). Again, resulting surface edge lengths are not all the same length. The resulting mesh will always contain 12 sets of 5 triangles organized into pentagons, the rest into hexagons.
The Class I version of the algorithm above always creates 20F^2 surface facets where F=1 gives the icosahedron itself. The external point population will be 10F^2+2. Since points plus facets = edges plus 2 (Euler), you will get 30F^2 edges. F is what Fuller called the Frequency of the geodesic sphere and, in the Class I case, corresponds to the number of grid intervals along any one of the 20 triangle edges.
Note: ``buckyballs'' in the sense of ``fullerenes'' are not omnitriangulated (the edges internal to the 12 pentagons and n hexagons have been removed) and come in infinitely more varieties than the above algorithm allows. The above algorithm is limited to generating point groups with icosahedral symmetry -- a minority of the fullerenes are symmetrical in this way, although C60, the most prevalent, is a derivative of the Class I structure.
[From Ben Williams] Andrew Norris writes: >1/ Given a dodecahedron with the edges of length unity, what is > the radius of the sphere that would enclose this body? > >2/ For the above case, construct each pentagon out of triangles. > What are the angles required so that new center-node of the > pentagon just touches the enclosing sphere?This is just a 2 frequency (what-is-referred-to-in-Domebook II-as) triacon geodesic sphere. Funny you should mention that: Back in June when I first discovered this newsgroup, I got reinterested in my old hobby of building mathematical models (and R B Fuller as well). So I went through the laborious process of calculating the strut lengths to build a 2v triacon sphere (what you just described above) out of toothpicks. I have it hanging up over my monitor right now. I wish I could show how I used geometry and such to figure all the necessary lengths out. What I do is start out with a drawing of a dodecahedron projected onto a plane -- if it is oriented correctly, you will get a 2-d figure that you can use to deduce the information you want from it. (To get this figure, think of a dodecahedron made out of struts (such as toothpicks) standing on one of its edges on a sheet of paper out in the sun with the sun directly overhead. The shadow on the paper will be this figure.) These are the lengths I derived
E = length of edge of dodecahedron Distance of edge of dodecahedron from center:
Er = ( (3 + sqrt(5))/4 ) * E
b = ( (sqrt(5)+1)/4 ) * E
h = ( ( sqrt(5 + 2*sqrt(5)) ) / 2 ) * E
R = sqrt((9 + 3*sqrt(5))/8) * E
l = b/h * Er
m = Er/h * Er
t = h-l
S = sqrt(t^2 + (R-m)^2)
Now, to derive the angles of one of those triangles whose side lengths I have just determined, you would need to do this:
A1 = 2 * arcsin ((E/2)/S)
This is the angle of the top corners of the 5 triangles which are arched above one of the faces of the dodecahedron. My calculator gives me this angle in degrees: 67.66866319 Notice it is slightly less than the 72 degrees it would be if they were flat on the face of the dodecahedron. Now the other two angles of each of the triangles are simply derived via:
A2 and A3 = (180 - A1) / 2
I get a value of 56.1656684 degrees for these two angles.
On Sat, 18 Dec 1993 03:11:53 GMT <scimatec5@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU> said:
>Hey all,
> A while back I asked about calculating chord factors. I found the
>equation that without which I don't think I could have done it (by the way I
>was successful)-- it's a formula for calculating w/any spherical right
>triangle. The formula is sin a = sin A * sin c.
> A
> / |
> c / |b
> / |
> / |
> B--a--C
>I'm sure you're all familiar w/it, but is there any other equation that would
>be just as helpful.
This is by Napier's rules. Here is Napier's circle: c-c
A-c B-c
b a
where -c means the complement (or 90 degrees - (minus) the arclength measure).
A, B are angles, C is the right angle and a, b, c are the sides opposite A, B,
and C, respectively. There are two rules:
The sine of any unknown part is equal to the product of the cosines of the two known opposite parts. Or sin = cos * cos of the OPPOSITE parts.
The sine of any unknown part is equal to the product of the tangents of its two known adjacent parts. Or sin = tan * tan of the ADJACENT parts.
> > Steve Mather Chris Fearnley
[From an old comp.graphics FAQ, posted by Christopher McRae 14 Apr
1993.]
One simple way is to do recursive subdivision into triangles. The base
of the recursion is an octahedron, and then each level divides each
triangle into four smaller ones. Jon Leech leech@cs.unc.edu has
posted a nice routine called sphere.c that generates the coordinates.
It's available for FTP on ftp.ee.lbl.gov and
weedeater.math.yale.edu.
First choose a tessellation of the sphere (icosa, octa, tetra, elliptical or really just about anything. Second use geometry and spherical trig to determine the surface arclengths for the specific tessellation. Third observe that in any circle a central angle cuts off an arc with the same exact measure. Next, calculate the chord factors: cf = 2sin(theta/2), where theta is the central angle. Finally, multiply each chord factor by the radius of your dome.
Several dome books use the term ``alternate'' to refer to Class I domes (actually it seems Joe Clinton in his paper on domes has determined several methods for class I subdivisions - his method I is the ``alternate'' form). The other popular subdivisioning scheme is based on the rhombic triacontrahedron and is called ``triacon.''
[From Steve Mather]
Hey all, I have some questions to ask about the trigonometry behind geodesic domes. Remarkably, I've understood what I've encountered so far, and am well on my way to calculating the the chord factors for a 5v icosa alternate (Why? when I can look it up in a book? Well, I figured I'd prove to myself I can.) I've been able to find those along the direct projection from the icosahedron (are 0.198147431 w/central angle of 11.3716678 degrees, 0.231597598 w/central angle of 13.29940137, and 0.245346417 w/central angle of 14.09281254 accurate beginnings for the outside?
[A big thanks to Steve for calculating and typing in all this for
us!!! I'm not certain about the results, but he did such a careful job
that I suspect they are correct. I'm sure someone will check this more
carefully. Please let me know of any problems.]
The letters begin at the bottom of the horizontal edges to the triangle, from ``a'' to whatever letter (depending upon the frequency --``a'' is the very bottom, as well as the sides.) The numbers are the chord factors.
The way I calculated my factors was like this:
I took the frequency (f) and divided the degree of the central angle of that frequency. I then multiplied this number times the number of rows down the row of lines are (check figure.) I took the sine of this number and multiplied it times the sine of the face angle (the angle between the great circles) to find the sine of half of the angle across the row (whew-- is this making any sense? =) I then multiply this angle times two and divide by the number of rows down (check second sentence and figure.)
This gives me the angle of the geodesic I want. I then take these numbers and divide by two, take the sine and multiply by two, to find the chord factor. These chord factors are multiplied times the radius to get their lengths.
Here are the equations used:
f= frequency
n= number of rows
A= face angle
All numbers are in degrees
2 sin^-1((sin((63.43494885/f)*n))*sinA))
Angle= v 2sin (v/2)
2v icosa: b= 0.6257378602
a= 0.5465330581
3v: c= 0.4240625600
b= 0.4038282455
a= 0.3669588162
4v: d= 0.3212440714
c= 0.3128689301
b= 0.2980880630
a= 0.2759044843
5v: e= 0.2581842991
d= 0.2539357295
c= 0.2465769121
b= 0.2357285878
a= 0.2209776479
6v: f= 0.2156929803
e= 0.2132468999
d= 0.2090569265
c= 0.2029619174
b= 0.1947619676
a= 0.1842631079
7v: g= 0.1851588097
f= 0.1836232302
e= 0.1810112024
d= 0.1772461840
c= 0.1722282186
b= 0.1658460763
a= 0.1579992952
8v: h= 0.1621725970
g= 0.1611459677
f= 0.1594077788
e= 0.1569181915
d= 0.1536238835
c= 0.1494619675
b= 0.1443671359
a= 0.1382831736
9v: i= 0.1442501297
h= 0.1435301153
g= 0.1423149814
f= 0.1405824320
e= 0.1383022055
d= 0.1354375402
c= 0.1319478012
b= 0.1277927679
a= 0.1229389715
10v: j= 0.1298874025
i= 0.1293630412
h= 0.1284801673
g= 0.1272255402
f= 0.1255810391
e= 0.1235242767
d= 0.1210296754
c= 0.1180702193
b= 0.1146200925
a= 0.1106583339
11v: k= 0.1181213623
j= 0.1177276963
i= 0.1170660293
h= 0.1161281074
g= 0.1149025743
f= 0.1133752524
e= 0.1115296266
d= 0.1093476232
c= 0.1068107860
b= 0.1039019434
a= 0.1006074045
12v l= 0.1083071374
k= 0.1080040870
j= 0.1074954030
i= 0.1067757281
h= 0.1058376643
g= 0.1046719125
f= 0.1032675068
e= 0.1016121871
d= 0.09969296006
c= 0.09749689909
b= 0.09501222476
a= 0.09222967293
13v m= 0.09999681431
l= 0.09975856278
k= 0.09935906240
j= 0.09879471539
i= 0.09806054042
h= 0.09715024635
g= 0.09605635362
f= 0.09477038423
e= 0.09328314541
d= 0.09158513461
c= 0.08966709201
b= 0.08752071743
a= 0.08513955025
14v n= 0.09286965560
m= 0.09267896531
l= 0.09235948034
k= 0.09190871293
j= 0.09132321201
i= 0.09059860431
h= 0.08972966070
g= 0.08871039868
f= 0.08753423341
e= 0.08619419334
d= 0.08468321460
c= 0.08299452818
b= 0.08112214654
a= 0.07906144555
15v o= 0.08668999531
n= 0.08653500116
m= 0.08627549580
l= 0.08590971508
k= 0.08543520816
j= 0.08484886148
i= 0.08414693683
h= 0.08332512917
g= 0.08237865120
f= 0.08130235310
e= 0.07955142649
d= 0.07873891823
c= 0.07724141051
b= 0.07559395328
a= 0.07379316114
Octahedron geodesics:
alternate only
2v: b= 1.0000000000 (exact)
a= 0.7653668647
3v: c= 0.7071067812
b= 0.6471948470
a= 0.5176380902
4v: d= 0.5411961001
c= 0.5176380902
b= 0.4701651493
a= 0.3901806440
5v: e= 0.4370160244
d= 0.4253582426
c= 0.4032283118
b= 0.3667034258
a= 0.3128689301
6v: f= 0.3360254038
e= 0.3594040993
d= 0.3472963553
c= 0.3280400675
b= 0.2996195680
a= 0.2610523844
7v: g= 0.3146921227
f= 0.3105694162
e= 0.3032077023
d= 0.2918376001
c= 0.2754043542
b= 0.2528648441
a= 0.2239289522
I hope I typed those all in right.
[From Trevor Blake]
If there is any one Frequently Asked Question online in the 'Fuller School' (an unsupervised collection of mailing lists, Web pages and other online forums relating to R. Buckminster Fuller ) it is ``How do I build a geodesic dome?''
Trevor's web page,
How to Build a Geodesic Dome, isn't comprehensive but
might get you started.
[From Lloyd Kahn]
Fuller did not invent the geodesic dome. It was invented by Walter Bauersfeld of the Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany in 1922, and the first use of it was as a planetarium on the roof of Zeiss that year.
Geodesic Domes and Charts of the Heavens gives further background.
[From Chris Fearnley]
However, Fuller was awarded several patents for the dome. Among them are US patent #2682235 (1954), US patent #288171 (1959), US patent #2905113 (1959), US patent #2914074 (1959), etc. Moreover, Fuller was the one who popularized the technology and pointed out the dome's advantages and the reasons for its great strength.
Since Bauersfeld conceived of his structure merely as a planetarium projector (a truly impressive feat) whereas Fuller had a more comprehensive vision of the geometrical and engineering significance of the dome. Which man should win history's designation as "The inventor of the dome"? I'll let the historians and the pundits debate that one.
The locations of Dome websites changes frequently. The FAQ editor maintains a listing at http://www.CJFearnley.com/buckyrefs.html#geodesicdomes. Kirby Urner maintains one at http://www.grunch.net/synergetics/domes/domeman.html, and the Buckminster Fuller Institute maintains a list at http://www.bfi.org/domes/makers.htm.
The list below has been enhanced by contributions from Joe Moore, Gary Lawrence Murphy, Garnet MacPhee, Robert Holder, and Matthew V. J. Whalen. This list is alphabetical. AT&T's AnyWho service provides a way to check for current information about any company including these vendors.
Affordable Dome Ceilings Inc Updated: Oct 2002
Melbourne, FL 32935 Tel: 321-259-759
Aluminum Geodesic Domes and Spheres Updated: Oct 2002
2111 Southwest 31st Avenue Edwin O'Toole
Hollywood, FL 33021 Tel: 954-963-2341 Fax:
American Geodesics, Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
1505 Webster St. Ben Rose
Richmond VA 23220-2319 Tel: 804-643-3184
a.k.a. Semispheres Building Systems
American Ingenuity, Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
8777 Holiday Springs Road
Rockledge, FL 32955-5805 Tel: 321-639-8777
Planning kit; Video; EPS Foam covered w/concrete Shells
http://www.aidomes.com/
Applied Geodesics, Inc. Updated: Nov 2002
P.O. Box 61741
Vancouver, WA. 98660 Tel: 877-518-1110
http://www.agidomes.com/
Asphalt Sealcoating Products Updated: Oct 2002
2111 Sw 31st Avenue
Hollywood, FL 33021 Tel: 305-625-9436
Astro-Tec Inc Updated: Oct 2002
550 Elm Ridge Avenue
Canal Fulton, OH 44614 Tel: 330 854 2209
http://www.astro-tec.com/
Charter Industries Inc Dome Strctrs Updated: Oct 2002
5325 Barclay Drive
Raleigh, NC 27606 Tel: 919-859-1872
Common Wealth Solar Svs. Updated: Oct 2002
12433 Autumn Sun Lane
Ashland VA, 23005 Tel: 804-798-5371
http://www.commonwealthsolar.com/
Conservatek Updated: Nov 2002
498 Loop 336 E.
Conroe, TX 77301 Tel: 800-880-3663 Fax: 936-539-5355
http://www.conservatek.com/
Deery Development Inc Updated: Oct 2002
28101 South Yates Avenue
Beecher, IL 60401 Tel: 708-946-9292
Dome Inc Updated: Oct 2002
2550 University Avenue West
Saint Paul, MN 55114 Tel: 612-333-3663
http://www.domeincorporated.com/
Domelite of Arizona Updated: Oct 2002
Phoenix, AZ 85034 Tel: 602-264-6631
http://www.domeliteaz.com/
Domes America, Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
126 S. Villa Ave. Bob Casey
Villa Park, IL 60181 Tel: 630-993-1801
Fax: (630) 993 1809
800-323-5548
http://www.arcat.com/arcatcos/cos32/arc32021.cfm
Domes Northwest Updated: Nov 2002
335 Vedelwood Drive
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 Tel: 208-255-4840
http://www.domesnorthwest.com/
Domtec International Updated: Oct 2002
4355 N Haroldsen Drive
Idaho Falls, ID 83401 Tel: 208-522-5520
http://www.domtec.com/
Econ-O-Dome Updated: Oct 2002
RR 1, Box 295B
Sullivan, IL 61951 Tel: 1-888-DOME-LUV (1-888-366-3588)
http://www.one-eleven.net/econodome/
fazechange@one-eleven.net
Energy Structures, Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
893 Wilson Avenue Joe & Kevin Frawley
St.Paul, MN 55106 Tel: 651-772-3559 Fax: 612-772-1207
800-334-8144
http://www.intlist.com/
Fourth Dimension Housing Updated: Oct 2002
190 N. Livingston Bay Rd.
Camano Island, WA 98282 Tel: 360-387-1438
http://www.archdome.com/ 1-888-301-7715
Geocon Manufacturing Inc Updated: Oct 2002
1502 Antelope Road
White City, OR 97503 Tel: 541 826 4545
Geodesic Domes and Homes Co. Updated: Oct 2002
P.O. Box 575 Larry Knackstedt Ray Howard
Whitehouse, TX 75791 Tel: 903-839-2000
http://www.domehomes.com/ Fax: (903) 839 7228
(800) 825-2389
email: sales@domehomes.com
http://www.domehomes.com
GeoDomes Woodworks Updated: Oct 2002
6876 Indiana Avenue, Suite L Bob Davies & Glenn Van Doren
Riverside, CA 92501 Tel: 909-787-8800 Fax: 909-787-7089
Home Planning Guide; Wood kits
Geometrica, Inc. Updated: Nov 2002
908 Town & Country Blvd., Suite 330
Houston, TX 77024 Tel: 713-722-7555 Fax: 713-722-0331
http://www.geometrica.com/
Geo Tech Systems. Inc. Updated: Nov 2002
Corporate Office
775 Bunker Hill Rd.
South Tamworth, NH 03883 Tel: 603-323-8180
http://www.domes.to/
Hexadome Updated: Nov 2002
Glencor International
PO Box 519
Mount Compass
South Australia 5210 Tel: (08) 8556 8701
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~hexadome/
Good Karma Domes Updated: Nov 2002
James Lynch
3531 S.W. 42nd street
Oklahoma City, OK 73119 Tel: 405-685-4822
http://www.goodkarmadomes.com/
Growing Spaces Updated: Nov 2002
P.O. Box 5518
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 Tel: 800-753-9333
http://geodesic-greenhouse-kits.com
Hexadome Updated: Oct 2002
Gene Hopster
El Cajon, CA 92020 Tel: 619 440 0434
Key Dome Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
10393 Southwest 186th Peter Vanderklaaw
Miami, FL 33157 Tel: 305-233-9000
[From Bruce Carroll]: If your looking just for plans/blueprints, try Key
Domes, in Miama, FL (305)-665-3541. They have 3 different types of plans
(foam/concrete, plywood on 2X4/6, and plywood panels).
KCS (KingDomes) Updated: Oct 2002
P.O. Box 980427 Einar Thorstein
Houston, TX 77098 Tel: Fax:
EDC Booklet (European design, 163 solutions, kits, math)
http://www.mmedia.is/kingdome/
Littlewood Geodesic Domes Updated: Nov 2002
3814a - 53a Street
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Canada T9A 2T7 Tel: (780) 352-2569 or 497-0513
http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/domes/
Monolithic Constructors, Inc. Updated: Oct 2002
177 Dome Park Place Tel (972)483-7423 - Fax (972)483-6662
Italy, TX 76651 Tel: 800-608-0001 Fax:
Video; Free brochure; Concrete Domes
http://www.monolithicdome.com/
Natural Spaces Domes Updated: Nov 2002
37955 Bridge Road, Dennis Johnson
North Branch, MN 55056 Tel: 800-733-7107 Fax:
Local Phone: 651 674 4292
``All About Domes''; Video; Wood kits; Dome building classes
[Tom Dosemagen] Inquire about their ``All About Domes'' book. Dennis has
developed two different hub and strut systems for constructing domes.
The people at Natural Spaces, who have been in the dome business
for over 20 years, feel that the best way to insulate a dome is with
fiberglass insulation.
http://www.naturalspacesdomes.com/
Natural Habitat Domes Updated: Oct 2002
N4981 County Road "S"
Plymouth, WI 53073 Tel: 920 893 5308
http://www.naturalhabitatdomes.com/
New Age Construction Co. Updated: Nov 2002
13288-T Domes Ridge
Duncanville, AL 35456 Tel: 205-758-1996
http://www.newagedomeconstruction.com/
Northface Unverified
999 Harrison Court Bruce Hamilton
Berkeley, CA 94710 Tel: 415-527-9700 Fax:
Oregon Dome, Inc. Updated: May 1999
25331 Jeans Rd. Roger & Linda Boothe
Veneta, OR 97487 Tel: 541-935-5444
Phone: (800) 572-8943
http://www.domes.com/
Pacific Domes Updated: Nov 2002
247 Granite Street
Ashland, OR 97520 Tel: 1-541-488-7737
1-888-488-8127
http://www.pacificdomes.com/
P.D. Structures Updated: Nov 2002
180-4 Poplar St. Robert Gray
Rochester, NY 14620 Tel: 585-256-3918
rwgray@rwgrayprojects.com
http://www.rwgrayprojects.com/company/company.html
Pillow Domes
Pond-Brook Products Unverified
P.O. Box 301 Gladys Payne
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07412 Tel: Fax:
Hexa-Pent Dome Plans
Precision Structures LLC Updated: Oct 2002
2565 Potter St.
Eugene, OR 97405 Tel: Fax:
Book; ``Professional Dome Plans''; See Mother Earth News, 1-90
A book of detailed shop drawings and formulas for building wood framed,
3v icosa, panelized geodesic domes.
http://www.domeplans.com/
Shadow Wood Domes Inc Updated: Nov 2002
15250 South Paradise Lane
Mulino, OR 97042 Tel: 503 829 6370
AnyWho Categories: Dome Structures
Shelter Systems-OL Updated: Nov 2002
224 Walnut St. Bob Gillis
Menlo Park, CA 95060 Tel: 650-323-6202 Fax: 650-323-1220
Large dome tents, greenhouses, etc.
http://www.shelter-systems.com/
Solardome Industries Ltd. Updated: Nov 2002
P.O. Box 767
Southampton, SO16 7UA
United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 23 80 767676
http://www.solardome.co.uk/
Starnet International Corp. Updated: Nov 2002
200 Hope St.
Longwood, FL 32750 Tel: 407-830-1199 Fax: 407-830-1817
http://starnetint.com/
Stromberg's Chicks & Gamebirds Updated: Nov 2002
100 York Street
Pine River, 4, MN 56474 Tel: 218-587-2222 Fax:
Starplate struts to build a dome shed/greenhouse up to 14' diam
http://www.strombergschickens.com/starplate_building_system/starplate_index.htm
Synapse Domes (name may be defunct) Updated: Nov 2002
Marshall Brasil and Scott Sims
Brasel & Sims Construction Co
1290 N 2 St
Lander, WY 82520
307-332-5773
This company may involve the principles from Synapse Domes. I have
not been able to verify. No websites could be found.
Temcor Updated: Nov 2002
PO Box 48008
150 West Walnut Street, Suite 150
Gardena, CA 90248 Don Richter Tel: 310-523-2322
800-421-2263 within US
Large aluminum commercial domes
http://www.temcor.com/
Timberline Geodesics Inc Updated: Nov 2002
2015 Blake Street Robert M. Singer
Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510-849-4481 Fax: 510-849-3265
Catalog; Video Tape; Wood kits
Toll-Free: 800-366-3466 (1-800-DOME-HOME)
http://www.domehome.com/
Ultraflote Corp. Updated: Nov 2002
8558-T Katy Freeway, Suite 100
Houston, TX 77024 1809 Tel: 713-461-2100 Fax: 713-461-2213
Western Poly Dome Updated: Nov 2002
23430 High Bridge Road
Monroe, WA 98272 Tel: 360 794 4645
Worldflower Garden Domes Updated: Nov 2002
P.O. Box 2103 Tel: 512 863 2762
Georgetown, Tx. 78627
http://www.gardendome.com/
SouthEastDomes.com & TacoDome.co are Divisions of:
World Merchandising Company Updated: Nov 2002
160 Bream Lane
Kingston,TN 37763
David Martin Tel: 865-376-2161
http://david.martiniii.tripod.com/index-2.html
DOME is (was?) a magazine about the geodesic dome (ISSN 1041-1607). Published quarterly by:
Hoflin Publishing Ltd.
4401 Zephyr Street
Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033-3299
Phone 303/420-2222 (7:30 am to 3:30 pm Denver time)
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers Updated: May 1999
One Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212-695-0500 Fax:
See Volumes 1-10: Products & Services (in most libraries)
National Dome Council Updated: May 1999
1201 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 800-368-5242, ext. 576
http://www.buildingsystems.org/btgdp.html
[From Alex Soojung-Kim Pang]
The two Domebooks -- Domebook, and Domebook Two -- were published in the early 1970s and are now out of print. They were written in much the same fashion as the Whole Earth Catalog, with readers sending in descriptions of their experiences and problems with domes, and the book's staff arranging the pieces, working in photographs and line drawings, etc. They are still often available in libraries, or though university interlibrary-loan. The full citation is:
Lloyd Kahn, et al. Domebook (One). Los Gatos: Pacific Domes, 1970. Lloyd Kahn, et al. Domebook Two. Bolinas, CA: Pacific, 1971. (Distributed by Random House)
[Editor: Warning: The math in these books is known to be inaccurate.]
There was also a book edited by John Prenis (or Prentis, maybe) called The Dome Builders Handbook (Philadelphia: Running Dog Press, ca. 1975). There were two editions of this, as well.
Lloyd Kahn has published three other books that contain information on dome-building: Shelter (which described a wide variety of self-built homes from all over the world), Shelter II (ISBN 0-394-50219), and a pamphlet called Refried Domes (Bolinas: Shelter Publications, 1990) (ISBN 0-936070-10-2). The latter contains the chord factors and angles for 8-frequency domes (critical information, and unavailable anywhere else as far as I can tell), suggestions about construction, and some second thoughts about domes as permanent shelter. If these books are not in your bookstore, you can order them directly from
Shelter Publications
Home Book Service
P.O. Box 279
Bolinas, CA 94924
http://www.shelterpub.com/
Another book to look for Steve Baer, Dome Cookbook (Lama Publications, 1968); as I recall, it has tables for computing strut lengths and some useful information about dome construction.
[From Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, 25 Feb 1992]
Gene Hopster, How to Design and Build Your Dome Home
(Tucson: HP Books, 1981)
Edward M. Duke, A Study of the Geodesic Dome Applied
to Housing (Monticello: Council of Planning
Librarians, 1973)
John Fontanetta, Building a Solar-Heated Geodesic Greenhouse
(Charlotte, VT: Garden Way, 1979)
[From Garnet MacPhee in NOV 1989.]
There is a national association.
National Association of Dome Home Manufacturers
2506 Gross Point Road
Evanston, Illinois 60201
[From Gary Lawrence Murphy and Chris McRae]
Hugh Kenner's ``Geodesic Math and How to Use It'' Berkeley : University of California Press, c1976. xi, 172 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. (ISBN 0-520-02924-0) This is an excellent book for the hobbyist model builder, but also shows geometric derivations for a number of approaches to carving up the surface of a sphere into the smallest practical number of different shaped parts, which is the key matter in dome fabrication. The book also discusses tensegrity designs, although I believe Hugh has since release a volume devoted to tensegrity. For those without calculators :-), the appendix of the book lists the dome-vertex values for many practical frequencies in the basic polyhedral forms.
[From Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, 25 Feb 1992]
A technically useful book is Edward Popko, Geodesics (Detroit: U. Detroit press, 1968). It has lots of photographs, plans for domes made from a whole host of materials, different assembly methods, etc..
[From Matthew Clark, 28 Apr 1993.]
Enchanted West, Inc. manufactures lightweight, precision-molded,
fiberglass panels for building geodesic domes. Contact us at
mclark@scf.nmsu.edu for more information.
[Posted Dec 1991 by Randy Burns]
Another alternative is concrete, earth sheltered domes. These aren't necessarily geodesic structures. Still, they may well be closer to nearing widespread commercial use than most geodesic structures.
Three Companies involved in this:
Utopia Designs, Eugene OR (founded by Norm Waterbury)
These are definitely oriented to the do-it-yourselfer. They specialize in
selling forms and blueprints for domes build using inflatable forms.
EarthShips, Eugene, OR
This company was founded by Richard Britz, author of the Edible City
Resource Manual. They specialize in turnkey structures and are more
oriented towards larger developments. Britz does _wonderful_
architectural drawings.
Monolithic Structures, Idaho and Stockton CA
These folks are primarily involved in building _large_ structures, mainly
industrial buildings and grain silo's.
[More concrete companies from Russell Miller. 1994]
The following three companies deal with concrete shell domes, some of which are geodesic, but none of which are specifically ``Earth Sheltered.''
American Ingenuity inc. 40' dia kit: $13,058
8777 Holiday Springs Road Video = $8
Rockledge, Fl Address current as of: 1994-05
32955-5805
407-639-8777
407-639-8778 (fax)
Key Dome Engineering inc. Plans only
P.O. Box 430253 Info pack = $5
South Miami, FL Address current as of: 1989
33143
Monolithic Constructors inc. 40' dia dome kit: $2300
1 Dome Park Place Video available
P.O. Box 479 Address current as of: 1994-02
Italy, TX
76651-0479
214-483-7454
214-483-6662 (fax)
Build Your Own Geodesic Model: A.G.S. Products
2111 SW 31 Avenue
Pembroke Park, FL 33009
[From Ross Keatinge, 2 Oct 1993]
I know of two dome manufacturers in Australia:
`The Dome Company' at `Tapitallee' near Nowra NSW. They make house and garden domes 5, 7 and 10 metre diameter. I think they also produce them in kitsets so they may be able to help with hubs etc.
The contact is: Rob Lusher Phone (044) 460452
The Dome Company
PO Box 3043
Nth Nowra
NSW 2541
The other is: Bretcod Geodesic Domes
27 Allawah Street
Blacktown NSW Phone (02) 621-7952