Historic domes

Image-GoddenE2 The Pantheon. The present building

was built in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (AD 75-
138), in spite of the inscription on the portico: "Marcus,
son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this." With
a diameter of 43.30m, the dome was the largest in the
world until modern times (St. Peter's Rome, 42.52m; St.
Paul's London, 31m) (Rome, Italy)
Image-GoddenE3 The Pantheon from floor level to base
of dome. The building is a circular drum in form, capped
with the dome. Walls are concrete faced with brick, and
the dome is concrete. (Rome, Italy)

Image-GoddenE4 The Pantheon showing the dome from

its base to the open 8.9m diameter oculus at the top. The
dome varies in thickness from 5.9m at the base to 1.5m
at the apex. Height of the dome is 22m above its base.
The apex is 37m above the floor and this is the same
dimension as the inside diameter of the drum. The exact
method of construction has never been determined.
(Rome, Italy)

Image-GoddenE5 The Pantheon showing the brick

facing at the top of the drum. Walls of the drum are 6m
thick, and as shown here are strengthened by large brick
arches and piers. The mortar is high quality and the
aggregate was carefully selected and varies from heavy
basalt at the base of the drum to light pumice at the top
of the dome. (Rome, Italy)
Image-GoddenE6 The Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue
Mosque) built 1609-1616, is at the center of a complex
of Ottoman buildings. The central dome rests on four
pointed arches with corner pendentives. These in turn
rest on four very large piers, each about 5 ft. in diameter.
There are six minarets: 4 at the corners of the main
structure and 2 at the outer wall of the courtyard. The
Blue Mosque, like other Ottoman monuments, was built
in emulation of the Byzantine Hagia Sophia built 532-
537 AD. (Istanbul, Turkey)
Image-GoddenE7 Inside the Hagia Sophia looking
upward into the dome. One of the world's great domes,
built in 563, it has a diameter of 107 ft., a rise of 50 ft. at
the crown, and covers a 107-ft. square crossing. It is
constructed of bricks 27 in. square at the base and 24 in.
square at the apex, all 2 in. thick, with approximately 2
in. thick mortar joints. and the apex is 180 ft. above the
floor. The 40 radial curved ribs terminate through the 40
windows at the base of the dome. This dome replaced
the original and flatter dome, with a rise of
approximately 41 ft., which collapsed in an earthquake
in 558. (Istanbul, Turkey)
Image-GoddenE7.1 Exterior view of the Hagia Sophia,
built 532-537 AD under the direction of Justinian I, and
considered a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. It
was the first large rectangular building with crossing to
be covered with a dome. The 107-ft. square crossing has
four massive stone piers supporting four semi-circular
arches and four pendentives upon which the dome rests.
The apex of the dome is 180 ft. above the floor. The
large half dome seen on the side ofs the building acts as
a buttress. (Istanbul, Turkey)
Image-GoddenE8 St. Mark's Basilica. Fine example of
Byzantine architecture. Built in the form of a Greek
cross, with a 42 ft. diameter dome in the center and
smaller domes rising over each arm. It was completed in
1071. (Venice, Italy)

Image-GoddenE9 St. Mark's Basilica. View upwards

into one of the smaller domes. The inner surfaces of all
the domes are covered with Biblical pictures in glass
mosaics. The inner shells of the domes are less than half
the height of the outer shells which are supported on
circular drums. (Venice, Italy)
Image-GoddenE10 Piazza dei Miracoli. This square, as
well as including the famous 'leaning tower' (in the
background) contains two buildings, each with
interesting domes: the Baptistry (foreground) and the
Romanesque Cathedral completed in AD 1118. The
cathedral dome is elliptical in form. (Pisa Italy)

Image-GoddenE11 View of the Baptistry (background)

and the Cathedral domes of Pisa taken from the top of
the Campanile. Due to the subsequent closing of the
Campanile this view can no longer be seen. The 60 ft.
diameter Baptistry is covered with an outer
hemispherical roof that is pierced by a conical dome
covering the interior space. (Pisa, Italy)
Image-GoddenE12 The Santa Maria Del Fiore Cathedral
dome (Il Duomo)(background) and base of the
Campanile (foreground). Florence, Italy. The dome is
difficult to photograph due to the proximity of
surrounding buildings. The design of the dome was
awarded in 1421 to Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith by
training, in a competition. It took 14 years to build.
(Florence, Italy)

Image-GoddenE13 Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral

Dome (Il Duomo), Florence. The diameter of the dome
is 45.4 m, its apex is 90 m above the floor and is capped
with a 26 m high lantern. The dome, built on an
octagonal drum, consists of inner and outer shells and is
Gothic in form. It is considered one of the masterpieces
of engineering. (Florence, Italy)

Image-GoddenE13.1 Dome of St. Peter's. Associated

with the name of Michelangelo, though considerably
altered from his original design. Completed in 1590, the
dome is 138 ft. in diameter, and its apex is 400 ft above
floor level. The external ribs can be seen. The lantern
was a later addition. (For Piazza, see GoddenF5) (Rome,
Italy)
Image-GoddenE14 Close-up view of St. Peter's dome
taken from the roof of the basilica. Completed in 1590,
the dome is 138 ft. in diameter, and its apex is 400 ft
above floor level. The external ribs can be seen. Lantern
was a later addition. (Rome, Italy)

Image-GoddenE15 Inside St. Peter's. The building is in

the form of a cross with the dome supported above the
crossing. Slide shows the four massive 60 ft. square
columns that support the weight of the dome. (Rome,
Italy)

Image-GoddenE16 Inside St. Peter's, looking up into the

dome. It can be seen that the dome rests on a short drum
which includes the windows. The drum, but not the
dome, was completed at the time of Michelangelo's
death in 1564. Iron chains have been added to the dome
at different times since its construction to prevent it
spreading at the base. (Rome, Italy)

Image-GoddenE17 St. Paul's Cathedral. Designed in

classical Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren (see
also Wren's beam grid in GoddenF71 - F72). Built in
1710, it replaced Old St. Paul's which was destroyed in
the Great Fire of 1666. (London, England)
Image-GoddenE18 Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. The
dome is 112 ft in diameter and the cross on top is 365 ft
above the floor. It is a complex structure consisting of an
outer shell, intermediate brick cone strengthened with a
double chain and which supports the heavy lantern, and
an inner shell. (London, England)

Image-GoddenE19 View inside St. Paul's Cathedral

showing the structure of the crossing that supports the
dome. Eight columns are used in this design, in contrast
to the four columns used in St. Peters, Rome. (London,
England)

Image-GoddenE20 View inside St. Paul's Cathedral

looking upward into the dome (compare to a similar
view of St. Peter's dome in GoddenE16). Seen in this
slide is the separate inner shell which was made shorter
for aesthetic reasons. (London, England)

Image-GoddenE21 U.S. Capitol Building. Completed in

1863, the 287 ft. high cast iron dome on top of the
building was based on Michelangelo's design for the
dome in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. (Washington, D.C.)
 Image-GoddenE22 Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II.
Constructed in 1865, this large covered arcade has a
dome at the crossing in the style of a cathedral. The
dome apex is 160 ft above the floor, and is a good
example of a dome constructed from radial ribs and
circumferential hoops. (Milan, Italy)

Modern domes: Ribbed

Image-GoddenE23 New United Nations Building. This

view looking down on the outside of the small dome of
slide GoddenE24 shows its 12-sided shape, and the ring
beam which supports the radial ribs. (Geneva,
Switzerland)

Image-GoddenE24 New United Nations Building. View

of the dome underneath and looking upwards. The dome
is primarily one of radial arch-type ribs, though the small
circumferential members will provide some hoop
tension. (Geneva, Switzerland)

Image-GoddenE25 Church building. Built in 1968 this

small semicircle building is topped with a simple dome
consisting of radial reinforced concrete ribs connected to
ring beams top and bottom, and capped with a lantern.
(Chicago, Illinois)

Image-GoddenE26 Exhibition Hall. A large-span roof

consisting of radial concrete ribs supported on a tension
ring. (Belgrade, Yugoslavia)
 Image-GoddenE27 Assembly Hall, University of
Illinois, Urbana. 400 ft diameter ribbed reinforced
concrete dome. The ribs are folded-plate construction.
Dome was cast on falsework, then the ring-beam on
which it rests was prestressed by wrapping with steel
wire under high tension until the dome became self-
supporting. (Urbana, Illinois)
Image-GoddenE28 Assembly Hall, University of
Illinois, Urbana. Close up of the dome showing the
radial cantilevers from the ground which support the
dome ring-beam. (Urbana, Illinois)

Image-GoddenE29 Assembly Hall, University of

Illinois, Urbana. Inside view of the dome showing the
arena seating and the form of the folded-plate
construction used to provide the dome with the necessary
moment-carrying capacity in the radial direction.
(Urbana, Illinois)

Modern domes: Truss

Image-GoddenE30 Aladdin theater, Aladdin Hotel. View

looking down on the top of the 300 ft. span timber dome
covering a theater seating 7500. The structure of the dome is
shown in GoddenE31 and GoddenE32. (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Image-GoddenE31 View inside the Aladdin theater. The
dome consists of primary intersecting timber ribs forming a
triangulated truss dome. Circumferential secondary beams
and timber covering complete the dome. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE32 Close-up of the interior of the dome

structure of the Aladdin theater. The white triangles are non-
structural reflectors. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE32.1 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington

(1983). At the time of opening, it was listed as the largest
wood domed structure in the world. Interior diameter 530 ft,
height 152 ft. General purpose facility used for football,
soccer, etc., concerts and exhibitions. Maximum seating for
concerts 30,000. General view showing the dome structure
on its concrete ring beam. Scale of the structure can be seen
from the figures on the roof. (See also GoddenE32.2-E32.3)
(Tacoma, Washington)

Image-GoddenE32.2 Interior of the Tacoma Dome in

GoddenE32.1, showing the roof structure. (Tacoma,
Washington)
Image-GoddenE32.3 Detail of timber roof beam connection
to concrete ring beam in GoddenE32.2. (Tacoma,
Washington)

Image-GoddenE33 Space frame 'geodesic' dome, Caesar's

Palace Hotel. This type of dome, invented by Buckminster
Fuller, is extremely light, can cover very large spans, and
requires only vertical supports at the boundaries. This is a
small partially covered dome at the entrance to the hotel.
(Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE34 Omni-Max Theater, Caesar's Palace Hotel.

100 ft. diameter geodesic dome enclosing a theater in the
round. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE35 Geodesic dome. Medium span dome used

as a warehouse. (St. Louis, Missouri)

Image-GoddenE35.1 Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth

Park, Vancouver, B.C. A 140-ft diameter triodetic dome, 70 ft
high. The structure consists of a framework of tubular steel
elements supporting 1490 Plexiglas bubbles. See also
GoddenE35.2. (Vancouver, B.C.)
 Image-GoddenE35.2 Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth
Park, Vancouver, B.C. Interior detail of the dome structure of
GoddenE35.1. (Vancouver, B.C.)

Modern domes: Air-supported dome

Image-GoddenE35.3 BC Place, Vancouver, Canada.

Made for Expo 86, the world exposition held in
Vancouver in 1986, as a multi-purpose stadium with
seating for 60,000. The structure is a 190 m x 231 m
super-ellipse in plan, and at the time of construction the
world's largest air supported dome stadium. An air-
supported roof consisting of two translucent teflon-
coated fiberglass membranes and a two-way steel cable
system is anchored to the 700 m U-shaped concrete
compression beam at the top of the structure. The roof
has a rise of 90 ft when inflated. (Vancouver, B.C.)
Image-GoddenE35.4 Interior view of the BC Place
structure (GoddenE35.1), showing the roof structure in
daylight. The air pressure required to support the roof is
only 5 psf. In the event of the roof deflating, the cables
hold it 20 ft above the seating and ground. (Vancouver,
B.C.)

Image-GoddenE35.5 Detail of the roof cable anchorages

to the concrete compression ring beam in BC Place
Stadium (GoddenE35.2) (Vancouver, B.C.)
 Image-GoddenE35.6 External view of BC Place Stadium
(GoddenE35.1) showing the compression ring beam.
(Vancouver, B.C.)

Image-GoddenE35.7 Internal view of BC Place Stadium

showing the concrete cantilever frames supporting the
upper seating. (Vancouver, B.C.)

Modern domes: Thin shell

Image-GoddenE36 Auditorium Building. Thin concrete

shell roof supported on a ring-beam. This shell and ring
were made at ground level and jacked up into position on
top of the columns. (Anderson, Indiana)

Image-GoddenE37 Auditorium Building. Inside the thin

shell dome. The scale of the structure can be seen from
the figures standing at the entrance to the auditorium.
(Anderson, Indiana)

Image-GoddenE38 Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts

Institute of Technology. This truncated spherical shell is
supported at three symmetric points. It is 1/8th of a
sphere of radius 112 ft., and is 157 ft. span from
supporting pin to pin (Boston, Massachusetts)

Modern domes: Retractable

 Image-GoddenE39 Public Auditorium. Designed to serve both
as a convention hall and as an open-air amphitheater seating
13,600, the building has a retractable dome consisting of
radial steel ribs sheathed in stainless steel. The dome has a
diameter of 417 ft. and a rise of 109 ft. (Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania)

Image-GoddenE40 Retractable roof of auditorium

(GoddenE39) is held by a curved cantilever tripod space
frame outside the dome. Top legs are box units 3 ft X 3 1/2 ft;
bottom leg is 8 ft X 17 ft box. Roof divided into 8 equal
segments, six of which retract over the two fixed segments.
All 8 are supported at the center on the space truss and roll
on the supporting ring. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Image-GoddenE41 Ring girder of auditorium (GoddenE39) is

supported on a series of A-frames with the vertical leg
directly beneath the girder and the sloping leg (shown) to
prevent radial displacement. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Shells: Folded plates

Image-GoddenE42 Church building. Designed as a

folded plate concrete shell, structurally this building can
be compared with the A-frame or the 3-hinged arch as
the bending stiffness approaches zero at the apex and at
the supports. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE43 Side view of the church building

shows the arrangement of the folded plates. (Las Vegas,
Nevada)
 Image-GoddenE44 Motel building. The roof consists of
a folded plate in reinforced concrete. This slide shows
the front of the building and the roof spans from front to
back. The folded plate motif used in the small canopy is
architectural only and not used structurally as a long
beam in the manner of the main roof. (St. Louis,
Missouri)

Shells: Hyperbolic paraboloids (hypar)

Image-GoddenE45 Hypar roof, Court House Square.

Designed to house a shop, this large concrete shell
covers an area of 112 ft X 113.5 ft without interior
supports and rises 32.5 ft above ground. The shell
thickness is 3 in. increasing to 6 in. at the ridges.
(Denver, Colorado)

Image-GoddenE46 Detail of one of the supporting

buttresses in the hypar shell roof. Each buttress is
oriented in the diagonal of the shell as viewed in plan.
This is the direction of the resultant force exerted by the
two edge beams at the corner. (Denver, Colorado)

Image-GoddenE47 Side view of steel buttress. Note that

the buttress is inclined at an angle to the vertical in line
with the edge beams, to be in line with the resultant
boundary force. (Denver, Colorado)

Image-GoddenE48 Hinged joint at the top of the

buttress. The complete shell is supported on four
stainless steel pins. (Denver, Colorado)
Image-GoddenE49 Office building. Consisting of a
series of hypar shells designed in such a way that half a
shell is cantilevered above the main windows. (Near San
Francisco, California)

Image-GoddenE50 Cantilevered shell. The concrete edge

beam tapers from minimum at the unsupported end to
maximum at the support point. (San Francisco Bay Area)

Image-GoddenE51 Marine Stadium. This structure

facing the waterfront for water sports is roofed with a
series of hypar shells. The geometry of the shells and the
structural system at the back of the stadium can be seen
in GoddenE52. (Miami, Florida)

Image-GoddenE52 Marine Stadium. Close-up of two

bays of the stadium taken from the back. The diagonal
members act as ties for the long cantilever roof as well
as providing in-plane stability to the structure. (Miami,
Florida)

Image-GoddenE53 Hypar roof, University of California,

Berkeley. Each column supports an umbrella roof
consisting of four small hypar shells. The column
spacing is 20 ft. (Berkeley, California)

Image-GoddenE54 Hypar roof, University of California,

Berkeley. Each column supports an umbrella roof
consisting of four small hypar shells. The column
spacing is 20 ft. (Berkeley, California)
Image-GoddenE55 Hypar roof, University of California,
Berkeley. This roof system is also used as a restaurant
roof. Note the interesting geometry and high window
opening caused by staggering the alternate rows of
shells. (Berkeley, California)

Image-GoddenE56 Oakland International Airport. This

central tower-terminal building uses hypar umbrella
shells over the main hall, and cantilevered barrel shells at
the entrance. (Oakland, California)

Image-GoddenE57 Umbrella hypar shells in the Oakland

Airport tower-terminal building. Each set of four hypar
shells is independently supported on a long central
column. The column spacing is 35 ft. (Oakland,
California)

Image-GoddenE58 Interior view of Oakland Airport

tower/terminal building showing the arrangement of the
hypar shells. (Oakland, California)

Image-GoddenE59 St. Mary's Cathedral. An interesting

structure consisting of eight hypar shells on end forming
a total roof structure. The form of the building is difficult
to visualize, hence views from different angles, both
inside and outside the cathedral, are shown in
GoddenE60-E63. (San Francisco, California)
Image-GoddenE60 Oblique external view of St. Mary's
Cathedral, showing the ridge between the shell pairs at
the corners of the building in plan. The line extends from
the center of the cross at the apex of the building and
descends in a straight line to the support point shown in
GoddenE63. (San Francisco, California)

Image-GoddenE61 St. Mary's Cathedral. Interior view

looking upwards and showing the mid-point at the apex.
The form of the roof can be deduced from GoddenE60-
E61. (San Francisco, California)

Image-GoddenE62 St. Mary's Cathedral. Interior view,

floor level looking towards the altar. Note that the shells
are terminated at the bottom in an arch form between the
supports (two of the supports are just out of view to the
left and right, but a close-up of one of the supports is
given in GoddenE63) giving an outside view from the
cathedral floor. (San Francisco, California)
Image-GoddenE63 St. Mary's Cathedral. Interior View,
showing one of the four corner shell supports. (San
Francisco, California)

Image-GoddenE64 American Airlines Hangar, SFO.

This double cantilever roof structure consists of a series
of hypar shells made of this steel decking. Cantilevers
are 230 ft. long, 56 ft. wide, and have a depth that tapers
from 40 ft. maximum to 4 ft. at the tip. The bottom of the
roof is 80 ft. above the floor. Built on a module design,
the roof currently has eight pairs of balanced hypars.
(San Francisco International Airport)
 Image-GoddenE65 American Airlines Hangar, SFO.
Interior view. The point of support of the hypars is seen
in the background, and the flattening angle between
plates can be seen by comparing the background and
foreground geometry. The roof includes a set of cables
that can be tightened to counteract vertical
displacements. The top of the cantilever (over the hangar
doors) is off the top of the slide. (San Francisco
International Airport)

Shells: Barrels

Image-GoddenE66 Small cylindrical barrel shells. The

longitudinal span between supporting columns is 45 ft.
This multi-shell roof terminates with a short edge shell
which stiffens the boundary against deflection in a
direction normal to the shell surface. (Martinez,
California)

Image-GoddenE67 Oakland International Airport,

California. These conoidal surface shells have a span
between columns of 50 ft, an overhang of 15 ft, and a
width between columns of 15 ft. The overall geometry of
these shells can be seen from the aerial view in
GoddenE58. (Oakland International Airport)

Image-GoddenE68 Aerial view of the barrel and hypar

shells at Oakland International Airport, California, and
shown in GoddenE56 and GoddenE67, taken from the
overhanging restaurant in the control tower. (Oakland
International Airport)

Image-GoddenE69 St. Cornelius Church building. The

roof of this church consists of a series of barrel shells
with a short overhang at each end. The rise in these
barrels at midspan is for architectural reasons only.
(Richmond, California)

Shells: Intersecting cylinders

 Image-GoddenE71 Terminal Building, Lambert Field
Airport. Constructed from modules consisting of four
intersecting concrete cylindrical shells which form a 120
ft square with 15 ft overhang in the center of each shell
(hence forming an 8 sided figure in plan). The height at
the center is 32 ft. Slide taken in 1962 when three
modules had been constructed. (St. Louis, Missouri)
Image-GoddenE72 Terminal Building, Lambert Field
Airport. Taken in 1980 after the construction of
additional shell modules. The shells are 4 1/2 in. thick
increasing to 8 in. at the diagonal and perimeter
stiffening ribs which are supported at ground level on
fixed hinged bearings. The bearings use 8 in. diameter
steel pins. Bearings are tied together at floor level with 8
in. X 1 in. steel ties on the perimeter (not on diagonal as
in the structure of GoddenE46). (St. Louis, Missouri)
Image-GoddenE73 Terminal building showing the
internal geometry produced by the intersecting shells.
The tapered light opening at the top of the slide is the
boundary between two modules, and is produced by the
pointed overhang in each shell. (St. Louis, Missouri)

Shells: Various double curvature

Image-GoddenE74 Motel entrance. This small shell is

made in the form of two components of a monkey
saddle. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE75 Trans World Airlines Terminal

Building, J.F. Kennedy Airport. This picture was taken
during construction. (New York City)
Image-GoddenE76 Terminal Building, Las Vegas
Airport. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Image-GoddenE77 Priory building. This concrete shell

chapel is circular in plan and consists of two-tier shell
system with a shell lantern. The geometric form of this
system was inspired by the medieval nun's collar. (Near
St. Louis, Missouri)

Image-GoddenE78 Priory Building. Interior view from

the floor to the lantern opening at the apex. The form of
the roof inside is visually pleasing, but acoustically very
difficult for an auditorium. (Near St. Louis, Missouri)

Image-GoddenE79 Exhibition hall, La Defense. This

huge ribbed concrete shell structure is an equilateral
triangle in plan, and supported at the three apexes of the
triangle. The clear span is 721 ft. (Near Paris, France)

Image-GoddenE80 Exhibition hall, La Defense, taken

from behind one of the shell support points. (Near Paris,
France)