Fun with domes

Geodesic domes have been a captivating addition to gardens, festivals and creative spaces since 1926. I've recently been designing them on the computer inspired by what I think is a brilliant method (cheers Paul Robinson geo-dome.co.uk ) This approach creates strong, clean joints, uses everyday materials like lumber or plywood, and can be scaled to any size you want. Want to learn how to build one yourself? Let me tease you with what I’ve developed.

The top row shows the faces of the base mesh, the bottom row shows the lumber that makes the frame. The colouring is to illustrate which shapes are identical

What makes this approach so appealing to me are two key things. First, it makes load calculations incredibly fast. This means you can quickly test different sizes of lumber and materials on the computer to see what will work for your dome, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of the design. Second, this method allows for unusual dome shapes. While traditional geodesic domes are beautiful, this technique lets you deviate from that standard form to create something truly unique and tailored to your vision.

I'm really loving these connections. Not only are they pretty, but also ideal for transfering loads between each element.

Ultimately, my goal was to find a design that made building a dome feel less like a daunting engineering project and more like a creative one.

I'm excited to share my obsession and open up a conversation with others who share a passion for unique design. If you have a project in mind and are looking for someone to help you explore the design and structural possibilities of a custom geodesic dome, please get in touch.

Let's collaborate on your vision and see what we can build together!