THE UBIQUITOUS DOME
Architectural Evolution
How the Dome is a marvel of architecture that will never lose its charm
What Ustad Ahmad Lahouri envisioned in the 17th century was a masterpiece of architecture that is now renowned the world over for its beauty and symmetry. However, closer inspection of architectural marvels depicts one common thing that has been able to manifest itself in innumerable forms and sub-structures across cultures and centuries. The dome is the element which can be observed to have been extensively used across all the major continents and country.
Demographics
Starting from the cradle of civilization, it is apparent how the Greek and Romans developed a common design (the Romans copied the Greeks, but that sounds insulting) that did not rely much on domes and made a design identity around the embellished vertical pillars of The Parthenon which is now the ambassador of Corinthian design philosophy. (The Parthenon pillars are still alive as the inspiration behind Rolls Royce’s vertical front grilles that adorn their vehicles) But ultimately, the Romans hoped on the dome-wagon when larger covered areas were needed. This gave birth to Pantheon.
Talking of Turkey,(Is it middle eastern? Is it European? Even the Turks aren’t sure!) The Haga Sophia is an example of how cultural overlapping brought about changes that shifted the edifice to the dome-oriented Byzantine Architecture. Speaking of Islam influenced design , the Mughals are largely credited to have pioneered the round tops with clarity and precision in the Indian subcontinent, and have left us with Ustad Lahouri’s brainchild and Shah Jahan’s gift, The Taj Mahal.
Let’s not forget the last but not the least Renaissance Styled Marvels that scream quality and grandeur (think of the St. Peter’s Basilica) and as if that wasn’t enough, the need to refine it was taken seriously by the Baroque Geniuses who have given the world Berlin Cathedral.
All this isn’t even exhaustive because there are only so many buildings that have this dome thing going on, you know? The Kremlin of the hot-headed people, Arabian hotels you can’t afford to stay in, Indian Universities where you bribe the clerical staff and so and so forth.
“But what are the benefits and advantages these rotund structures have to their credit?” you may ask. Well, leading architecture and construction firm South Industries (Menan, USA) has backed the upsides which have been quoted verbatim:
Strength
The Monolithic Dome has many different aspects that make it the best choice in construction. Domes are extremely durable and strong. While the average building life is measured in decades, the Monolithic Dome can be measured in centuries. They are fire, water and wind resistant, making them impervious to hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other threatening natural disasters. In one instance, after hurricane Frances hit the coast of Florida, a dome built right on the shore was one of the only buildings left standing. The residents simply closed their hurricane shutters and let the storm pass, their home suffering very little damage.
Fireproof
The Monolithic Dome is not only disaster proof, but also extremely efficient. The dome structure allows for a wide variety of floor plan designs because it needs no interior support. This allows you to take advantage of the wide open space of your building. Because of the structure’s tightness, they conserve vast amount of energy, making them more cost effective to run and heat. In a regular stick home, the amount of air flow through the home is equal to having a door open all the time. The Monolithic Dome, however, is so well insulated and tight that the airflow amounts to an opening the size of two pencils.
Low Maintenance
A Dome is also significantly easier to maintain than a regular building. There is no worry about roof repairs, wood rot, termite damage or any other sort of inconvenient maintenance required in a conventional structure.
Having said that, sometimes the usage has also been so aesthetically inspired that no one questioned the guys about spending so much for erecting the Buckminsterfullerene for expo 67 or the Biosphere at Montreal.
In a nutshell, the Dome-Styling Revolution was a phenomenon that was very significant in shaping design history of mankind but not everybody paid attention to it as it does not have a Facebook page with enough followers.
