3. General Tag of Montreal Biosphère
• Architect: Buckminster Fuller
• Typology: Cultural Architecture / Museum
• Location: 160 Chemin Tour-de-l’Isle,Île Sainte-Hélène, Parc Jean-
Drapeau, Montreal, Canada
• Completion: 1967
• Evocative topics: Blobitecture, World Fair, Geodesic Structures
4. Montreal Biosphere is a museum dedicated to the environment
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is housed in the former United
States pavilion constructed for Expo 67 located within the
grounds of Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's Island. The
museum's geodesic dome was designed by Buckminster
Fuller.
5. ‘’ You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To
change something, build a new model that makes the existing
model obsolete. ’’
– R. Buckminster Fuller
6. Who is Buckminster Fuller?
• He was a U.S. engineer, architect, philosopher, poet, writer,
and inventor.
• Throughout his life, Fuller has tried to figure out whether or not
humanity has a chance to live longer and more successfully
on planet Earth, and how it will be if it exists.
• In architecture, he designed the "geodesic dome", which
allows you to cover a space with minimal materials.
• He coined the term " Tensegrity" , short for the words
"tension" and "integrity".
7. Fuller believed that;
Reducing the weight of buildings the key to material
efficiency and planetary sustainability, so he designed the
steel-and-acrylic dome to have the lowest possible ratio of
weight to enclosed volume. His obsession with this particular
type of structure emerged from his interests in material
efficiency, structural integrity, and modularity, the key
ingredients of what he hoped would become a sustainable,
easily replicable design intervention.
8.
9. About Buckminster Fuller & Geodesic Dome
• Buckminster Fuller’s first geodesic dome, 18 meters
in diameter, was built on The Dome Restaurant in
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1952.
10. • In the spring of 1953, with the construction in
just a few weeks of the Ford Dome above the
central atrium of the Ford Motor Company’s
cylindrical head office building in Dearborn, on
the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan.
• The 8.5-tonne dome, with a diameter of 83
meters, was the only structure capable of
covering the vast central space without placing
too much pressure on the walls of a building
that had not originally been designed to
accommodate such an addition. World media
attention to the construction and inauguration
of the dome popularized the theories of
“Bucky,” as he came to be known.
11. • Fuller had been working on geodesic domes
for almost 20 years before designing Montreal
Biosphére.
• In short, when he approached the American
government in 1963 to design the U.S.
pavilion for Montréal’s World Fair in 1967,
Buckminster Fuller had become a star.
January 1964 cover of Time Magazine.
12. Montreal Biosphère
• Of all of Fuller’s domes, the Biosphere is perhaps the most spectacular. Montreal Biosphère,
unlike many of Fuller's squat half domes, the one at Expo was a 3/4 sphere set amidst a park-
like setting.
• What he, and partner Shoji Sadao, came up with was first derided as impossible, but convinced
it would work Fuller presented a plan for what would be the world’s largest geodesic dome
soaring over 200 feet in height and close to 250 feet in diameter. It should be noted that Fuller’s
original plan was for a structure twice the size!
13. • The America Pavilion for the 1967 Fair in Montreal was as high as a 20-story building. In
addition to being innovative, inventive, popular, sophisticated, inventive and seductive, Fuller's
Montreal biosphere is the largest geodesic dome on earth. The vast geodesic sphere, with a
diameter of 76 (seventy-six) meters (250 ft.), rises 62 (sixty-two) meters (200 ft.) towards the
sky and completely dominates the island on which it is located. This geodesic dome, which
wraps around the outside of the exhibition buildings, forms a closed structure consisting of steel
and acrylic cells.
• The volume contained within it is so spacious that it comfortably fits a seven-story exhibition
building featuring the various programmatic elements of the exhibit.
14. • During the Exposition, it contained 6 inner floors housing American artefacts.
• The exhibition buildings inside the dome are reinforced concrete structures.
• Visitors had access to 4 large theme platforms divided into 7 levels.
• The building included a 37m long escalator, the longest ever built at the time.
• The Minirail monorail ran through the pavilion.
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25. What was the working principle of the geodesic dome of
the Montreal Biosphere?
• Geometrically, the dome is an icosahedron, a 20-sided shape
formed by the interspersion of pentagons into a hexagonal
grid. However, the clarity of this form is obfuscated by the
fragmentation of its faces, which are subdivided into a series of
equilateral triangles with minor distortions that bow the
individual planar sections into shells. The triangles forming the
dome formed a double-walled structure with 32 frequencies.
The inner and outer layers are connected by a latticework of
struts.
26. • Typically a geodesic dome design begins with an icosahedron inscribed in a hypothetical
sphere, tiling each triangular face with smaller triangles, then projecting the vertices of each tile
to the sphere.
• The endpoints of the links of the completed sphere are the projected endpoints on the sphere's
surface. If this is done exactly, sub-triangle edge lengths take on many different values, requiring
links of many sizes. To minimize this, simplifications are made. The result is a compromise of
triangles with their vertices lying approximately on the sphere. The edges of the triangles form
approximate geodesic paths over the surface of the dome.
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28. • As a result, the aggregate composition of the dome is substantially more spherical than simple
icosahedra, while the smaller units create dazzling visual complexity through sheer
repetitiousness. This lattice-type structure is created entirely of 7,6 cm (three-inch) steel tubes,
welded at the joints and thinning gently toward the top of the structure so as to optimally
distribute forces throughout the system.
29. What does dome frequency mean?
• To obtain a more regular network, a secondary bracing is introduced, modularly dividing each
equilateral triangle into a number of subdivisions. There are two possible classes of geodesic
subdivision; for Class I subdivision, the dividing lines are parallel to the edges of the primary
bracing. (Figure 3) A subdivision, or “frequency” is defined by the number of triangles each edge
of the primary bracing is divided into.
• Montreal Biosphere’ s Dome has Class 1 subdivisions. Because it has Class 1 subdivisions, it is
developed from the icosahedron.
30. Why did Fuller build the geodesic dome out of triangles?
• Triangles are the strongest shape because they
have fixed angles and don’t distort very easily.
The triangle is the only arrangement of structural
members that is stable within itself without
requiring additional connections at the
intersection points to prevent warping of the
geometry. In other words, apply pressure to one
edge of a triangle, and that force is evenly
distributed to the other two sides, which then
transmit pressure to adjacent triangles. That
cascading distribution of pressure is how
geodesic domes efficiently distribute stress along
the entire structure.
31. • Briefly; geodesic dome utilizes the power of natural geometry to make incredibly efficient
structures. Geodesic domes are three-dimensional structures using stable triangles
approximating spheres to create multiple load carrying paths from point of load to point of
support.
32. What was the working principle of the geodesic dome of
the Montreal Biosphere?
• “Geodesic Dome” is the result of balancing compression and tension forces in building (Fuller’s
structures use the principle of tension instead of usual compression) and which is qualified as
lightweight, cost-effective and easy to assemble without needing intrusive supporting columns. Their
main quality is that they distribute tension and stress economically throughout the construction by
channeling it differently. The structure efficiently distributes stress and can resist despite the hard
conditions. Geodesic domes are the most efficient structures ever created in terms of material weight.
33. Load Distribution of Geodesic Dome
• Working Principle: Support through
compression and tension.
• Geodesic domes have most members in
compression.
• However, the lower horizontal struts can be
in tension.
• Also, geodesic domes are the only types of
domes which can support its own weight. It
does this by distributing the stresses and
loads within the structure. An advantage of
this type of load distribution is that it allows
for the dome to be able to be set directly on
the ground as a complete structure.
34. Load Distribution of Dome of Montreal Biosphere
• We can say that the load distribution of the Montreal
Biosphere’s dome is as in the previous slide field d option.
Because the dome is 3/4 of a sphere, as in the figure.
• Since the dome consists of triangles, incoming loads are
transferred through each element and transmitted to the last
surface of the Earth.
• Their main quality is that they distribute tension and stress
economically throughout the construction by channeling it
differently.
Load
Earth’s Reaction
35. Why was the Montreal Biosphere built as a double-walled
dome?
• Actually; Dome of Montreal Biosphere works with space lattice
logic.
• The less horizontal a given strut is, the less compression it needs to withstand an applied load.
Increasing the number of subdivision points to capture the sphere form is not a very correct
decision for the stability of the structure. Because as the number of subdivisions increases, the
truss depth decreases. As the truss width decreases, so does the stabilization.
• A way around this issue is to have two concentric domes, and run the struts from one to the
other, allowing the truss depth to be larger. This method is generally necessary to have larger
geodesic domes. Therefore, truss depth in larger domes can be increased by adding a second
layer to create a space frame.
41. Construction Phase Of 1967 Expo USA Pavilion
If a prediction is made based on the
photo; We can say that the triangulars
that make up the dome are produced
outside the construction site and
brought to the construction site to be
merged into the construction site.
42. As seen in the second photo, it can be
estimated that the triangulars prepared
outside the construction site, which will be
assembled as the dome rises, are seated
using a tower crane.
44. Connector of Steel Bars
• The pavilion was originally designed to be dismantled. However, for reasons of economy, the
American officials asked for the metal tubes to be welded, not bolted as Buckminster Fuller had
proposed. This change slowed down the building process considerably, and also - fortunately for
Montréal - made the structure impossible to dismantle.
45. • Nodes :
• In a space frame, connecting joints play an important role, both functional and esthetic,is form
sphere and hot pressed steel forging .
• Nodes can be drilled any number of holes according to the project needs.
• Members are circular hollow sections with cone-shaped steel forgings welded at the ends, which
accommodate connecting bolts.
• Pipes :
• Members are circular hollow sections with cone-shaped steel forgings welded at the ends, which
accommodate connecting bolts.
• Tension and pressure forces occur in the system transfer to the nodes by the the conic
members. The material specification must be same at least with pipes.
49. About Dome’s Shading System
• To complete the dome 1,900 clear acrylic ‘lenses’ created a transparent ‘skin’ to the structure
that housed five exhibition platforms inside. The effect was a striking bauble that glittered in the
sunlight and glowed in the evening. It was, in effect, the crowning jewel of the Fair and a
technological masterpiece. The theme of ‘Creative America’ was chosen for the exhibition.
• To keep the indoor ambient temperature at an acceptable level, Buckminster Fuller designed an
apparatus composed of mobile triangular panels that would move over the inner surface of the
dome following the sun. Although brilliant on paper, this innovation was probably too advanced
for its time, and unfortunately never worked properly. Instead, a large number of valves were
installed in the centre of the acrylic panels, to enable the pavilion to "breathe."
55. • The incredibly successful 1967 World’s Fair took place in Montreal from
April to October of 1967 and drew over 50 million visitors. The most
popular pavilion was the impressive geodesic dome of the United
States, The United States pavilion welcomed more than 9 million visitors
in six months. Of the 62 countries present at Montréal’s World Fair, the
United States stands out for its truly exceptional contribution, due not
only to the impact of its geodesic dome on the Île Sainte-Hélène
landscape, but also to the spectacular aspect of the pavilion's popular
and sophisticated content.
61. After the Fair ended;
• The pavilion was gifted to the city of Montreal and it went on to become an exhibition space for a
few years.
• In 1976, during some repairs, a welder accidentally set fire to the one of the originally sheathed
in a thin acrylic membrane and the entire dome was quickly engulfed in flames. The dome as
originally built was more opaque and visually solid than the version experienced today.
• However, its present structural nakedness creates a beautifully legible transparency that fully
reveals the ingenuity of Fuller’s design. Standing outside the building, sightlines through the
sphere penetrate the shell on two surfaces without material differentiation, resulting in a
continuous reading of interior and exterior surfaces as facets of a single structural fabric curving
in on itself. With the acrylic infill removed, the experiential emphasis of the dome shifts from
spatial enclosure to the sensorial wonder of the structure itself. The unchoreographed visibility of
the exhibition building within, however, is forgivably less appealing, at times resembling a
disquietingly modern take on snowglobe kitsch at the grandest of scales.
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66. After the fire;
• Fuller’s dome sat unused for some time and in early 1990’s was transformed into the Montreal
Biosphere, a museum dedicated to raising environmental awareness. Montreal's Biosphere is a
unique interactive museum aiming to raise awareness of the Saint-Lawrence river and the Great
Lakes ecosystem. Due to its specific architecture, energy consumption is substantial. The
combination of a geothermal system and leading-edge technologies produces an impressive
energy efficiency. Compared to a conventional electrical option, the geothermal system shows a
reduction in energy usage of 459 MWh.
• Today ‘Bucky’s Bubble’ is an icon of the city of Montreal. Without its original acrylic skin the
structure now soars like delicate filigree lace and still impresses. While Fuller’s dome has a new
purpose, it will always stand as testament to the creative, often fearless, ingenuity of America.
67. Model of Montreal Biosphere’s Structural System
• A single-layer dome of high frequency
buckles easily under local loads, but
thickening it to two layers makes it a
truss, which adds greatly to its
rigidity.
• In this design, there are triangles for
the outer layer and hexagons for the
inner layer. These two tessellations
mesh well because {red} and {black}
are dual to each other, i.e., the
vertices of each tessellation will lie in
the centers of the faces of the other
tessellation and the edges of each
cross the edges of the other at right
angles.
68. 1.
• I've determined the materials I'll use before I start
making models. I used toothpicks to represent the
steel bars in Montreal Biosphere’ dome, styrofoam
balls to represent the Iron Balls at the ports. In
the real dome, the steel were welded to the ports.
So I shoved the toothpicks into the styrofoam
balls to replace the welding process.
• Styrofoam Balls: Steel Balls Connector
• Toothpicks: Steel Bars
69. 2.
• I combined the
materials I had to
form a sphere from
hexagonal modules.
70. 3.
• After I created the inner wall of the dome from hexagons, I added
intermediate toothpicks decks that would connect it to the second wall by
calculating their angle.
