Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the world, highlighting existing inequalities, social injustices, and significant ecological and humanitarian crises. Adapting to a changing post-pandemic world necessitates a redesign of emergency shelters conducive for quick setup and takedown at the onset of an emergency. Geodesic domes are a possibility because of their structural strength, and they use the least amount of material while providing maximum interior space for the occupants. Although geodesic domes have widespread recognition and diverse contemporary uses, their inherent complex geometry poses difficulties in setting them up quickly. This construction challenge is due to the large number of required parts, particularly in a framed dome scenario. In addition, some of these parts may vary slightly, and distinguishing between them can be difficult. In this project, we attempted to solve this problem by employing a simpler geometry of a frameless Goldberg polyhedron configuration and exploring the application of digital fabrication to ease the build complexity. We report on a seven-meter diameter cardboard dome prototyped to determine build viability per geometry, the process needed, and the safety precautions required to erect the structure. This paper explains the geometry, details the step-by-step building process, specifies the hardware used, and discusses our findings. In addition, we share strategies conducive to building the dome by a small group of people, which can foster community and collaboration in a stressful situation with consideration placed on efficiency and minimal errors.
Keywords
Frameless geodesic domes; emergency shelters; digital fabrication; material economy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.297
Citation
Taniguchi, K., Hu, J.,and Young, J.(2023) Prototyping a 7-meter frameless dome as emergency shelter: Test build viability and devise team strategies, in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.297
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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Prototyping a 7-meter frameless dome as emergency shelter: Test build viability and devise team strategies
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the world, highlighting existing inequalities, social injustices, and significant ecological and humanitarian crises. Adapting to a changing post-pandemic world necessitates a redesign of emergency shelters conducive for quick setup and takedown at the onset of an emergency. Geodesic domes are a possibility because of their structural strength, and they use the least amount of material while providing maximum interior space for the occupants. Although geodesic domes have widespread recognition and diverse contemporary uses, their inherent complex geometry poses difficulties in setting them up quickly. This construction challenge is due to the large number of required parts, particularly in a framed dome scenario. In addition, some of these parts may vary slightly, and distinguishing between them can be difficult. In this project, we attempted to solve this problem by employing a simpler geometry of a frameless Goldberg polyhedron configuration and exploring the application of digital fabrication to ease the build complexity. We report on a seven-meter diameter cardboard dome prototyped to determine build viability per geometry, the process needed, and the safety precautions required to erect the structure. This paper explains the geometry, details the step-by-step building process, specifies the hardware used, and discusses our findings. In addition, we share strategies conducive to building the dome by a small group of people, which can foster community and collaboration in a stressful situation with consideration placed on efficiency and minimal errors.