A FOURTH GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Candela built hundreds of thousands of square feet of this basic design of a short shell, mostly for open air markets. Note that the ties to take the thrusts form the arches are above the shell and exposed, thus making a tie free open space. Our architects might not like this kind of solution but Candela had complete control of all phases of design and construction. Some examples had skylights between adjacent arches, so that there was natural light for the interior. Click on image to enlarge. This project is a series of 40 foot square domes for a discount store. The layout is four domes wide by nine domes long. The shape is not a sphere but is a translation shell: see section on Types and Forms. There are no internal ties to take the thrusts of the dome and the end thrusts are carried by external diagonal braces. The walls are precast and erected in place. Click on image to enlarge. The domes are formed by bow string trusses, so no shoring is required amd forms may be easily moved. A set of four units were used with nine reuses. The trusses were salvagable and could be reused. Temporary ties were required until the outside braces were cast. Click on image to enlarge. One of our architectural clients, Tom Moore, of Denver, Denver was fascinated with Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Domes. He commissioned a design for a fraternity house using hexagonal units rather than the familiar triangles. Precast units called "dog bones", a member with a Y shape at each end, were joined to create a spherical framework over which the shell was cast. The first picture shows the basic geodesic dome, and the next picture, the external appearance of the fraternity house. Here is another picture. Click on images to enlarge. This multiple dome for a church shown under construction, was formed by using a mond of earth as a form. Then the earth was removed. Click on image to enlarge.