I.

Shell Structure Building System

1.1 Sample Structures/Buildings that used Shell Structure

Image Source: https://worldarchitecture.org/cdnimgfiles/extuploadc/lotustemple16b-1-.jpg

Name: Baha’I House of Worship (Lotus Temple) by Fariborz Sahba

Location: Dehli, India

Type of Building System: Thin-Shell Structure (Concrete Shells

Short Description:

The Baha'i House of Worship, popularly known as the Lotus Temple is not only a
symbol of excellence in modern Indian architecture but also one of the most visited religious
buildings in the world. The form of this House of Worship takes the shape of the lotus, a flower

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considered sacred by most Indians. It is designed to reflect the simplicity, clarity, and freshness
of the Baha'i Faith and to act as a symbol of the unity of mankind and religions.

The basic idea of the design is that two fundamental elements - light and water - have
been used as ornamentation in place of the statues and carvings normally found in Indian
temples. The structure is composed of three ranks of nine petals each, springing from a
podium that elevates the building above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve
inward, embracing the inner dome, while the third layer curves outward to form canopies over
the nine entrances.

The double-layered interior dome, modeled on the innermost portion of the lotus,
comprises 54 ribs with concrete shells in between. The central hall has a diameter of 34
meters and a height of 33.6 meters above the podium.

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 Image Source: https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/pantheon-rome-ancient-
church-1.jpg

Name: The Pantheon by Emperor Hadrian & Apollodorus of Damascus (120 AD)

Location: Rome, Italy

Type of Building System: Shell Structure (Concrete)

Short Description:

Locked within Rome’s labyrinthine maze of narrow streets stands one of the most
renowned buildings in the history of architecture. Built at the height of the Roman
Empire’s power and wealth, the Roman Pantheon has been both lauded and studied
for both the immensity of its dome and its celestial geometry for over two millennia.
During this time, it has been the subject of countless imitations and references as the
enduring architectural legacy of one of the world’s most influential epochs.

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 Formally, the Pantheon is striking in its simplicity. It is—put simply—a large drum
capped by a dome, with its north-facing entrance marked by a portico. Inside the drum is
a single cavernous space, with natural light from a 9 meter-wide (30 foot) oculus spilling
down onto alternating triangular and rounded altars that mark the perimeter of the room.
The floor and walls of the interior are surfaced with fine stone sourced from across
the Roman Empire, including granite and various colored marbles; the coffered ceiling is
exposed concrete. This dome was the largest in the world by a significant margin, a
superlative it would retain until the construction of Brunelleschi's engineering
marvel at Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence in 1436, thirteen centuries later.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Hagia Sophia by Isidore of Miletus & Anthemius of Tralles (537 AD)

Location: Istanbul, Turkey

Type of Building System: Shell Structure (Concrete)

Short Description:

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, is one of the oldest known shell structure in a typical
Byzantine Architecture Style, which was built in the 6th century.

The most important structural feature of Hagia Sophia is the main dome with a
diameter of about 31 meters. The main dome has radical 40 ribs and the same number
of openings in the inside. The dome is supported by four main arches. Horizontal force
generated from the main dome is suppressed by a semi-dome in the east and west
direction, buttresses as support to the dome in the north and south direction, and four
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corners are suppressed by the triangular pendentives. The material composed of Hagia
Sophia was stone and marble, as well as the composite material containing the brick and
mortar in even amount.

In previous studies, the main dome has been commonly analyzed as a shell
structure.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com.br/br/877207/capela-bosjes-steyn-
studio/58cb1bd4e58ecec1a9000350-bosjes-chapel-steyn-studio-photo?next_project=no

Name: Bosjes Chapel by Steyn Studios

Location: Ceres, South Africa

Type of Building System: Slim Concrete Cast Shell Structure

Short Description:

The new chapel, set within a vineyard in South Africa, is designed by South-
African-born Coetzee Steyn of London-based Steyn Studio. Its serene sculptural form
emulates the silhouette of surrounding mountain ranges, paying tribute to the historic
Cape Dutch gables dotting the rural landscapes of the Western Cape. Constructed from
a slim concrete cast shell, the roof supports itself as each undulation dramatically

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falls to meet the ground. Where each wave of the roof structure rises to a peak,
expanses of glazing adjoined centrally by a crucifix adorn the façade.

The shell comprises 74 cubic meters of concrete and 8175 kg of high tensile steel
reinforcement. It is supported by four hidden reinforced concrete buttresses, each with a
vertical load of close to 50 tonnes.

Inspired by the simplicity of the Moravian Mission Stations established on Cape

Dutch farms in the 19th Century, the chapel lacks a spire – relinquishing a sense of
significance in relation to its impressive natural surroundings.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/942985/architecture-classic-the-zarzuela-hippodrome-carlos-
arniches-martin-dominguez-and-eduardo-torroja/580fa37ee58ecefd6700006a-architecture-classic-the-
zarzuela-hippodrome-carlos-arniches-martin-dominguez-and-eduardo-torroja-photo

Name: Zarzuela Hippodrome by Carlos Arniches, Martín Domíngez and Eduardo Torja

Location: Madrid, Spain

Type of Building System: Thin-Shell Structure

Short Description:

Zarzuela Hippodrome - Conceived during the tumultuous years preceding the

Spanish Civil War, the Zarzuela Hippodrome came about through a public contest
sponsored by Madrid's Office of Suburban Access, who hoped that the winning design
would replace the dilapidated Hippodrome located in Paseo de la Castellana.

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 The winning entry was praised for its novel and refreshing approach to the complex
project, an approach that emphasized functionality as well as rationality and struck the
perfect balance between the neo-regionalism and rationalism movements. A focal point
for the designers was the relationship between the spectators and the horses, that they
should always have visual contact (to promote betting, the end-all, be-all of the race) but
not interfere in each other's spaces.

The complex was built using enforced concrete rather than the metallic materials
listed in the proposal. In general, it keeps to the typology of the original plan, but
alterations were made to the spaces between the spectators and the horses. The
singularity of the marquees that cover the three galleries is known worldwide and became
the most recognizable facet of the building.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/975287/san-giacomo-apostolo-church-and-parish-complex-
miralles-tagliabue-embt/61e5bfaa3e4b317353000003-san-giacomo-apostolo-church-and-parish-complex-
miralles-tagliabue-embt-photo

Name: San Giacomo Apostolo Church & Parish Complex by Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

Location: Ferrara, Italy

Type of Building System: Thin-Shell Structure (Concrete)

Short Description:

Commissioned by the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, Italy’s assembly of bishops,

EMBT’s church of San Giacomo Apostolo was built to serve a growing congregation on
the outskirts of Ferrara. On an empty poplar-lined site that offered few cues, entrants were
asked to design a building for 300 parishioners along with a house for the priest and a
parish hall.

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 Its roof—realized as a thin concrete shell after timber turned out to be too
expensive—clearly recalls Gothic vaulting, especially since it is suspended above a
clerestory that runs all along the top of the building’s undulating concrete walls (the roof
floats on steel struts that are dissimulated among the clerestory’s glazing bars). Daylight
consequently floods in from above in a way that is typical of church architecture, while the
raw concrete of the building’s interior is plainly reminiscent of ecclesiastical buildings in
stone.

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 Image Source: https://archello.com/story/12787/attachments/photos-videos/2

Name: Bordeaux Law Courts by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

Location: Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Type of Building System: Thin-Shell Structure

Short Description:

Key elements of the design are the creation of public space and integration with
the existing urban landscape. Public entry is facilitated via a flight of stairs placed to the
side, while the great Salle des Pas Perdus is the core of the building, where lawyers, their
clients and the public meet. The seven courtroom 'pods', are clad in cedar wood, raised
on pilotis within a great glass wall under an undulating copper roof. The administrative
offices are reached by bridges spanning the atrium and the clarity of the plan ensures

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that different routes across the atrium are maintained for both public and magistrates,
emphasizing function whilst ensuring sufficient levels of security.

The great glazed box wrapping around the chambers, with its sun-screening and
ventilation systems incorporated within the roof, functions as a 'breathing' container. In
addition, the podium and offices are built in heavyweight concrete construction - resulting
in an effective passive heat control system.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/207439/ad-classics-the-cathedral-of-st-mary-of-the-
assumption-pietro-belluschi-and-pier-luigi-nervi?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab

Name: Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption by Pietro Belluschi and Pier Luigi Nervi

Location: San Francisco, United States

Type of Building System: Hyperbolic-paraboloid Shell Structure

Short Description:

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, also known locally as Saint Mary's
Cathedral, is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco,
California.

The cathedral's striking design flows from the geometric principle of the
hyperbolic paraboloid, in which the structure curves upward in graceful lines from
the four corners meeting in a cross.

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 Measuring 255 feet (77m) square, the cathedral soars to 190 feet high and is
crowned with a 55 foot (16m) golden cross. Four corner pylons, each one designed to
withstand ten million pounds of pressure, support the cupola, which rises 19 stories above
the floor. At each corner of the cathedral, vast windows look out upon spectacular views
of San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis of Assisi. The cathedral's red brick floor recalls
early Mission architecture, and the rich heritage of the local church.

Its saddle roof is composed of eight segments of hyperbolic paraboloids, in

such a fashion that the bottom horizontal cross section of the roof is a square and
the top cross section is a cross. The design is reminiscent of St. Mary's Cathedral in
Tokyo, which was built earlier in the decade by Kenzo Tange.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Alster-schwimmhalle by Jörg Schlaich & Stuttgart-based engineering firm

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Type of Building System: Hyperbolic-paraboloid Shell Structure

Short Description:

The Alster-Schwimmhalle is one of Germany's larger aquatics centers, located

in the Hamburg district of Hohenfelde. Opened in 1973, it has regularly hosted various
national and international swimming competitions.

The Alster-Schwimmhalle is notable for its 102 m (335 ft) by 52 m (171 ft)
double hyperbolic-paraboloid concrete-shell roof structure, designed by Jörg
Schlaich, then partner at Stuttgart-based engineering firm Leonhardt & Andrä. Resting on
three bearings and only 8 cm (3.1 in) thin, the concrete roof remains one the world's

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largest of its kind. Reminiscent of a butterfly –an allegory to its function as a swimming
venue– the airy roof structure earned the Alsterschwimmhalle its nickname as
"Schwimmoper" (Aquatic Opera)

The building was substantially renovated in 2007 at a cost of approx. 1 Mio EUR.
A further major renovation is planned for 2020 to 2024 at an expected cost of 60 Mio
EUR, closing the facility for four years.

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 Image Source: https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/A2294-What-are-
Hyperbolic-Paraboloid-Shells-IMAGE-6.jpg

Name: Philips Pavilion by Le Corbusier & Iannis Xenakis

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Type of Building System: Hyperbolic-paraboloid Shell Structure

Short Description:

The pavilion is a cluster of nine hyperbolic paraboloids, composed

asymmetrically to create dynamically-angled contours and constructed out of pre-
stressed concrete. Steel tension cables on the exterior give the pavilion its signature
reticulated appearance. According to Xenakis, the idea of using curved surfaces
composed of straight lines was inspired by his composition Metastasis, which premiered
in 1955. After the Expo, the pavilion was destructed.

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 Therefore, the pavilion became more known for its revolutionary shape, defined by
an intriguing play with hyperbolic-paralleloid surfaces, and exceptional construction of
pre-stressed concrete that was only 5 centimeters thick, than for what it really was
supposed to be: the first immersive electronic multimedia environment that largely relied
on computers.

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 II. Pre-engineered Buildings

2.1 Sample of Structures/Buildings that used Pre-engineered Buildings

Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/977692/university-of-the-west-of-england-bristol-school-of-

engineering-ahr/621d19d455af1001654720d3-university-of-the-west-of-england-bristol-school-of-
engineering-ahr-photo?next_project=no

Name: University of the West of England Bristol School of Engineering by AHR

Location: Bristol, United Kingdom

Type of Building System: Pre-engineering Building (Corten Steel Cladding – Exterior)

Short Description:

Designed to support the next generation of student engineers, the building aims to
break down boundaries between engineering disciplines, enable greater collaboration,
and make Engineering more inclusive by attracting students from a wider cross-section
of society. Set over three floors and 8,500m2, the building features teaching studios,

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simulation suites, laboratories, and specialist workshops accommodating a wide range of
subjects.

The University has targeted carbon neutral by 2030. The brief included BREEAM
Excellent, with a focus on operational energy and a DEC B operational energy rating. The
building is designed for long-term adaptability with an efficient structural grid. Corten steel
cladding requires no maintenance and windows were selected that would exceed 60-year
lifespan. The 1000m2 atrium roof is glu-lam and CLT which has offset 125t of carbon.
This highly serviced building performs extremely well against the RIBA 2025 climate
targets and through robust design strategies will provide very long life with minimum
barriers to adaptation and change.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/975874/festival-hall-graal-
architecture/61f1ba81fc395401658ad358-festival-hall-graal-architecture-photo

Name: Festival Hall by graal architecture

Location: Orly, France

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings (Timber Frame, Wooden Beams)

Short Description:

The building's structure, designed entirely in timber frame, houses a large

convivial space that can be divided into two or three rooms, the deep beam drops of which
form acoustic alcoves. The alternation of porticos and wooden beams imparts rhythm
to the interior of the rooms, revealing the building's constructive system and giving it a
domestic atmosphere.

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 The perforated corrugated cladding of the façade complex gives the whole its
public and institutional dimension, allowing the village hall to reinforce its presence in this
peri-urban landscape and to offer a changing and renewed image of the facility through
the play of reflections and transparency.

Designed through a grammar dictated by a strong economy of means (less than

1900 €/m²), the new Orly Festival Hall remains generous in its uses and functioning,
allowing the municipality to host multiple events on a site with emblematic territorial links
for Orly.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/972849/private-terminal-at-manises-airport-erre-
arquitectura/61a7cbbfe4df610169c86d74-private-terminal-at-manises-airport-erre-arquitectura-
photo?next_project=no

Name: Private Terminal at Manises Airport by ERRE arquitectura

Location: Manises, Spain

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings (Metal Gable Frames & Truss)

Short Description:

The design of the structure has been one of the greatest challenges of the project
and the element that has most conditioned the final appearance of the building. The
structure is solved using rigid metal gable frames with variable depth trusses. In
the same way, two elements are proposed to support a metal truss that allows a free
front opening of 100 meters to adapt to the functional requirements and demands
of the space.

Regarding materiality, metallic finishes and exposed structures have been chosen
for the industrial area, thus achieving an appearance more in line with its use. In the
administration area, we opted for warmer materiality shown using wood, as well as open
false ceilings and carpets that meet the acoustic and functional needs of these spaces.

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 The result is a compact architecture that responds to the complex technical and
programmatic requirements of a project with such characteristics.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com

Name: Niceto office and showroom for apparel retailer by Ana Smud y Daniel Zelcer +
Camila Jalife

Location: Palermo, Argentina

Type of Building System: Cable-stayed Bridge System

Short Description:

The project consists of the expansion and restoration of an old warehouse in the
Palermo neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires. The building was to contain the offices,
warehouses and exhibition spaces of a company that designs and markets clothing
products.

Two very different types of construction coexisted on the property: towards the
front, an abandoned and very deteriorated sausage-shaped house and, in the

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background, a warehouse that functioned as a mechanical workshop. Between both
buildings there was a courtyard that provided natural light and ventilation to both spaces.

The warehouse was stripped of its interior elements to expose its bare structure.
Light colors were chosen in all the spaces to achieve a feeling of spaciousness.
The mirror coating on the dividing wall enhances the feeling of spaciousness and
maximizes natural light.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/160459/nike-air-hangar-tva-
architects/50154c1d28ba0d02f0000c2b-nike-air-hangar-tva-architects-photo

Name: Nike Air Hangar by TVA Architects

Location: Hillsboro, United States

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

Privately owned by the sports and apparel giant, the Nike Air Hangar houses three
Gulfstream G5 jets for the company’s executive business travel. In addition to the
requisite support spaces for flight planning and airplane maintenance, the building
provides amenities for travelers and pilots such as a waiting lounge, exercise facilities,
executive suites, and gourmet kitchen, as well as space for off-campus meetings. The
design utilizes simple massing, transparent volumes, and shifting layers of

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gleaming metal to elevate a mundane industrial structure to a building worthy of
Nike’s heritage for design aesthetics.

The design overcame several technical challenges relevant to the fire suppression
systems, lighting, and height restrictions as dedicated by the FAA.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/973813/revitalization-of-shenyang-dongmaoku-
urbanus/61bd9430f91c81922c0014dc-revitalization-of-shenyang-dongmaoku-urbanus-
photo?next_project=no

Name: Revitalization of Shenyang Dongmaoku by URBANUS

Location: Shenyang, China

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

Dongmaoku, a former warehouse campus in Shenyang, is the PRC’s first

generation of logistic facilities constructed since the Korea War period. With over 30
individual warehouses, Dongmaoku has significant value for the study of the logistics
building typology in modern China.

One of the main technical difficulties for the renovation is the dilemma between the
reuse of the existing timber structure and the current codes. The wood truss system in #2

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and #4 warehouses are originally designed by Soviet experts with impressive structural
beauty. After a concerted effort from the architect and structural engineer, the solution
is to implant new steel trusses with similar shapes into the existed wood system,
and the wood elements are all unloaded and do not bear the roof weight anymore.
Thus, the wooden trusses become pure decorative elements rather than being structural
components, which makes sense to the structure codes.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/974215/cau-dat-tea-museum-bo-design-and-
construction/61c9882610cf2e0164b3a62a-cau-dat-tea-museum-bo-design-and-construction-
image?next_project=no

Name: Cau Dat Tea Museum by Bo Design & Construction

Location: Thành Phð Đà Lạt, Vietnam

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

Before the renovation, the building resembled a factory typical. This type of
abandoned industrial building, made from pine wood boards and corrugated steel panels,
is often perceived as having little value. But the architects hope this project shows how
these structures can be reused and renovated in a qualitative way and for a limited
budget.

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 The materials used are very simple, mostly refurbished steel, polycarbonate
panels, local bricks and soil-cement mixture at the site. Even the artworks are made
from tea leaves and painted by mixing earth with acrylic. The outside of the building is
newly anti-rust painted skin, intended to make it stand out from its neighbors. Besides,
this color will serve as a giant canvas for 3D mapping projects in the future.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/797675/renewal-and-new-additions-to-industrial-building-
proj3ct/5806d4d1e58ece54c9000232-barata-garcia-headquarters-proj3ct-photo

Name: Renewal and new additions to Industrial building by Proj3ct

Location: Barcelos, Portugal

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

The site is located in Barcelos, an industrial town in the North of Portugal. It refers
to an existing industrial complex composed by two industrial pavilions and technical
areas, detached from each other and placed over an 8 775 sqm. area. The existing
buildings are two-story high on the front side facing the entrance, gathering all main public
and office areas, while the remaining areas were set to the production and storage
processes.

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 The exterior areas were essentially set to parking areas with narrow strips of
vegetation and two entrance gates. The topography is composed by two plain platforms,
linked by a ramp in between pavilions. The site is home to a textile manufacturing
company and all the installations were licensed and fully operational.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/806054/the-warehouse-hotel-zarch-
collaboratives/58afa4e6e58ece2b450004ce-the-warehouse-hotel-zarch-collaboratives-
photo?next_project=no

Name: The Warehouse Hotel by Zarch Collaboratives

Location: Singapore

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

The white façade stands apart from the high glass and steel constructs of
the urban context, maintaining its presence and historic importance along the Singapore
River. A double-volume space greets visitors at the hotel lobby, with the original
warehouse trusses, now re-finished in black spanning the lobby. Natural light filters in
through the jack roofs in the daytime, while new portal frames serve as discreet structural

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interventions fringe the lobby space, providing a clear access and line of sight to the
waterfront.

The rooms are suffused with natural light through a combination of the existing
fenestration, skylights, and the use of glass blocks; the trusses and portal frames are
kept in sight throughout the circulation spaces as well as the rooms, puncturing
walls and lines of sight, creating a curious spatial dialogue while accentuating the
character of the warehouse’s former life.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/974638/underdogs-gallery-furo-plus-
pedrita/61d5d45d23d7e8136a89202c-underdogs-gallery-furo-plus-pedrita-image?next_project=no

Name: Underdogs Gallery by FURO + Pedrita

Location: Lisboa, Portugal

Type of Building System: Pre-engineered Buildings

Short Description:

On the sequence of the art store design for Underdogs in 2014, the project team
meet again for the refurbishment of the headquarters of the art gallery, a gable roof
warehouse in a state of degradation.

The gallery was organized in a front-of-house that occupies 2/3 of the space and
a back-of-house on the other 1/3 of the area where are the collection and the offices
rooms. The project kept this layout but introduced a central volume that formalized this

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division and creates an office with a view fort the entrance from a scenography circular
window.

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 III. Geodesic Structure

3.1 Sample of Structure/Building that used Geodesic Structure

Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/103728/salvador-dali-museum-

hok/571f1294e58ece831e000002-salvador-dali-museum-hok-photo

Name: The Dalí Museum by HOK

Location: Saint Petersburg, United States

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure

Short Description:

The design opens up the 18-inch-thick concrete walls with a free-form glass
geodesic structure that intrigues visitors while bringing daylight and bay views into

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public spaces. The 75-foot-tall geodesic glass “Enigma” and 45-foot-tall “Igloo” are
formed by 1,062 undulating faceted glass panes, with no two exactly alike.

"The flowing, free-form use of geodesic triangulation is a recent innovation enabled

by modern computer analysis and digitally controlled fabrication that allows each
component to be unique. No glass panel, structural node or strut is precisely the same.
This permitted us to create a family of shapes that, while structurally robust, more closely
resembles the flow of liquids in nature." —Yann Wymouth, design director for HOK
Florida.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/935610/timber-dome-tham-and-
videgard/5e6d5b22b357653dd3000241-timber-dome-tham-and-videgard-photo?next_project=no

Name: Timber Dome by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure (Timber)

Short Description:

A pavilion for an office building courtyard in downtown Stockholm. The brief called
for an outdoor space that could be used for short breaks, informal gatherings and social
events.

At the same time, it was important that the new structure didn’t interfere with views
and daylight for the office spaces around the courtyard. Inspired by Buckminster

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Fuller’s work on the geodesic sphere, the design was developed and built with the
use of local resources, technical know-how, and craftsmanship.

Each part of the dome structure was 3d-cut to measure out of solid Swedish
timber and assembled on-site within a week.

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 Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/476202/transforming-a-temporary-geodesic-dome-into-a-
permanent-structure/52fb5767e8e44ea758000113-transforming-a-temporary-geodesic-dome-into-a-
permanent-structure-image?next_project=no

Name: People’s Meeting Dome by Tejlgaard & Jepsen

Location: Island of Bornholm, Allinge, Denmark

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure

Short Description:

The dome will feature a half basement with public restrooms and be surrounded
by a collection of terraces to significantly boost the usability of its outdoor areas.
According to the designers, "the geodesic dome is one of the most optimal methods of
constructing that we know of. It has all the advantages of being rationally and
mathematically generated, but it is sadly lacking many of the qualities we associate with

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good architecture. You could call it non-architecture." They have likened it to "a spaceship
that only relates to its own design, and not the local surroundings."

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 Image Source: https://archello.com/story/17326/attachments/photos-videos/1

Name: Dome of Visions by Tejlgaard & Jepsen

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure

Short Description:

The Dome's fascinating and soap bubble-like look makes it a real eye-catcher,
drawing both tourists and Danes from its location in the Copenhagen harbor, squeezed
in between the world-renowned restaurant Noma and Danish architect Nicolai Eigtved's
old warehouse. Its spectacular shape brings out the contrast with the rest of the
rectangular urban landscape and its delicate skeleton and glasslike facade almost make
it soar. Those who enter inside, are embraced with the warmth of a calm summer day,

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the smell from countless rosemary bushes, busy bumblebees, and a 100-year-old olive
tree snuggling, sheltered from the spring-fresh wind outside.

The dome at Krøyers square, named Dome of Visions, is designed by the Danish
architects Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen and constructed by NCC. Dome of
Visions is a new, temporary space in Copenhagen.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: La Géode by Adrien Fainsilber & Gérard Chamayou

Location: Ile-de-France, France

Type of Building System: Geodesic Dome

Short Description:

Its structure consists of a number of layers. The outer layer is a triangularization

geode 36 meters in diameter, composed of 6,433 equilateral spherical triangles in
polished steel reflecting light. These triangles are 1.5 meters long and are fixed on
a thin metal frame with the same triangular geodesic structure, consisting of 2,580
steel tube bars. The steel triangles are not contiguous, so as not to compromise the
mirror effect and to allow the triangles to expand when heating. The water seeping
between them is collected in the basin surrounding the Géode.

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 Below this outer layer is the main metal reinforcement, with the same
geodesic structure, on which rest several layers provide fire, heat, and sound
insulation, as well as sealing. Then comes the structure housing the movie theater, a
spherical reinforced concrete construction of 6,000 tons, supported by a central pillar 17
m high. The seats are inclined at 27°.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Montreal Biosphere by Buckminster Fuller

Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Type of Building System: Geodesic Dome (Steel)

Short Description:

The Biosphere is the synthesis of his entire process: built from triangles, which
Buckminster Fuller considered the perfect form, he demonstrated that it was possible to
create a liveable space using only one-fiftieth of the materials normally used in a
conventional architectural design. The triangle is a natural mathematical figure that
provides maximum efficiency with minimum structural effort in combination with
other triangles. Fuller obtained a dynamic construction in which the individual
components contribute to the overall structure by assembling a series of identical

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geometrical units that are both self-supporting and light. While each component is
independent, it cannot exist without the others.

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.
Geodesic domes are the most efficient structures ever created in terms of material
weight. Their main quality is that they distribute tension and stress economically
throughout the construction by channeling it differently.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Spaceship Earth by Walt Disney Imagineering (Inspired by: Buckminster Fuller)

Location: Orange County, Florida, USA

Type of Building System: Geodesic Dome

Short Description:

Spaceship Earth is an engineering marvel that took 26 months to build. It is

designed to look like a geodesic polyhedron, which is a sphere made of triangular faces,
but it is actually made up of two domes, one on the bottom and one on the top. There is
a ring in the center of the structure which holds up the top dome, and the bottom dome
hangs down from it; the ring is made from six trusses that make a hexagonal table-like
structure.

The ride portion of the structure sits on smaller trusses webbed through the center
of that ring and spirals upwards into the ball. The ring, in turn, is supported by six legs
that are anchored on piles 160 feet deep into the ground.

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 The outer shell of the structure is attached to the center ring with pyramids made
of steel pipes called quadrupods that interlock and extend upwards and downwards to
form a sphere. There are actually two layers to the outer shell, so the inner layer could
provide water-proofing and fire protection while the outer layer could look really cool
without anything messing up the design elements.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Bloedel Conservatory by McKinley Underwood

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure (Triodesic)

Short Description:

The Bloedel Conservatory is significant for its historical, symbolic, cultural, and
social values, and for its use of new technologies and building methods to create both a
futuristic design and exotic ecological environment in Vancouver.

Befitting a forward-looking Canadian Centennial project for the City of Vancouver

in 1967, the Bloedel Conservatory is symbolically significant for its avant-garde
triodesic structure, an iconic construction popularized by Buckminster Fuller’s
Expo 67 geodesic dome in Montreal.

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 The Conservatory is an important example of the Modernist interest in new building
technologies. The geodesic structure and molded plexiglass glazing enable the making
of the large light-filled enclosure appropriate to its conservatory function. The open
skeletal structure recalls the revolutionary metal and glass exposition structures of the
18th and 19th century and their function as horticultural showcases.

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 Image Source: https://ekodome.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/alyzah-k-qiuQeJPBhpY-unsplash-
930x620.jpg

Name: Telus Sphere (Telus World of Science) by Bruno Freschi

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure (Aluminum)

Short Description:

Made of 1-mm thick extruded aluminum and aluminum panels that weigh
about 6,800 kg, this multi-million dollar geodesic dome was originally constructed
as part of the Expo 86 World Fair. Vancouver’s iconic geodesic dome opened its doors
in 1986. The fair attracted a whopping 22 million visitors and put Vancouver on the world
stage.

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 The central dome contains the OMNIMAX Theater, which seats 400 people and
was the largest of its kind in the world during Expo ’86. The dome is covered with 391
lights as well as 766 triangles which also allow it to reflect the water and further enhance
its spherical beauty. Given that, it was nicknamed a “golf ball”, by looking at its design
structure.

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 Image Source: Google Images

Name: Whitepod Eco-Luxury Hotel by Montalba Architects

Location: Monthey, Switzerland

Type of Building System: Geodesic Structure

Short Description:

The eco-luxury resort, situated high in the Swiss Alps about an hour outside
of Lausanne, immerses its guests in the unique experience of the alpine landscape.
The eighteen individual geodesic domes, called Pods, that make up the resort
borrow materials and forms of the natural world to achieve structural and
spiritual harmony with the surrounding ecosystem.

The pod design was inspired by the concept of Zen as well as Wu Ting
movement theory, which postulates that "everything is connected, everything is
energy.” The 5 movements (or type of energies) are each connect ed to an element;

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the translation to the earth, the exchange of energy to the water, the evolution of
time to the wood, the inner energy to the metal, and finally the external energy to
fire. The interconnectivity and the notion of ritual of the five natur al elements
informs both the Pods’ exterior and interior.

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 Acquired Knowledge:

Going back to what was taught to us in History of Architecture, there are three
universal principles in architecture, these are known to be the “Vitruvian Principles.”
Vitruvius believed that architectural design quality is only achieved when architectural
design is based on laws and pertinent concepts that visualize both spatial and aesthetic
conditions, i.e. “utilitas (usefulness/utility),” “firmitas (durability/strength),” and “venustas
(aesthetic/beauty),” are essential qualities of a structure or building.

In relation to that from previous discussion, the building systems will be of

significant when it comes to conceptualizing and designing a building. Though people
may only think of these future building systems, as merely an aesthetic form or state of
the art, it goes beyond than that, as to which these systems have calculations in regards
to its function and strength. In return, this will help designers, or future designers like me,
to understand and study these systems on future works.

The importance of learning as such, constitutes to improvement and innovation of

our future designs of buildings or structures, from low-rise to high-rise.

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 References:

I. Shell Structure Building System

1.1 Sample Structures/Buildings that used Shell Structure
 https://worldarchitecture.org/articles/cvcmg/lotus_temple_a_symbol_of_excell
ence_in_modern_indian_architecture.html
 https://www.archdaily.com/802201/ad-classics-roman-pantheon-emperor-
hadrian?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 Oto, A. & Hara, T. (2017). Structural characteristics of Hagia Sophia under
consideration of the ribs inside the dome. Japan: Elsevier Ltd.
 https://archello.com/project/bosjes-chapel
 https://www.archdaily.com/942985/architecture-classic-the-zarzuela-
hippodrome-carlos-arniches-martin-dominguez-and-eduardo-
torroja?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15430-church-of-san-giacomo-
apostolo
 https://archello.com/project/bordeaux-law-courts
 http://architectuul.com/architecture/cathedral-of-saint-mary-of-the-assumption
 https://structurae.net/en/structures/alsterschwimmhalle
 http://architectuul.com/architecture/philips-pavilion
II. Pre-Engineered Buildings
2.1 Sample of Structures/Buildings that used Pre-Engineered Buildings
 https://www.archdaily.com/977692/university-of-the-west-of-england-bristol-
school-of-engineering-ahr?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/975874/festival-hall-graal-
architecture?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/972849/private-terminal-at-manises-airport-erre-
arquitectura?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/975476/niceto-office-and-showroom-for-apparel-
retailer-ana-smud-y-daniel-zelcer-plus-camila-
jalife?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://tvaarchitects.com/project/nike-air-hangar/
 https://www.archdaily.com/973813/revitalization-of-shenyang-dongmaoku-
urbanus?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab

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  https://www.archdaily.com/974215/cau-dat-tea-museum-bo-design-and-
construction?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/797675/renewal-and-new-additions-to-industrial-
building-proj3ct?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/806054/the-warehouse-hotel-zarch-
collaboratives?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/974638/underdogs-gallery-furo-plus-
pedrita?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
III. Geodesic Structure
3.1 Sample Structures/Buildings that used Geodesic Structure
 https://www.archdaily.com/103728/salvador-dali-museum-
hok?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/935610/timber-dome-tham-and-
videgard?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://www.archdaily.com/476202/transforming-a-temporary-geodesic-dome-
into-a-permanent-structure?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab
 https://archello.com/project/dome-of-visions
 https://www.parisdigest.com/cinema/lageode.htm
 https://archeyes.com/montreal-biosphere-1967-buckminster-fuller/
 https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/The-History-of-Spaceship-
Earth
 http://heritagevancouver.org/top10-watch-list/2010/bloedel-conservatory/
 https://ekodome.com/10-must-see-geodesic-domes-around-the-world/
 https://www.theplan.it/award-2020-hospitality/eco-luxury-resort-in-the-swiss-
alps-whitepod-zen-suite-montalba-architects

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