Some of the most popular elements of modern architecture.

As soon as people learned to build beautiful and majestic buildings, they began to decorate them with domes. At first, this was simply a good engineering solution: only a vaulted ceiling could cover a large room without additional supports.

But buildings with domes looked so impressive that this roof shape quickly became fashionable. Domes decorated majestic palaces and temples, small chapels, gazebos, and mansions of wealthy citizens.

With the advent of the modern era building materials received the domes new life. Glass and metal began to be used in their manufacture, which made it possible to create incredibly “light” transparent structures. Glass and metal are the most popular materials in modern construction. And transparent walls and roofs are loved by almost all architects.

Glass domes began their victorious march with greenhouses and winter gardens. Today at largest cities around the world you can find domes of a wide variety of shapes and sizes. They decorate museums, theaters, municipal buildings, office and shopping centers.

Residential buildings were no exception. Domes on the roofs of apartment high-rises are successfully used for winter gardens or gyms. In a private house, you can place whatever your heart desires underneath it, but usually there is a recreation area with a winter garden.

Thanks to cheaper and improved construction technologies installing a dome on a cottage is quite affordable today.

What types of domes are there?

When choosing a dome for your home or office, we first of all think about its shape.

Builders divide domes into 3 types:

• Simple: the surface of the hemisphere is divided into many pieces - windows, each of which has the shape of a trapezoid. It is easiest to build such a structure, and therefore cheaper. Architects say the downside of a simple dome is low expressiveness with small sizes. But on a large scale, such elements are used very often.
• With curved glass. In this case, the carriers metal structures and the glass is bent in the bottom plane. This dome looks attractive on any scale. In addition, this solution is convenient from a practical point of view.
• Fuller hemisphere or geodesic dome. It is both practical and beautiful. The supporting structure in such a dome has the highest rigidity.

But on modern market Glass domes also include pyramids, arches and other similar structures. But in glass and metal it is possible to embody completely unusual idea, although the cost of the work will depend on the complexity of the project.

The dome may have opening windows, which are supplied with a mneumatic or electric drive or simply opened manually.

Secrets of the popularity of glass domes

The most obvious reason for mankind's love for glass air domes is their aesthetics. Such a detail can make even the most ordinary building unusual and interesting. And the panoramic view from the inside cannot be compared with what we see from an ordinary window.

But glass domes have many other advantages:

• Transparency;
• Tightness and strength;
• Reliability and safety;
• Comfortable temperature all year round;
• Soundproofing;
• Possibility to provide ventilation using windows.

The light penetrating through the glass allows you to save on energy bills and on replacing lamps for artificial lighting. Therefore, architects usually calculate the size, shape and location of the dome so that it allows entry into the room. sun rays throughout the day. If energy-saving glass is used, heating costs in winter and cooling in summer will be modest. Besides, sunlight has a positive effect on psychological and physical health people.

In most cases, structural glazing is used on the dome, in which the joints of the glass units are connected with thin seams of sealant. They completely prevent moisture and wind from entering the dome and allow you to admire the panorama in any weather. And if the double-glazed windows are also energy efficient, then a comfortable temperature will be maintained under the dome all year round.

A standard canopy is designed to easily withstand significant gusts of wind and the weight of snow cover. If necessary, safety and reliability characteristics can be improved by choosing materials with special properties for glazing.

What are glass domes made of?

The base for the glass structure is usually made of aluminum, which allows the dome to be light and at the same time durable. However, if the structure area is large, it is reinforced with an additional steel frame.

The choice of double-glazed windows is much wider. WITH outside Tempered glass is often used - a material that is not afraid of overheating and strong shocks.

And on the inside they install triplex glass, which in the event of an impact does not crumble and does not form fragments: a special film continues to hold together even fragments of heavily damaged glass. It is somewhat inferior in strength to hardened one, but costs less and is lightweight. Therefore, it is ideal for the inside of the dome, where the likelihood of strong impacts is minimal.

Reliability various types glasses can be compared in the table:

Type of glass		Triplex	Tempered	Armored
Reliability	Unreliable	Withstands impacts well and breaks without splinters	Very shock resistant	The most reliable
Frequency of use in the construction of domes	Extremely rarely used with inside	Often used on the inside, rarely on the outside.	Often on the outside, very rarely on the inside	Very rare from the outside
	Lowest			VIP class

Glass can also be painted, tinted, solar control, electrically heated and curved. The latter look the most impressive, but their production is very labor-intensive, and therefore the price is high.

For domes, glass roofs and panoramic windows Smart glass is often used. This material is called smart glass for its ability to self-clean. All it takes is rain and the glass will shine clean again. This allows you to save time and money on the maintenance of double-glazed windows.

As a rule, with high-quality glazing, double-glazed windows combine various functions. For example, tempered can be painted or tinted. Such glasses are called multifunctional.

The glass unit for the dome will have to be single-chamber to avoid excessive load on the supports.

With or without slats?

The glass dome may have strips running at the junction of the glass units. But you can use double-glazed windows, where the outer glass is larger than the inner glass. They are mounted on a special profile frost-resistant glue– sealant.

With this type of fastening, external clamping strips are not needed: the design is even more airy and light. From the outside, it may appear that the dome is made of solid glass.

Where can I post it?

You can install a glass hemisphere or pyramid not only during the construction process, but also after its completion. In Europe, glass apartment modules have even been developed that simply need to be lowered onto the roof and connected to engineering systems. In our country, glass lanterns can be installed even on old apartment buildings or private houses.

The dome can also be mounted on a sloping roof. But the angle of its own slope should not be less than 23%; 30% is considered ideal.

The most famous glass domes in the world:

Married couple Benjamin and Ingrid Hjertefolger live with their children in the northern part of Norway on the island of Sandhorn. Despite the fact that the area is located beyond the Arctic Circle, the owners grow vegetables and even tropical fruits. Their home is covered with a dome, thanks to which the temperature inside the structure is much higher than outside, even in the most severe frosts.

A family of six lives in an ecologically clean house Naturhus. The three-story building itself, with an area of ​​180 square meters made of clay and straw. The outside of the house is covered with a geodesic dome. This solution significantly increased the temperature under the glass. In addition, there are several garden beds near the house.

The head of the family, Benjamin Hjertefølger, notes that due to the polar winter (three months of the year it is dark), it is not possible to garden all year round. However, even under such conditions, they can grow crops that are completely unusual for this type of climate: cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, grapes, herbs, etc.

Hjertefolgers take great care to minimize negative impact on environment. The family uses biodegradable products in their household, and water from the house is reused to water the garden beds.

“Hertefölger” in Norwegian means “one who follows his heart.” And Hertefölger already definitely lives by this principle. After all, only a very special force can motivate a person to move to live in a remote area of ​​the Arctic circle. That's exactly what a Norwegian family of six did in December 2013.

They built a three-story, 8-meter-high, 5-room solar geodesic dome on the Norwegian island of Sandhornøya, located 1,000 kilometers north of Oslo. For those who don't know, a geodesic dome is a hemispherical structure made up of a complex pattern of triangles. Their dome is made from a variety of organic materials, including sand, water and clay. And the shape of the dome retains heat well for its inhabitants and protects them from strong winds and snowfall, typical of the region. He also shelters garden area, where the Hertefölgers grow fruits and vegetables. The glass dome gives a panoramic view of the natural beauty that surrounds it and also allows the family to admire the beautiful images of the Northern Lights.

“The feeling you get when you walk into ours sets it apart from all other houses. - says Ingrid Hertefölger. - The atmosphere is completely unique. The house is peaceful. You can almost hear this calmness.”

All of this is the reward for following your heart.

The dome is 8 meters high, three floors, five bedrooms, and two restrooms

The used material is used to fertilize plants. The family also composts leftover food and uses clean, biodegradable household products.

The dome offers beautiful views of the surrounding virgin nature and allows you to watch the northern lights

The Hertefölgers plan to organize workshops, courses, tours and concerts in their ecological house. There are also plans to build additional domes for yoga classes and summer camps.

More about the Hertefölger family in the video:

According to materials.

A Norwegian family built an energy efficient building with their own hands in the Arctic Circle on the island of Sandhornøya. Benjamin and Ingrid Jartefolger Ingrid Hjertefølger) made their dream come true and in 2013 settled in northern Norway, 1,000 km from Oslo.

They built a three-story, five-bedroom house under an 8-meter-tall glass geodesic dome. Geodesic dome(geocome) - a structure that has a spherical shape, which is provided by special triangular sections that give the structure special strength.

The residential building itself is constructed from environmentally friendly pure materials and, in essence, represents adobe house– its main building components were clay, sand and straw. The glass dome on top of the eco-house not only protects it from the harsh climate of the Arctic, but also creates a greenhouse conditions, allowing owners to grow fruits and vegetables most of the year. Friends and neighbors helped the Norwegian family build their dream home.

The Jartefölger family settled in northern Norway in a domed geodome with an area of ​​180 square meters. meters

The family, including four children, built an eco-house using organic materials found on the island.

The 25-foot (8-meter) dome covers the three-story, five-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a garage underneath.

Under the glass dome greenhouse there is an internal garden in which the family grows apricots, grapes, kiwis, plums, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits

All water used by residents of the house is recycled and used to water the garden; compost is made from food residues, which is used to fertilize the garden

“When you enter our house, you experience sensations that are incomparable to any building in the world,” says Ingrid

Thanks to the transparent dome, the inhabitants of the eco-house can enjoy panoramic views wildlife and the beauty of the northern lights

“The atmosphere here is unique. It’s so calm inside the house that sometimes you can hear the silence itself,” says Benjamin

The family plans to host seminars, classes, excursions and concerts in their eco-friendly home in the middle of nature.

The family’s plans also include the construction of additional buildings for yoga classes and guest accommodation.

The family talks more about the eco-friendly geohouse in this video:

First, let's go 30 years ago, to the small town of Winooski, in the American northeast. Its population - only a little more than 6 thousand people - suffers from completely “Russian” weather. However, by Russian standards this is not even a city; it must be populated by at least 12 thousand people.

In winter, the temperature here drops below 20 degrees, and, apparently, the cold, unusual for almost the rest of America, forced its residents in 1979 to think about covering the entire settlement with a huge hood. A cap that will retain expensive heat in winter and allow you to significantly save on energy. In those years, the world was gripped by another fuel crisis, oil prices were high and the project did not look at all ridiculous.

As you might guess, it was not implemented after all. But today, when oil prices, even after collapsing, remain high, when the whole world is looking for ways to save expensive energy, the idea is again gaining relevance. After all, the heat stored under the hood is also an opportunity to grow useful crops all year round.

And if car travel inside the canopy is prohibited (which is not at all a burden for a tiny town), there is no need to clear the snow, then the load that the small town creates on the surrounding nature will decrease even more noticeably. Sounds pretty attractive, right?

Back in 1979, even corresponding calculations were made for the town of Winooski. They showed that the average household could cut heating costs tenfold. The project at that time was a transparent dome, which at its highest point would reach 76 m - for small houses Winooski, the tallest of which has 11 floors, is quite enough.

Inside the dome, any travel on vehicles with internal combustion engines was supposed to be prohibited; in extreme cases, public means of transport with electric motors were offered to replace them. Fresh air would be driven inside by huge fans, at the same time heating or cooling to the required temperature.

Despite all the attractiveness, the support of the overwhelming majority of the population and even the world-famous architect Buckminster Fuller, the dome was not erected - perhaps now it’s time to turn again to this fantastic and promising project.