Architecture Week for Schools:

Buckminster Fuller Dome

Buckminster Fuller invented the Geodesic Dome, the lightest, strongest, most cost-effective structure ever devised. There are now over 300,000 domes in the world, some of them the centrepieces of major world exhibits: Epcot Center at Disney World in Florida. Geodesic domes are also used as "radomes" to house delicate radar equipment in the Arctic, withstanding 180 mph winds. Fuller designed the geodesic dome and other industrially-produced housing prototypes to counter the trend toward resource-intensive, prohibitively expensive housing, part of his design to make adequate shelter available to 100% of humanity. His structural designs were explorations in providing solutions to global homelessness, both for inner city slums and the rural poor.

The Eden Project

The Eden Project, St Austell, Cornwall, was designed by the architect Nicholas Grimshaw. It comprises eight interlinked biomes - geodesic domes - which form the largest plant enclosure in the world. The domes have been made out of sections so that they can be adapted to cover any possible shape. The sections are made out of steel covered in a lightweight plastic (ETFE) skin.
Photographer: Peter Cook

The Great Court

The Great Court at the British Museum, London, was designed by the architects Foster and Partners. The Great Court's magnificent 11kms glass and steel roof was designed by computer. The 478-tonne steel structure, which supports 315 tonnes of glass has been built like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The lightweight light-transmitting roof, complements the 19th century architecture of the Museum.
Photographer: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners