Physics Behind Dome Structures

Keeping in mind that my dome is sitting on top of my concrete curvature walls, I must understand the physics behind what would keep the dome standing without collapsing inwards.

• Compression forces are two forces which act on one object by moving in opposite directions toward each other. 
• Tension forces are two forces which act on one object by moving in opposite directions away from each other. 
• The force of gravity pushes downward on an object. And the normal force pushes in the opposite direction, upward.

Soap Skin Bubble - My Model

Following learning how to use the soap, skin, bubble plugin (which I explained in my previous post) I have now used it to create the bubble for my models dome structure. Unfortunately I crashed sketch-up halfway through so it has missed a couple of steps, but this is what I was able to document on the progression..

Plan view of my concrete walls. 

Lining out the centre of concrete walls to make that every gap between my two walls will be made part of the skinned shape.

Beginning to make the shape by lining out the gaps.

Finally made the shape that I will be creating my dome from. As I stated in earlier posts, this will not be a simple hemi-spherical dome due to the fact that they come to points. 

I then skinned my shape with a 40 division ready to add pressure.

This is what I meant by increasing pressure in increments, the pressure was not high enough in order to start folding in on itself and having a seizure, however it is miles too big for what I need, and it is upside down obviously.. 

This is closer to what I need, definitely than the one above, however this is also the point in which I crashed sketch-up and lost the rest of the steps of how I ended up getting to my final dome which the image are  below..

Soap Skin Bubble Plugin

Now that I have decided that I will be progressing with a dome as my roof - and thus the source of optimising the natural light within my dwelling, I have to work out how to model it. I have searched the Internet to find possible ideas of how I could until I came across this sketch-up plugin called Soap, Skin, Bubble. This allows me to create essentially a bubble out of any shape I would like, assuming I get the pressure right. 

Below is the process in which one makes a 'bubble' using this plugin:

Credit to Josef Leibinger for supplying the plugin.

The first step is to create the shape you destine to create the bubble out of. For all intended purposes, I have used a circle for this demonstration..

The next step is to 'skin' the shape. The more divisions one chooses, the more little boxes will appear and it will shape the bubble differently and more cleaner to that of a lower division. In this example I have chosen a 30 division.. Then hit return twice..

Once the shape is divided, it is the step to create the bubble. By playing with pressure both positive and negative, one can make the bubble expand on the z-axis either towards the screen, or away. At this step, it is key to increase the pressure in small increments otherwise the bubble might lose its structure and collapse and then goes 'mental' for a lack of a better word.. In this example, I have used a pressure of 100..

I have added added my pressure, now its up to the user, I have removed the original skinned circle base in which the bubble was formed from in order to see into the formed bubble from underneath.

What the bubble looks like side on.

I have now used the paint bucket tool in order to paint the bubble inside and out with the translucent grey glass material at a 30% opacity. This could now be used as a glass dome for example, due to the fact that the form of my house is not circular, I will not be able to use this example..

Perspective of final, translucent bubble ready to be used in whatever way is needed. The best thing about this plugin is that, (of my knowledge) if the pressure and skin are used well, you can make a 'bubble' out of any shape that one chooses.

Adding a Mezzanine to my Model

Following having my concrete forms sorted for the exterior walls, I have begun to test out how I could incorporate a mezzanine to in my model to make it two storeys to allow the first floor a fully open planned public space. The following are tests with different possible mezzanines..

These were my first trials, what it would look like with the mezzanine arching down towards the first floor and extending out side to work as like a veranda for an outdoor living space.

Second test, extending mezzanine to act as extra bedrooms for example.

Third trial, flipping the mezzanine so that the occupants wouldn't walk, or fall off down to the first floor. To be honest, I still feel like I need to think about this mezzanine a bit more due to the fact that I do not feel that any of these options really work.

Precedent 6: Reichstag Dome

Original Reichstag Building (1894) by Paul Wallot

Renovated 1961-64 after being severely damaged by fire. 
Renovator architect Norman Foster. He is who designed the dome.

I really love this precedent. The dome that Foster has designed is so elegant and sophisticated that the contrast with the historicalness of the Reichstag building makes this building so beautiful. The 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape makes this a spectacle to be in. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight. This is a very important element of the design as the people within the dome need protection from the direct sunlight, as I will be using a dome for my design, I will need to think about how I will protect the harsh sunlight for my occupants therefore I will look into this idea. 

Due to the fact that my dome will not be hemi-spherical like the Reichstag Dome, I will need to consider the bracing for which my glass sits in. That is another reason why I really liked this precedent, the glass panes are braced upon each other in sort of layers to create this interesting spectacle. This is a technique I will consider in my design as opposed to simply tiling.

New Concrete Wall Form

I have taken my sketches that I drew and started trying to make them in sketch-up in order to see if they were possible with my skills and knowledge, and also the software's limitations.. 

Something that I have modelled I am quite interested in however. I have continued to use the idea of arching the base in a circular form, however instead of arching the wall inward to the dwelling, I have made it arch outwards in a very elegant form: 

I have then taken this form and rendered it using indigo to make it look a lot more real..

I have decided to reflect the wall so that I now have this interesting elegant shape for my dwelling. I am also considering incorporating a mezzanine into my dwelling to help separate the public and private spaces.

New Concrete Wall Sketches

As stated in the previous post, I have gone back to the drawing board briefly in order to get some new ideas of how I could open up the space a lot more than what I have at the moment. The following are some sketches that I have come up with: