After designing the People’s Meeting Dome, which investigated the future of housing in Denmark, architects Kristoffer Tejlgaard and Benny Jepsen have once again focused their design skills on geodesic domes and their potential as buildings of the future. The team’s latest project is a plywood dome inspired by the structure and performance of molecules. The dome was designed and built for a music festival last year in Roskilde County, Denmark.
The first version of the dome was designed in 2011, as a structure that could be used as the festival’s facility in subsequent years. It was a modular, easily-assembled structure that functioned as a gathering place for visiting communities, which fit perfectly into the festival’s focus on alternative living and environmental awareness.
One year after the first version was built the structure doubled in size. Modules were cut using a CNC machine and assembled on site. Brackets were positioned around the window holes, in vertical position on the spherical surface. That technique allowed for the mounting of the waterproof membranes that protected the inside of the dome from the elements. The modular spherical surface uses a minimal surface condition and aerodynamic form to reduce energy consumption and generate great strength and stability.
The dome was built in just eight days, during which time it was used for parties and various gatherings. After four nights of parties, the building was in dire need of revitalization. The Danish artist collectiove Ultragrøn painted the exterior shell surface as one large color wheel.