8.0m Dome Studio 50m2
This 8.0m studio dome is the first dome we ever built in 2001 near Stokers Siding NSW.
We worked with the Queensland University of Technology to develop a new structural system. We called this system a “polymer modified glass fibre reinforced sandwich shell structure”.
We made a deal between a land owner, the Tweed Council, and the University and paved the way to build a full-scale prototype.
After months of testing material properties at the university structural lab and building an FEA numerical model, it was time to build a full-scale dome for testing and verification of the numerical modeling.
It was a challenging project. We had never done this previously however, we were successful in fabricating the dome and after a suitable curing period, it was time for the big test.
For the physical structural testing, the whole crew from the University Structural Lab arrived with a truckload of equipment that would apply loads to the structure simulating cyclonic wind loads.
It took two days to get it all set up.
On the test day, we were all very excited and full of anticipation.
On the bench sat two computer screens. One shows the results of the FEA model. The other shows the actual results of applying the loads to the structure through the pneumatic rams and spreader bars that eventually applied more than 30 tonnes of load.
Whoopee! It not only proved to perform exactly as expected, but when the technicians decided to apply even more load than planned it broke their equipment.
After completion, the happy owner turned the dome studio into a granny flat.
As a single dome, the 8.0m can be a 2-bedroom unit, small house, or granny fla
