Archimedes Design Dome Building!
Two friends and I went down to help out designers Michael Gates and Toby Vann on their new startup project. Toby and Michael have invented a new and easier way to build geodesic dome structures.
Anyone who's ever installed a geodesic dome for an event or festival, knows just how long it can take, and how heavy and cumbersome they can be. I personally had a "never again" experience with hauling around
project to festivals last summer. They're beautiful, and once together they're really structurally sound, but the setup process can be a real pain.
Michael and Toby have invented an entirely new way of dome building. Normally, when you build these things, you have struts of various sizes that get screwed and bolted into hubs one by one, building top down until the dome is complete.
The domes of
work differently. Their poles are all one size, and they slot into pre-made hubs. Then, instead of bolting and screwing, a star shaped harness is attached to each hub, which holds the whole shape together through tension.
The results are large, stable domes that are erected quickly without using a single tool! Five of us built a 26' footprint dome in under an hour, using only a ladder. For anyone who has constructed one of these domes before, you know that's pretty darn impressive.
As this is Toby and Michael's first year going into production with these domes, they needed a hand, so the three of us headed down to Brooklyn.
Photo by Toby Vann
Our time was spent cutting down pipes, pressing them, drilling them and assembling them, sewing up star shades and shade tents, designing rain flys, and in general, brain-jamming on all the ways we could think of to make these domes even more awesome!
Photo by Toby Vann
Photo by Toby Vann
It was a super amazing project to be a part of and to feel useful. And, to top it all off, they fed us like kings!
Photo by Toby Vann
All in all, it has been amazing to be part of this team. Fun to learn, fun to build, and fun to be a part of a new, inventive startup project!
Photo by Toby Vann
Photo by Toby Vann