Dome

Every party I’ve been to, everyone stays in the kitchen, even if it’s the smallest room in the house. This is my “dome-in-the-walk-in-area” project. The idea is to have a comfortable group meeting area at the 2005 Burning Man art festival.… Read the rest

Initial Ruminations

I’ve been working on this “dome-in-the-walk-in-area” concept, and I think that I have something now. The idea is to have a nice group walk-in camp. At this camp, I’d like a community meeting area that is out of the sun, dust, wind (and possibly rain), similar in purpose to the dining/meeting tent that I had in Nepal in 1988, but extended to allow room for cooking and general lounging.… Read the rest

Cover Materials

Aluminized Mylar, gold lamé, and greenhouse shade cloth all have good attributes as cover materials. And they all have their drawbacks. The question marks show where suspicions need to be confirmed by experimentation. Shade cloth is the most practical cover solution.… Read the rest

Materials Test

With all of the talk about tests, it’s time to start planning them. Edge Strength I’d like to use ripped 2×4’s instead of 3/4″ EMT conduit or 2″ PVC tubing because 2×4’s are less expensive. My hypothesis is that ripped 2×4’s are stronger than 2″ PVC and 3/4″ EMT.… Read the rest

Coloring the Cover

I use spreadsheets like Excel for everything. Probably for too many things. I have a 25 megabyte spreadsheet that puts the coordinates of the Earth’s ocean boundaries on an unfolded northern hemisphere. Click on the image for a really large PDF file that you can print on 11×17 paper and cut out yourself.… Read the rest

Structural Analysis

Using 2×4s Now Just how strong does the dome need to be? The largest force on the structure comes from the wind, which at Burning Man, depending on who you listen to, gets up to 30 MPH, with 60 to 75 MPH gusts.… Read the rest

Aerodynamics of Domes

Update 2018: This post describes aerodynamic estimates that I made in 2005. If I were to redo the anaysis today, I would use the method from more recent projects. Both airplane wings and domes are curved on top. Should I be concerned with the aerodynamics of domes?… Read the rest

Strengths of Materials (Part 1)

I find things in unexpected places. On the exhibit floor of the National Association of Broadcasters convention, while walking past the booth of Music Books Plus, I discovered the most amazing and readable book on structural analysis: Structural Design for the Stage (now in its 2nd edition).… Read the rest

How Much Shade Cloth?

Covering the Dome Most likely, the dome will be covered with Aluminet shade fabric. This knitted fabric can stretch in one direction but not the other because it contains strings, about 1 cm apart, that run through the fabric with the long dimension.… Read the rest

Strengths of Materials (Part 2)

Summary The 2×4s are the dome’s main support, and so here’s an entire (and pretty long) page devoted to them. Perhaps I should summarize the results here: The 2×4s are sufficiently strong to support the dome in a 60 MPH wind.… Read the rest

Frame is Done!

Woo, hoo! After assembling the dome’s 25′-diameter frame, Kerry confirms his frame-strength calculations. Outside and inside views of the dome’s metal brackets. Looking at the topmost joint.… Read the rest

Cover Half Done!

On Saturday, Michelle and Craig offered the floor of their home’s big room for marking the shade fabric. And then . . . On Sunday, Linda and Chris hosted a “sew-fest.” As Kerry trims the marked fabric pieces, Linda sews. Follow the plan, and 15 pieces of fabric cover a dome.… Read the rest

Dome with Cover!

Many thanks to Linda who completed sewing the cover at her and Chris’s place Tuesday night through early Wednesday morning. Wednesday evening, after transporting the completed cover back to my place, I gathered it into a “donut” . . . .… Read the rest

Where to Camp?

The dome will be in the walk-in area, to avoid the noise, congestion, and dust of the main camping area. I’m bringing a 4-foot by 7-foot garden cart to allow easy transportation of equipment from the road to the camp. But now the question is, just where in the walk-in area should we be?… Read the rest

Dome at Burning Man 2005

August 30 through September 4 The Wooden 2-by-4 dome starts life as several pentagonal subassemblies. These will tilt up to form walls. A temporary metal brace stabilizes each pentagon, preventing folding as the pentagon is tilted up. Another temporary brace, wooden, and connected to what will become the most vertical member of the pentagon, is folded out after tilting, allowing the pentagon to stand by itself.… Read the rest

Burning Man 2007 Project

What will we do with a limited resource? Use it wisely or use it up? These choices are apparent in the refashioning of three children’s games, built eight-times larger than normal size, and arranged in a fenced “play area.” Participants are invited to play the games (Labyrinth, Shoot the Moon, and Dominos).… Read the rest

Inspiration

Burning Man announced the 2007 theme early: The Green Man. I’m choosing an ecological interpretation. Government The purpose of a government is to improve a society, and life in that society. Society under government should be better than society would have been without it.… Read the rest

The Games

Here are photos of the actual children’s games that I have. Labyrinth Original width: 13 inches. This will be built 6 or 7 feet across, with legs. Surplus steering wheels will replace the knobs. It will take two people, cooperating, to control the tilt of the maze.… Read the rest

Dominos

March 5, 2007: Domino Thoughts Each domino will measure 18-½” x 9-¼” x 2-½”. The firms Plastic Lumber Yard and Engineered Plastic Systems can provide 3×10 boards of black, recycled HDPE. These will be cut into proper-size pieces. HDPE is a recyclable material made from, ironically, petroleum.… Read the rest

Labyrinth

April 26, 2007: Labyrinthine Thoughts The more difficult-to-find materials have arrived. Steering wheels Steel rod for steering-wheel shafts Unengraved, stainless-steel petanque balls The maze itself will be constructed from a frame of wooden 2x4s supporting a 3/4″ plywood surface. Graphics will be spray painted (instead of applied by brush) to keep the surface flat.… Read the rest