List of world's largest domes

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Dome of the Pantheon in Rome with oculus. Largest dome in the world for more than 1600 years.
Dome of the Pantheon in Rome with oculus. Largest dome in the world for more than 1600 years.
Oval dome of St. Gereon's Basilica in Cologne, Germany.
Oval dome of St. Gereon's Basilica in Cologne, Germany.
The front view of the Tooba Mosque, Karachi, Pakistan.
The front view of the Tooba Mosque, Karachi, Pakistan.

Domes are in architectural terms particularly demanding structures. A dome may be defined as a self-supporting structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere; this definition excludes structures such as The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome) in London which is 365m in diameter and supported by masts.

In the following, domes are classified according to three different categories. The defining criteron is in each case the diameter of the largest circular cross-section of the dome.

  • The temporal dimension: World's largest domes in history
  • The geographic dimension: Largest domes by continent
  • The constructional dimension: Largest domes by structure

Contents

[edit] World's largest domes in history

Below is a list of buildings that have held the title of the largest dome in the world.[1]

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1250 BC – 1st century BC 14.5 m[2] Treasury of Atreus Mycenae, Greece City state of Mycenae 1300-1250 BC Corbel dome
1st century BC – 128 AD 21.5 m[3] Temple of Mercury Baiae, Italy Roman Empire 1st century BC Concrete dome
128 – 1881 43.4 m[3] Pantheon Rome, Italy Roman Empire 128 Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world
1881 - 1902 44.2 m[4] or
46.9 m[5]		 Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton, UK 1881 Converted from a horse stables to a hospital. Slate covered iron frame. Architect Robert Rippon Duke
1902 – 1913 59.45 m[6] West Baden Springs Hotel West Baden, Indiana, USA Lee Wiley Sinclair 1902 Steel and glass dome. Architect Harrison Albright
1913 – 1930 65.0 m[7] Centennial Hall Breslau, Poland Deutsches Reich 1913 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 – 1944 65.8 m[8] Leipzig Market Hall Leipzig, Germany Deutsches Reich 1930 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 – 1957 71.0 m[9] V-2 Bunker La Coupole Wizernes, France Nazi Germany 1944 Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick
1957 - 1965 109 m [10] Belgrade Fair - Hall 1 Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade Fair 1957 World's largest prestressed concrete dome.
1965 - 1992 216.4 m[citation needed] Reliant Astrodome Houston, Texas, USA H.A. Lott, Inc. 1965 First domed sports stadium in the world
1992 – 1998 256.0 m[11] Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia, USA Georgia World Congress Center Authority 1992 Cable-supported dome
1998 – present 365.0 m[12] The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome) London, United Kingdom English Partnerships 1999 Cable-supported dome

[edit] By continent

Below is a list of buildings that have held the title of the largest dome on their continent.[1]

[edit] Europe

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1250 BC - 1st century BC 14.5 m[2] Treasury of Atreus Mycenae, Greece City state of Mycenae 1300-1250 BC Corbel dome
1st century BC - 128 AD 21.5 m[3] Temple of Mercury Baiae, Italy Roman Empire 1st century BCE Concrete dome
128 - 1881 43.4 m[3] Pantheon Rome, Italy Roman Empire 128 Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world
1881 - 1913 44.2 m[4] or
46.9 m[5]		 Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton, UK 1881 Converted from a horse stables to a hospital. Slate covered iron frame. Architect Robert Rippon Duke
1913 - 1930 65.0 m[7] Centennial Hall Breslau, Poland Deutsches Reich 1913 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 - 1944 65.8 m[8] Leipzig Market Hall Leipzig, Germany Deutsches Reich 1930 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 - 1957 71.0 m[9] V2-Bunker La Coupole Wizernes, France Nazi Germany 1944 Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick
1957 - 1998 109 m [13] Belgrade Fair - Hall 1 Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade Fair 1957 World's largest prestressed concrete dome.
1998 – present 365.0 m[12] The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome) London, United Kingdom English Partnerships 1999 Cable-supported dome

[edit] North America

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Constructed Comment
1864 - 1902 29.0 m[14] Capitol Washington D.C., USA USA 1864 Architect Thomas Walter
1902 - 1965 61.0 m[6] West Baden Springs Hotel West Baden, Indiana, USA Lee Wiley Sinclair 1902 Architect Harrison Albright
1965 - 1992 216.4 m[citation needed] Reliant Astrodome Houston, Texas, USA H.A. Lott, Inc. First domed sports stadium in the world
1992 – present 256.0 m[11] Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia, USA Georgia World Congress Center Authority 1992 Cable-supported dome

[edit] South America

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Constructed Comment

[edit] Africa

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Constructed Comment
140.0 m[15] Coca-Cola Dome Johannesburg, South Africa

[edit] Asia

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Constructed Comment
691 - 1659 20.37 m Dome of the Rock Jerusalem, Israel Umayyad Empire 691 First monumental building of Islam, erected in Byzantine architectural style
1659 - 1960 37.9 m Gol Gumbaz Bijapur, India Sultanate of Bijapur 1659 Mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah II (1627-57) of the Adil Shahi dynasty of the Sultanate of Bijapur.
1960 - present 108 m Araneta Coliseum Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines J. Amado Araneta 1960 Also known as the Big Dome, it opened as the world's biggest indoor venue in 1960.

[edit] Australia

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Constructed Comment

[edit] By structure

Below is a list of buildings that have held the title of the largest dome in terms of their structure.[1]

[edit] Stone

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1250 BC - present 14.5 m[2] Treasury of Atreus Mycenae, Greece City state of Mycenae 1300-1250 BC Corbel dome

[edit] Steel

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1902-1913 61 m West Baden Springs Hotel West Baden, Indiana USA Lee Wiley Sinclair 1902 steel and glass construction

[edit] Concrete

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1st century BC - 128 AD 21.5 m[3] 'Temple of Mercury' Baiae, Italy Roman Empire 1st century BC Concrete dome
128 - present 43.4 m[3] Pantheon Rome, Italy Roman Empire 128 Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world

[edit] Masonry

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
563-1436 31.5 m Hagia Sophia Istanbul, Turkey Byzantine Empire 563 First pendentive dome in history. First completed in 537, rebuilt in 563 after earthquake. Architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus.
1436 - 1969 42-45 m[16] The Duomo Florence, Italy City state of Florence 1436 First double-dome structure in Europe
1969 - present 72 m Masjid e Tooba Karachi, Pakistan Defense Housing Society, Karachi 1969

[edit] The largest diameter monolithic dome in the world

Faith Chapel Christian Center is the largest monolithic dome built to date. With a diameter of 280 feet and a height of 72 feet, the dome provides 61,575 square feet of interior space and seating for 3000.

The church was designed by architect Rick Crandall and Dome Technology of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Contractor Gary C. Wyatt out of Birmingham, Alabama built the dome shell.

[edit] Cast iron

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1864 - present 29.0 m[14] United States Capitol dome Washington D.C., USA USA 1864 Architect Thomas Walter

[edit] Reinforced concrete

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1913 - 1930 65.0 m[7] Centennial Hall Breslau, Poland Deutsches Reich 1913 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 - 1944 65.8 m[8] Leipzig Market Hall Leipzig, Germany Deutsches Reich 1930 Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 - present 71.0 m[9] V2-Bunker La Coupole Wizernes, France Nazi Germany 1944 Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick

[edit] Wood

Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Completed Comment
1977 - 1983 153.0 m Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Northern Arizona University 1977 Geodesic dome
1983 - 1991 161.5 m[citation needed](→Tacoma Dome) Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington, USA City of Tacoma, WA 1983 Geodesic dome
1991 - present 163.4 m[citation needed](→Superior Dome) Superior Dome Marquette, Michigan, USA State of Michigan/Northern Michigan University 1991 Geodesic dome

[edit] Famous large domes

Below is a list of large domes which are considered particularly important for various reasons.[1]

Completed Diameter Name Location Builder Comment
1227 21.0 m long
16.9 m wide[17]		 St. Gereon's Basilica Cologne, Germany Bishop or city? Oval shape, largest occidental dome built between Hagia Sophia and the Duomo
1405 18.2 m Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi Türkistan, Kazakhstan Tamerlane Double dome
1557 27.2 m Suleiman Mosque Istanbul, Turkey Ottoman Empire Architect Sinan
1575 31.2 m[18] Selimiye Mosque Edirne, Turkey Ottoman Empire Architect Sinan
1590 42.3 m St. Peter's Basilica Rome, Vatican City The Holy See Double dome
1641 17.7 m[19] Taj Mahal Agra, India Mughal Empire
1710 30.8 m[20] St. Paul's Cathedral London, England Christopher Wren Double dome. the two domes are separated by a cone over the top of the inner which helps support the outer
1781 36.0m[21] St. Blaise's Abbey St. Blaise, Germany Pierre Michel d'Ixnard Third widest dome in Europe at the time of its construction.[21]
1871 45.0 m[22] Mosta Dome Mosta, Malta George Grongnet de Vassé The third largest unsupported dome in the world.
1894 31.0m[23] Marble Church Copenhagen, Denmark Frederick V Built from 1749 to 1894 by three different architects, with no construction done from 1770 to 1877.
1960 108 m Araneta Coliseum Quezon City, Philippines J. Amado Araneta Also known as the Big Dome, it opened as the world's biggest indoor venue in 1960.
1988 170ft (diameter) and ?? (height) Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia Biggest mosque in Malaysia, second biggest mosque in South East Asia, also known as Blue Mosque, the minaret(460ft) listed in Guinness World Record as having the tallest minaret in the world until takeover by the King Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and can accommodate up to 16,000 workshippers at a time.

Interior of the West Baden Springs Hotel's steel and glass dome built in 1902

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d It is requested that additional entries should be made on the basis of credible print or online sources. Please provide your sources.
  2. ^ a b c Treasury of Atreus in the Structurae database
  3. ^ a b c d e f R. Mark and P. Hutchinson, "On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon", Art Bulletin 68, March 1986, p.24
  4. ^ a b Visit Buxton: Architecture in Buxton
  5. ^ a b Copp, E. P. (2004), “The Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton”, Rheumatology 43 (3): 385-386, <http://0-rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org.innopac.up.ac.za:80/cgi/content/full/43/3/385> 
  6. ^ a b Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), Library of Congress, 1974 
  7. ^ a b c UNESCO World Heritage: Centennial Hall in Breslau
  8. ^ a b c Leipzig Market Hall in the Structurae database
  9. ^ a b c Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France: Schotterwerk Nord West (SNW) : Base V2
  10. ^ "Belgrade Fair - Hall 1" [1]
  11. ^ a b Building Big Databank: Georgia Dome, PBS Online/WGBH
  12. ^ a b Millennium Dome in London Detail
  13. ^ "Belgrade Fair - Hall 1" [2]
  14. ^ a b H. Hagedann & Ch. Plato: Kuppeln historisch
  15. ^ Coca-Cola Dome: Dimensions of Coca-Cola Dome
  16. ^ Figures vary. archINFORM gives a 45 m wide tambour, while Santa Maria del Fiore in the Structurae database gives a 43 m diameter of the cupola, others as little as 42 m.
  17. ^ Werner Schäfke: Kölns romanische Kirchen. Architektur, Ausstattung, Geschichte. Köln, 1985, 5. ed. 288 pp., p.100&118, ISBN 3-7701-1360-8
  18. ^ Selimiye Mosque in the Structurae database
  19. ^ Taj Mahal in the Structurae database
  20. ^ R. Mark and P. Hutchinson, "On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon", Art Bulletin 68, March 1986, p.34
  21. ^ a b Dom St. Blasius Website (German).
  22. ^ Chevron Air Holidays: Mosta
  23. ^ Marmorkirken.dk: Marble Church

[edit] External links

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