Geodesic dome

A geodesic dome is a structure shaped like the top half of a sphere, made of many little shapes, usually triangles.  It often is made of glass, concrete, or steel. They are cheap to make, and bigger than square buildings. 

The first geodesic dome was designed after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld,First Geodesic Dome: Planetarium in Jena 1922 incl. patent information  chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his planetarium projector.  An initial, small dome was patented and constructed by the firm of Dykerhoff and Wydmann on the roof of the Zeiss plant in Jena, Germany. A larger dome, called "The Wonder of Jena", opened to the public in July 1926.

Later, they were promoted by the American engineer, Buckminster Fuller. He coined the term "geodesic". Many kits are available. 

A variation on geodesic domes are monolithic domes

 References 

Category:Buildings and structures