Largest (in 1971) Geodesic Dome in the world for sale

November 5, 2010 5:46 AM

The Buckminster Fuller dome of the former Dutch aerospace museum is for sale. In 1971 it was the largest in the world and housed most of the aircraft on display. The dome has a height of 23 meters and a 2700 m2 floorspace. It is currently dismantled and stored in 27 seafreight containers. At the site (in Dutch) there's a wonderful set of photos on the construction in 1971 and dismantling in 2004.
posted by knutmo (15 comments total)

This would be sweeeeeet for Burning Man.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:08 AM on November 5, 2010

Funny, I was just thinking something similar; that the Burning Man llc might want to consider buying it. And setting it up as the visitor's center for the Fly Ranch property they are buying.
posted by Catblack at 6:32 AM on November 5, 2010

For some reason, looking at Fuller domes (and I visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens, with its Climatron, almost weekly), I think of the tension and compression in the structural elements...which leads me to start muttering "'Tenser,' said the tensor..." from the Demolished Man.
posted by notsnot at 7:04 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I wonder what they did with the airplanes? Hopefully they are in safe hands and not turned into aluminum cans and the like.
posted by exogenous at 7:09 AM on November 5, 2010

I wonder what they did with the airplanes?

The planes were transported to the new location of the museum about 50 km away in Lelystad. The website of the new museum (in dutch) can be found here.
posted by PaulZ at 7:18 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

notsnot: ...which leads me to start muttering "'Tenser,' said the tensor..."

No wonder my psychic attacks are failing.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:32 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

The planes were transported to the new location of the museum about 50 km away in Lelystad.

Ooh, derail-y but man, I love the Lockheed Constellation. Human engineering reached a few pinnacles in the 50's and 60's, the like of which we can't seem to replicate. The Marshall 100 watt amplifier, the Fender Stratocaster, the '67 Camaro & Chevelle, the Apollo spacecraft. The Constellation is just pure beauty.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:42 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Materials Park dome at the headquarters of ASM International, near Cleveland, Ohio is not for sale, but is the largest open-air geodesic dome in the world. Completed in 1959. . .

Made of extruded aluminum pipe, the open-work dome stands 103' high and 250' in diameter, weighs 80 tons and contains more than 65,000 parts. The dome stands on five pylons, two of which rise up from courtyards set into the building.

Open (literally) to the public in a beautiful setting.
posted by Herodios at 7:54 AM on November 5, 2010

That Lockheed is pretty, no question.

But it's no Ford Trimotor.

My Dutch is kinda rusty. How much for the dome?
posted by notyou at 7:55 AM on November 5, 2010

Oops. My html is rusty, too.

Ford Trimotor
posted by notyou at 7:57 AM on November 5, 2010

exogenous, you have, I believe, flown (in?) a Trimoter, correct?
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:12 AM on November 5, 2010

Dear Sirs,

I would like to purchase your dome. Could you please specify whether the roof is engineered to withstand the force of two chainsaw-wielding men dangling from bungee cords?

I look forward to your response.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:28 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I got a ride in the back of a Trimotor at Airventure Oshkosh and took this picture of the seaplane base. The experience was not as loud and vibration-filled as the display at the Air and Space Museum would have one believe (where the visitor stands on a shaking platform to mimic what it was supposed to have been like), though I reckon for my ride they mostly kept it at low power settings to help save fuel.

If you have an extra ten grand or so kicking around, this place will get you certified to pilot one, though you have to come in with a multi-engine pilot certificate to begin with.
posted by exogenous at 8:33 AM on November 5, 2010

Exogenous: That picture is ... Tri-rific.

Since we're deep in the derail -- Catalina Flying Boats uses a real live DC3 to carry mail and whatever between Long Beach, CA and Catalina Island. It trundles overhead every couple of days.
posted by notyou at 8:53 AM on November 5, 2010

Those domes used to be symbols of bright futures. Now they are ugly relics of a High Modernist past.
posted by Yakuman at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2010