The Cylindrical, High Performance Monolithic Office Building-- Imagine the Possibilities
February 8, 2005
by David B. South
renderings by LPDJ
Click either image to download the *o2c file. |
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The Monolithic Dome is often used in its most economical configuration-- part of a sphere-- but sometimes the customer wants something more grand. The images included with this article are of a beautiful and grand office complex. It illustrates a two-story office building, but could easily be designed as a twenty story. The offices around the perimeter on a vertical stemwall that has all the glass you desire so each perimeter office has a view to the street and a view to the large interior atrium. The "hat rim" around the entire perimeter of the building is designed to keep rain off the sidewalk level below and is supported by beautiful slender columns that add beautiful architectural detail to the building.
Imagine this office building built with plenty of fine wood trim, brass hand rails and marble floors. Do you get a sense of what a beautiful facility this could be?
Best of all, you still get the energy efficiency of the Monolithic Dome. Obviously, there is some heat loss from the windows but not as much as one might think. Conduction, the heat loss by contact, is far more in a roof and/or ceiling of a structure than it is with walls. The Monolithic Dome that spans the interior will still be intact and perform as a super insulated roof and thermal battery to even out the heating and cooling loads.
A Monolithic Dome office building is a magnificent building offering energy efficiency and an affordable price tag.
* One of LPDJ's many services include 3D Renderings of their projects. An o2c file lets you see the project from every angle, even from above! You will need to download and install this progam in order to view the file. The download time may be hefty, but it's worth it!
Related Links:
- The Monolithic Construction Process
- Index of Larger Monolithic Dome Projects -- Partial List In Alphabetical Order by State
- "R" Fairy Tale -- The Myth of Insulation's R-Value
- Monolithic Dome Shapes
- LPDJ Architects, LLC: A World Class Firm
- LPDJ Architects, LLC Use Holistic Approach
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