Domes Through Time: A Comparative Analysis of Architectural Evolution and Environmental Performance

Abstract

The dome represents a design feature of architecture worldwide, a symbolic element in civilizations, and has an environmental role in design. The dome has been a design solution through the ages to cover buildings' roofs, especially those requiring much space without internal columns. The dome took many forms and showed the importance of its environmental design and construction roles. The research problem focuses on the environmental role of historical domes. The study depends on a significant group of domes with design, construction, and symbolic value through the ages. Then, the study will explore their environmental role, which gave the building a new factor and design value from the environmental perspective. The study depends on the case study methodology, including historical and experimental methods. The historical method analyzes the historical domes from 27 B.C. to the 19th century. The experimental method analyzes historical domes from the environmental perspective and how the domes' formation, design, and construction helped to create a distinctive internal environment. The research depends on monitoring those domes' environmental performance, analyzing some selected historical domes, exploring their internal environment using simulation programs, and measuring the environmental elements of natural lighting and thermal comfort. The research results show that developing the construction method and designing domes bodes a promising future in making buildings more efficient. In addition to having a historical aspect, the environmental roles of domes can be used recently in non-traditional buildings such as cultural and entertainment buildings, making the building environmentally efficient and providing natural lighting, ventilation, and thermal comfort.