LIST OF WORLD'S LARGEST DOMES

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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

World's largest domes in history

By continent

Europe

North America

South America

Africa

Asia

Australia

By structure

Stone

Concrete

Masonry

Cast iron

Reinforced concrete

Wood

Famous large domes

References

External links

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	Treasury of Atreus	Mycenae, Greece	City state of Mycenae	1300-1250 BC	Corbel dome
1st century BC – 128 AD	21.5 m R. Mark and P. Hutchinson, "On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon", ''Art Bulletin'' 68, March 1986, p.24	Temple of Mercury	Baiae, Italy	Roman Empire	1st century BC	Concrete dome
128 – 1881	43.4 m	Pantheon	Rome, Italy	Roman Empire	128	Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world
1881 - 1902	44.2 m Visit Buxton: Architecture in Buxton or 46.9 m	Devonshire Royal Hospital	Buxton, UK		1881	Converted from a horse stables to a hospital. Slate covered iron frame. Architect Robert Rippon Duke
1902 – 1913	61.0 m	West Baden Springs Hotel	West Baden, Indiana, USA	Lee Wiley Sinclair	1902	Steel and glass dome. Architect Harrison Albright
1913 – 1930	65.0 m UNESCO World Heritage: Centennial Hall in Breslau	Centennial Hall	Breslau, Poland	Deutsches Reich	1913	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 – 1944	65.8 m	Leipzig Market Hall	Leipzig, Germany	Deutsches Reich	1930	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 – 1965	71.0 m Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France: Schotterwerk Nord West (SNW) : Base V2	V-2 Bunker La Coupole	Wizernes, France	Nazi Germany	1944	Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick
1965 - 1992	216.4 m (→Reliant Astrodome)	Reliant Astrodome	Houston, Texas, USA	H.A. Lott, Inc.	1965	First domed sports stadium in the world
1992 – ''present''	256.0 m [2]	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, Georgia, USA	Georgia World Congress Center Authority	1992	Cable-supported dome

By continent

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

Europe

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Completed'	'Comment'
1250 BC - 1st century BC	14.5 m	Treasury of Atreus	Mycenae, Greece	City state of Mycenae	1300-1250 BC	Corbel dome
1st century BC - 128 AD	21.5 m	Temple of Mercury	Baiae, Italy	Roman Empire	1st century BC	Concrete dome
128 - 1881	43.4 m	Pantheon	Rome, Italy	Roman Empire	128	Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world
1881 - 1913	44.2 m or 46.9 m	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 UNESCO World Heritage: Centennial Hall in Breslau	Centennial Hall	Breslau, Poland	Deutsches Reich	1913	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 - 1944	65.8 m	Leipzig Market Hall	Leipzig, Germany	Deutsches Reich	1930	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 - ''present''	71.0 m Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France: Schotterwerk Nord West (SNW) : Base V2	V2-Bunker La Coupole	Wizernes, France	Nazi Germany	1944	Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick

North America

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

South America

'Held record'

'Diameter'

'Name'

'Location'

'Builder'

'Constructed'

'Comment'

Africa

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Constructed'	'Comment'

Asia

2002	35.5m	Grain storage facility	Baghdad / Iraq	Al Fao General Engineering Company	2002	Iraq has the largest number of cuvilinear structures as hemisphericals or semieliptical fully mechanised grain storage facilities. Salwan Majeed a civil engineer was behind these facilities construction.
691 - 1659	20.37 m	Dome of the Rock	Jerusalem	Umayyad Empire	691	First monumental building of Islam, erected in Byzantine architectural style
1659 - 1969	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.
1969 - ''present''	72 m	Masjid e Tooba	Karachi, Pakistan	Defense Housing Society, Karachi	1969

Australia

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Constructed'	'Comment'

By structure

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

Stone

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

Concrete

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

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 [3]	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

Cast iron

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Completed'	'Comment'
1864 - ''present''	29.0 m H. Hagedann & Ch. Plato: Kuppeln historisch	United States Capitol dome	Washington D.C., USA	USA	1864	Architect Thomas Walter

Reinforced concrete

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Completed'	'Comment'
1913 - 1930	65.0 m UNESCO World Heritage: Centennial Hall in Breslau	Centennial Hall	Breslau, Poland	Deutsches Reich	1913	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Berg
1930 - 1944	65.8 m	Leipzig Market Hall	Leipzig, Germany	Deutsches Reich	1930	Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger
1944 - ''present''	71.0 m Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France: Schotterwerk Nord West (SNW) : Base V2	V2-Bunker La Coupole	Wizernes, France	Nazi Germany	1944	Reinforced concrete dome, 5m thick

Wood

'Held record'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Completed'	'Comment'
1983 - 1991	161.5 m (→Tacoma Dome)	Tacoma Dome	Tacoma, Washington, USA	City of Tacoma, WA	1983	Geodesic dome
1991 - ''present''	163.4 m (→Superior Dome)	Superior Dome	Marquette, Michigan, USA	State of Michigan/Northern Michigan University	1991	Geodesic dome

Famous large domes

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

'Completed'	'Diameter'	'Name'	'Location'	'Builder'	'Comment'
1227	21.0 m long 16.9 m wide [4]	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 [5]	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 [5]	Taj Mahal	Agra, India	Mughal Empire
1710	30.8 m [7]	St. Paul's Cathedral	London, England	British Empire
1781	36.0m Dom St. Blasius Website	St. Blaise's Abbey	St. Blaise, Germany		Third widest dome in Europe at the time of its construction.
1871	45.0 m [8]	Mosta Dome	Mosta, Malta	George Grongnet de Vassé	The third largest unsupported dome in the world.
1894	31.0m [9]	Marble Church	Copenhagen, Denmark	Frederick V	Built from 1749 to 1894 by three different architects, with no construction done from 1770 to 1877.
1963	108 m	Araneta Coliseum	Quezon City, Philippines	J. Amado Araneta
1975	207.3 m(→Louisiana Superdome)	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, USA	Louisiana Stadium/Expo District
1988	170ft (diameter) and 350m (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.

References

1. It is requested that additional entries should be made on the basis of credible print or online sources. Please provide your sources.
2. Building Big Databank: Georgia Dome, PBS Online/WGBH
3. Figures vary. archINFORM gives a 45 m wide tambour, while gives a 43 m diameter of the cupola, others as little as 42 m.
4. Werner Schäfke: Kölns romanische Kirchen. Architektur, Ausstattung, Geschichte. Köln, 1985, 5. ed. 288 pp., p.100&118, ISBN 3-7701-1360-8
5.
6.
7. R. Mark and P. Hutchinson, "On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon", ''Art Bulletin'' 68, March 1986, p.34
8. Chevron Air Holidays: Mosta
9. Marmorkirken.dk: Marble Church

External links

★ The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete