Study of Circular Domed House, Canada

Project Presentation

This circular dome-shaped house consists of a radiant supporting structure made entirely of timber, with a height of almost 33 ft and a diameter of nearly 82 ft.

The domed roof consists of boxes made of glued-laminated timber (glulam) beams and ribs. These boxes are insulated by wood fibers and covered by wooden cladding.

The floor of the first floor is made up of glulam beams and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) panels, serving as a support point for the boxes of the dome. The floor of the second floor is entirely made of LVL beams and panels.

The entire structure is supported by a base consisting of petal-like LVL elements and an axis consisting of glued-laminated timber beams. These structural elements are connected to a steel core forming part of the rotation mechanism.

Studies in RFEM

The entire structure was modeled in RFEM.

One of the main difficulties encountered when studying the structural system was to homogenize the forces acting in the structure in order to avoid the appearance of a large tension circle on the edge of the dome. A second point was to define the seam required for the boxes of the roof, between the interior timber panels of the vault and the arches of the roof, in order to realistically take into account the shell effect that develops in the rounded shape.

The RF-LAMINATE add-on module made it possible to define the composition of the LVL panels modeled as surface elements and to analyze the stresses. The timber beams were designed by the RF-TIMBER CSA add-on module.

Since the project is located in an earthquake-prone region, it was necessary to carry out a seismic design. Finally, the lightness of the materials used and the perfectly round and symmetrical shape allow the structure to be less prone to vibrations of the underlying terrain.