Driving along Hurricane Creek today, looking at the property which will be destroyed and turned to rubble should Mayor Walt Maddox have his way with the Eastern Bypass, we came across a geodesic dome home! I can't help wondering if this particular geodesic home was built by New Age Construction, a Duncanville company that specializes in geodesic domes.
The Geodesic Dome in Green Acres
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles (geodesics) on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When completed to form a complete sphere, it is a geodesic sphere. A dome is enclosed, unlike open geodesic structures such as playground climbers.
Typically a geodesic dome design begins with an icosahedron inscribed in a hypothetical sphere, tiling each triangular face with smaller triangles, then projecting the vertices of each tile to the sphere. The endpoints of the links of the completed sphere are the projected endpoints on the sphere's surface. If this is done exactly, each sub-triangle edge is a slightly different length, requiring links of many sizes. To minimize this, simplifications are made. The result is a compromise of triangles with their vertices lying approximately on the sphere. The edges of the triangles form approximate geodesic paths over the surface of the dome.
Geodesic designs can be used to form any curved, enclosed space. Standard designs tend to be used because unusual configurations may require complex, expensive custom design of each strut, vertex and panel. (Source: Wikipedia)
It's hard to find comfort in the prospect that the destruction of this home will supposedly "pave the way" for strip malls and 70 mph traffic in this beautiful area. It's hard to square the destruction of this entire neighborhood which borders Hurricane Creek with any notion of "economic progress". Once upon a time, the South was known for its regard for history and traditional culture. These days, the nihilistic frenzy of prefab development keeps our souls numb and our eyes focused on consumption.
Years from now, Tuscaloosa residents will read about these treasures destroyed in the name of progress and wonder how the local officials got away with it.
