RanDome Shelter

https://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2004/bridges2004-347.pdf

An Introduction to The Randome

Richard Fischbeck and Oscar Tuazon 10-15 44th Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101 Email: ocaesar@hotmail.com

The design of the randome provides a spherical or near-spherical structure that is made of elements that are simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble. Unlike previous geodesic dome designs, which required exacting measurements and were generally limited to spherical forms, the randome is a structure that is versatile in form and not restricted to the form of an icosahedron. The randome can be easily assembled without requiring complex mathematical calculations and without having to arrange the elements in a pattern along predetermined great circle gridlines. As the name implies, the randome design functions not so much as a design template, but as a modular construction system with a high degree of flexibility.

The flexibility of the randome is achieved by providing a geodesic structure made of convex-concave elements that are arranged in an approximate manner, either with the aid of a simple spiral pattern, or more or less randomly. By "approximate" is meant that the elements are assembled one next to the other according to some principle such as overlapping or tangentially touching adjacent elements, yet randomly in the sense that particular exemplars of the elements do not necessarily have to be placed or fastened along predetermined great circle gridlines, nor do they have to be placed in a particular sequence or at a particular location. The example of a dome for human shelter will be used to describe the basic geodesic structure according to the invention, although it should be understood that a complete geodesic sphere, a semisphere, or an irregularly curved structure can also be constructed in a similar manner, and that geodesic structures constructed according to the invention are not restricted to a certain size or to certain applications, such as shelter for humans.