Geodesic projection dome showcased

Visitors to Paris’s Grand Palais for the October 2009 premier of “From Byzantine to Istanbul” stepped inside famous Ottoman Empire mosques and churches to view the art within the domes. This feat was made possible by Zendome GmbH, Berlin, Germany, and its new geodesic projection cupola, a dome with an immersive media screen that provides a wrinkle-free substrate for 360-degree projection.

The key to the immersive media screen is using vacuum technology to seal inner and outer dome membranes to eliminate creases that would distort projected images. The blue-grey surface membrane provides good contrast, and interconnections between parts are invisible to view, as opposed to seams in projection hemispheres made from aluminum. The geodesic projection dome can be deployed and disassembled for mobile use or installed for longer events, conferences or screenings.

Zendome makes domes with areas of 30, 150 and 300 square meters, but also created the first (and only) dome with 1,000 square meters of area for Grand Prix Formula 1 racing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November. The event agency Sian commissioned a village of geodesic domes of all sizes to give the high-profile competition a racy new look.