Each one of those domes is elevated on a “pedestal.” The feature that caught my eye was the “ribs” on the dome’s roofs. That would turn the rough-looking exterior of the average dome into an eye catcher.
I haven’t grasped the visual of the levels, but there seems to be three landings on the spiral staircase that greets one at the lowest level.
The “roof” of the dome looks amazing. I thought at first it was some sort of standing seam metal roof but looking at an enlarged picture it just appears to be battens of some sort applied to the roof membrane and colored the same. Great visual effect whatever they are.
My guess would be they were all applied afterwards. Back in the days of the first forum on this site, I thought I remembered from discussions that the inflatable membrane that they use must remain untouched/modified for a period of years before one can apply a surface finish to it. I’m not sure as if that is still the case or not since technology could have changed over the years.
I agree. It looks like an exterior treatment of some kind. The ADA Ankara has a kind of exoskeleton. There’s no end to the ways the exterior of the dome can be manipulated–especially because elements can be anchored to the dome pretty easily.
