Necklace Dome and Aspension Dome

Consolidated research covering three related structures: the Supine Dome failure (1948), the Necklace Dome success (1949-1950), and the Aspension Dome patent (1961) that spawned modern cable-dome stadiums. Sources: Gizmodo/Nevala-Lee, SoCal Arch History, Cantilever Blog, Appalachian History, BFI Patents, arxiv. Compiled 2026-08-15.

Supine Dome (1948)

• Where/when: Black Mountain College, July 1948.
• Planned dimensions: 48-foot diameter, 23-foot height, approximately 1,500 square feet of floor area.
• Target weight: under 270 lbs.
• Material: aluminum venetian blind strips.
• Outcome: collapsed during erection — described as "a giant's plate of spaghetti." Insufficient material to maintain structural integrity.
• Name origin: "Supine Dome" was coined by Elaine de Kooning, not by Fuller himself.
• Fuller's reaction: "Failure is a part of the process of inventing."
• The Supine Dome was Fuller's first attempt at a large geodesic structure at BMC. The failure motivated the revised approach that became the Necklace Dome.

Necklace Dome (1949–1950)

• Structure type: 31-great-circle icosahedral structure using short aluminum tubes threaded with aircraft cable.
• Collapsible mechanism: when cable tension is applied, the dome is rigid; when cable is relaxed, the entire structure collapses into a portable "necklace" bundle.
• Formal name: "Autonomous Dwelling Facility with a Geodesic Structure."

BMC 1949 (48-foot version)

• Built at Black Mountain College, July 1949.
• Diameter: 48 feet.
• Weight: under 50 lbs total.
• Load test: supported 14 people hanging from it simultaneously.
• Three students could lift the assembled 48-foot dome overhead.
• Had a transparent inflatable plastic cover and a wooden observation platform.
• Stood until September; endured hail simulation tests during its time up.
• Key participants: Jeffrey Lindsay, Donald Richter, Harold Young, Kenneth Snelson.

Chicago and Pentagon demos (1949–1950)

• 14-foot version assembled in Chicago, December 1949.
• Same 14-foot dome installed in the Pentagon gardens, February 1950, for Air Force evaluation.

Aspension Dome (1961–present)

• Patent: US 3,139,957 — "Suspension Building" — filed January 24, 1961, issued July 7, 1964.
• Concept: "ascending suspension" — suspended, nested, annular frames with radial tension cables and hoop tension.
• Fuller's contribution: the patent describes a dome structure where compression members are discontinuous and held in place by a continuous tension network radiating from a central compression ring.

Geiger's Cabledome

• David Geiger developed the practical Cabledome system in 1984, directly from Fuller's aspension patent.
• Expo 70, Osaka: 465 x 265 ft clear span, approximately 1.5 lbs per square foot.
• Seoul Olympics 1988: two Cabledome roofs, 393-ft and 295-ft diameters, built at approximately $20 per square foot.
• Structural note: Cabledomes are NOT true tensegrity structures — they require a continuous compression ring at the perimeter. However, they have been described as "the only structures where tensegrity theory is applied on a large scale."
• Geiger's death: David Geiger died in 1989 at age 54.

Sources

• Gizmodo / Alec Nevala-Lee — Supine Dome and Necklace Dome accounts
• SoCal Arch History — Necklace Dome and BMC context
• Cantilever Blog — structural analysis of aspension/cable domes
• Appalachian History — Black Mountain College summer sessions
• BFI Patents — US 3,139,957 (Suspension Building)
• arxiv — tensegrity and cable-dome structural analysis papers