Scott Perkins

This is a Dome that could be pre-cut and stored in a small space to be assembled quickly when needed.    !2 Ft Diameter and 7 Ft Tall
see pics

Anne Miller wrote:What kind of material are those panels made from?

What kind of material can be bent like that?

Note that while the dome is a sphere curved in 3 dimensions, each of the "orange slices" are flat panels bent in only 2 dimensions.

There are materials that are made to line shower stalls that are waterproof.  Also plastic material that is used to make signs.  Thin quarter inch plywood could be used ... preferably waterproof or marine grade.    

For me,  I would choose the coated aluminum coil material used by siding and gutter specialists.    Looking at the dome further and noticing the four screws in each of the vertical bands,.....   I think  the vertical orange slices overlap and a metal screw is used at the overlap to punch through the sheet metal ( or whatever )  or  a screw that has a hole pre drilled  and then a washer and nut are then applied on the inside.    The fact that there is only one screw almost guarantees there is an overlap.    

So the next step is to figure out how to put it together ?  Would you need a jig to lay out all the pieces on ...and then begin to screw them together ?
How many people required to hold the pieces while it is being screwed or bolted together ?    I wish I remembered where I obtained the photo so questions could be asked.   One thing stands out,  this may not be a one-off do it at home project from plans.   This could have been assembled in a
factory  on a production line with many jigs and custom holders for all the parts.    The sophistication of the door assembly  sort of says this is not a
weekend project by a hobbiest.   Also, look at the legs of this structure.  This is not simply set on the ground with any kind of conventional foundation.

another try to upload photo

I found this picture and when I began to analyze it I became very impressed.     Take a close look at this dome and know that it was made by sawing flat panel material into  somewhat "triangular" orange slices  and screwed together with bands of some sort overlapping each  orange slice panel.
I dont have it figured out and I am surprised that there is only one screw in the band on the exterior to somehow join the orange slice panels ?
Help me figure out the construction details.     Could there be two bands,  interior and exterior ...  nut and bolted together to form a slot into which
the orange slice panels are inserted  ?    If it were me I would select the aluminum  trim material that siding and gutter contractors use  that has a "forever" coating.   If it were me....  I would have a lot more visible screws holding it together .....  so how did they build it and what holds it together?

There are numerous other kinds of flat panels that could be used ......   what would you use ?     The beauty of using the rolled trim is that there would be very little waste as when cutting the "orange slices"   you would alternate the direction for each piece and waste almost nothing.

LOOK  AT THE PIC CLOSELY and figure how you would build it !

Now that I've studied the photo and read all the background,  I am  more amazed than ever at the fact that the styrofoam Igloo was NOT built with standard size blocks but instead each block was carved  for a perfect fit just like the packed snow made igloos.  It took me a few months to notice on the far right side of the foam igloo  that the igloo at the top several layers were actually a continuous  swirl  round and round
to the top Just like the packed snow Igloos.  With a lot of geometry I feel certain that molds could be made to use the blocks right out of the mold and fit together somewhat like LEGOS.   If the styrofoam blocks were going to be glued together,  I wonder what the best adhesive would be because you probably need a 55 gal barrel of it and that would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

About 25 years ago Monolithic domes  were made with  huge concrete male and female forms into which
concrete was poured much like foundation walls.    I guess they found the shotcrete method on inflatable forms much easier but the old method produced unbelievably strong structures... so much that their advertisement showed parking bulldozers on the roof of them.  I have an old original brochure somewhere that I saved because I was so impressed.   I hope I can find it.