Pykrete Dome By realizing the Pykrete Dome project in January 2014, the world record for building the largest ice dome was set. The span of the dome was 29.1 meters, 4.1 meters more than the standing record at that time, which was held by T. Kokawa. The shape of the ice structure was based on a geodesic dome with almost no tensile forces in the structure. The Pykrete Dome was based on the designs of Tsutomu Kokawa, which has been experimenting with ice dome structures since the 80’s. The dome was built by infl ating a big balloon below a large reticulated net. This net is anchored into the ground, which will give the correct shape to the balloon when infl ated. When the balloon is fully infl ated, thin layers of water with wooden fi bres and snow are sprayed on top of the balloon which will form a thin layer of ice. The Pykrete Dome project was the fi rst building project that used Pykrete. 8
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