Temporary Architecture: Improving on Air Domes

When considering wasteful infrastructure, especially in cities, one of the biggest events that comes to mind is the Olympic Games. In this instructable, I hope to evaluate the extent of wasteful infrastructure and develop possible solutions.

Supplies

Fusion360

The Problem (Background)

To understand why the Olympics are wasteful, it is important to understand why cities host the Olympics. There are many reasons why a city would want to host the Olympic Games, with many cities paying and bidding for the right to do so. In fact, the competition to host the games is so fierce that current bids can run countries more than $100 million [1]. But all of this competition is not without warrant. By hosting the Olympic Games, the city gains a multitude of benefits that will eventually and hopefully outweigh the initial costs. The most obvious benefits include tourism and media coverage, which both correspond to an increase in the regional GDP [2]. Less obvious benefits include developing infrastructure and, correspondingly, jobs [2].

The Olympic Infrastructure Craze (Background)

5-of-the-Most-Beautiful-Olympic-Stadiums-Ever-Built-Fohlio-Bird’s-Nest-Beijing-2008-copy-1-1.jpg

Images 1-3. Images of Olympic Infrastructure [10].

Hosting the Olympics is no easy feat. In essence, it is a demonstration of a city’s wealth and power, illustrating the ability to host a global event in the most technologically advanced or extravagant venues. This general stigma of the Olympic Games being the best of the best generally prompts many cities to create new infrastructure to accommodate the Games. After all, if cities are planning to spend hundreds of millions in the initial stages of acquiring just the right to the games, why wouldn’t they go all out in other expenses as well? This scenario was exactly the case for the past few decades, with the creation of massive sports and Olympic-related infrastructure by Greece (2004 Athens), Italy (2006 Turin), China (2008 Beijing), Canada (2010 Vancouver), United Kingdom (2012 London), Russia (2014 Sochi), Brazil (2016 Rio), South Korea (2018 PyeongChang), Japan (2020 Tokyo), China (2022 Beijing), and France (2024 Paris). Notably, all of the listed countries had improved or constructed infrastructure for the events, with London 2012 and Sochi 2014 both costing cities more than $10 billion in sports infrastructure alone [3].

The Underutilization and Abandonment of Olympic Infrastructure

On paper, investments and the creation of infrastructure sound amazing. But, the truth is that many of these impressive venues are largely underutilized and “thrown away” after the Olympic Games. There is simply no reason or capability to use and maintain such grandiose infrastructure, causing many cities and governments to be unwilling to maintain it. Notable examples include the images below, which are categorized by mass overgrowth and deteriorating infrastructure.

Image 4. Athens, 2004 Olympic Swimming Pool. [4]

Image 5. Athens, 2004 Volleyball Field. [4]

Image 6. Athens, 2004 Softball Field. [4]

Image 7. Rio de Janeiro, 2016 Stadium. [4]

The main reason for the abandonment of these massive facilities despite enormous initial investments is due to the equally large maintenance costs and undisturbed use. Such grand facilities, especially those constructed within the past two decades, can easily cost up to several tens of millions to maintain yearly [5]. A more recent example also includes the Olympic Stadium constructed for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, which cost over $100 million and was demolished only after 4 major uses due to exorbitant maintenance costs that exceeded $30 million per year [6].

The Solution - Inflatable Domes

Logically, it is incredibly difficult to replicate sports stadiums and large facilities with a temporary structure. The magnitude and scale of such large infrastructure make it both impractical and practically impossible. But, beyond these grand examples, there are also many smaller venues and housing from these events that become underutilized.

While larger venues on the scale of the Olympic Games are incredibly difficult for temporary architecture, it is possible to create temporary structures for smaller venues. However, just because it is a “smaller venue,” do not underestimate the possibilities of these temporary structures, which can easily cover entire football and soccer fields, pools, and large parks [7].

Companies such as Liriairdome, which specialize in these temporary structures, state that it is possible to create these structures in around 1-3 months, depending on the size and location of the structure [7]. The company also highlights the various benefits of their dome temporary structures, being capable of being easily transported and built, properly ventilated, and lit both during the day and night due to reflective interior material [7]. Inflatable domes also highlight that their structures are extremely cost-effective and space efficient, capable of enclosing areas at $3-6 per square foot while also being easily stored when not required [8].

Image 8. Sports Dome for a Soccer Field [11].

Image 9. A Sports Dome for Tennis [7].

Image 10. Components of a Sports Dome [12].

Current Issues With Inflatable Domes

However, there is a major problem with the domes created by Liriairdome and various similar companies. Firstly, although they can block weather conditions to a certain extent, they are generally vulnerable to weather conditions such as high winds, snow, or hail [8]. The structures also pose as limiters for venue owners as the domes are often uncustomizable due to their pre-molded nature [8]. Many of the domes also do not offer necessary heights for certain sports, limiting athletes [8].

Additions to Domes

To solve many of the structural problems of the domes, I propose a modular stand system to support the inflatable domes. To help easily transport the modular stands, they were specifically constructed to fit within a typical semi-truck carrier, measuring a length of around 13 meters, a width of 2 meters, and a height of 0.25s meters when folded.

The design consists of a simple stand system that is initially folded for easy transport. The structure opens up into a stand and is anchored by hinges and gravity. The stand is specifically made into an angular tapering shape to help stabilize the stand and ensure better weight distribution.

The stand is anchored by a sharp object that is stabbed into the ground. The sharp object is unfolded by a hinge system that will be locked into a specific position and angle to ensure each stand is standardized. To keep the system simple and easily transportable, to keep the stand upright, the system utilizes hinge tension and gravity. Therefore, the hinges are made out of extremely strong and load-bearing materials such as steel.

To help unfold the entire structure, the bottom of the structure includes hinges that are similarly locked at an angle.

To help stabilize the structure, it is constructed out of strong and load-bearing material like steel. Due to this fact, the structure will require heavy-duty machinery to set up.

Above is an example of how the structure is meant to support the air domes. The structure will surround the field (exemplified by the blue rectangle), and an air dome will be blown.

With the structure, the air dome will be much more secure from environmental threats. The additional framework will also allow the air dome to be constructed higher and bigger.