Monday, November 29, 2010

Pantheon Dome, a concentric waffle pattern made of concrete


The pantheon was now only two blocks away and we only got lost twice finding it. But there it was, with guess what in front of it? A fountain!

The graceful dome is concrete, cast into a concentric waffle pattern which made it lighter. It is 150 feet high. This is the first time this architectural design was used to build a dome of this type, if I remember my humanities teaching correctly. It is nearly 2000 years old but appears modern. The top is open, which allows the rain to drift in and make the reds and yellows of the beautiful marble floor below come to life. The floor is complete with a drain in the center to allow any excess rain to drain away. What a marvelous engineering feat! And this building looks much newer, though most of the interior is original.

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