A dome is a self-supporting structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere.
Every dome in the world which was the largest-diameter dome of its time is listed.
Notes:
Each structure is only described in detail once (the appearance closest to the top of the page), even if it appears on multiple lists. A link to the row where the structure is described in detail is provided. The dimension given is the inner diameter (also called inside diameter, or clear span). The thickness of the dome is not included. If the inner diameter of a dome is not available, a footnote follows the structure's name. If a dome has an elliptical rather than circular shape, the dome's shorter dimension (i.e. width) is used for ranking, and, contra convention, its dimensions are listed as width × length, rather than length × width. If the structure is part of a well-known complex of buildings, the name of the entire site is listed first, with the name of the dome structure listed in small text below. These lists exclude structures that are not self-supporting, such as The O2 in London which is in diameter but is supported by masts. The name of a structure used is the name it had when it was constructed or first opened. This is particularly relevant regarding stadiums.
Chronology of the largest dome List of dome structures that have been the largest dome in the world:
Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Notes References m ft 1250 BC1st century BC Treasury of Atreus Mycenae, Greece City-state of Mycenae Corbel dome 1st century BC19 BC Temple of Mercury Baiae, Italy Roman Empire First monumental dome Robert Mark, Paul Hutchinson: "On the Structure of the Roman Pantheon", Art Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 1 (1986), p.24 19 BCstart of 2nd century AD* Baths of AgrippaArco della Ciambella Rome, Italy Roman Empire First thermae in Rome with a domed central building Werner Heinz: "Römische Thermen. Badewesen und Badeluxus im römischen Reich", München 1983, , p.60-64 Start of 2nd century AD128* Baths of Trajan Rome, Italy Roman Empire Half dome 128–1436 Pantheon Rome, Italy Roman Empire Largest unreinforced solid concrete dome in the world. Archetype of Western dome construction. Werner Müller: "dtv Atlas Baukunst I. Allgemeiner Teil: Baugeschichte von Mesopotamien bis Byzanz", 14. Aufl., 2005, , p.253 1436–1871 Florence Cathedral Florence, Italy City-state of Florence Largest brick and mortar dome in the world. First double-dome structure of the Renaissance. Octagonal dome. Architect Filippo Brunelleschi. Figures vary. archINFORM gives a wide tambour, while gives a diameter of the cupola. Other estimates are as low as . 1871–1873 Royal Albert Hall London, United Kingdom Lucas Brothers Wrought iron and glazed (glass) elliptical dome. Architects Captain Francis Fowke and Henry Young Darracott Scott. 1873–1937* Rotunde Vienna, Austria Destroyed by a fire in 1937. Architect Baron Karl von Hasenauer. 1937–1955 Leipzig, Germany Dyckerhoff & Widmann Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Franz Dischinger. 1955–1957 Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, United States Thompson and Street Structural steel dome. Architect Odell Associates. 1957–1963 Belgrade Fair Hall 1 Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade Fair in Construction World's largest prestressed concrete dome 1963–1964 Assembly Hall Champaign, United States Felmley-Dickerson Co. Reinforced concrete dome. Architect Max Abramovitz. 1964–1975 Astrodome Houston, United States H.A. Lott, Inc. First domed stadium. First air-conditioned stadium. Structural steel dome (3,000 tons of structural steel). Architects Lloyd & Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson. 1975–1984 Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, United States Blount International Structural steel construction (18,000 tons of structural steel in entire structure). Architects Curtis and Davis Architects and Engineers, Edward 8. Silverstein and Associates, and Nolan, Norman and Nolan. 1984–1985* Istra dome Istra, Russia Steel construction (≈10,000 tons of steel and ≈363 tons of aluminum). Collapsed on 25 January 1985, later demolished. 2001–2013 Oita Stadium Ōita, Japan Takenaka Corporation, SATO BENEC, and Takayama Sogo Kogyo Retractable steel roof (12,500 tonnes of steel). Architects Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates, Takenaka Corporation, Satobenec, and Takayama Sogo Kogyo. since 2013 Singapore National Stadium Singapore Dragages Retractable roof. Height of dome: . Architect Arup Group.
By structural material
Lists of buildings that have been the largest dome built with a given structural material:
Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Notes References m ftStone 1250 BC150175 AD Treasury of Atreus (details earlier) 150175 AD2006 Western Thermae Jerash, Jordan Roman Empire One of the earliest voussoir domes with square ground plan since 2006 Global Vipassana Pagoda Mumbai, India The stone dome was completed in October 2006. The monument was officially inaugurated on February 8, 2009. Concrete 1st century BC1st century BC Stabiae ThermaeLaconicum Pompeii, Italy Roman Empire Cone vault (early form of a dome). Oldest known dome built with Roman concrete. 1st century BC19 BC Temple of Mercury (details earlier) since 128 Pantheon (details earlier)Masonry 2nd century150 Red Basilica Pergamon, Turkey Roman Empire Brick 150* Sanctuary of AsclepiusTemple of Asclepius Pergamon, Turkey Roman Empire Earliest monumental brick dome 563 Rotunda of Galerius Thessaloniki, Greece Roman Empire Radially laid bricks 563–1436 Hagia Sophia Istanbul, Turkey Byzantine Empire First pendentive dome in history, completed in 537, rebuilt in 563 after earthquake. Architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus since 1436 Florence Cathedral (details earlier)Clay hollowware Beginning of 3rd century216 Aquae Flavianae El Hamma District, Algeria Roman Empire Earthenware pipes put together 2166th–9th century* Baths of CaracallaCaldarium Rome, Italy Roman Empire Amphorae put together Erwin Heinle, Jörg Schlaich: "Kuppeln aller Zeiten, aller Kulturen", Stuttgart 1996, , p.27Wood 691–1781 Dome of the Rock Jerusalem Umayyad Empire 1781–1957 Saint Blaise Abbey Sankt Blasien, Germany Pierre Michel d'Ixnard Third-widest dome in Europe at the time of its construction Schnell Kunstführer: "St. Blasien/Schwarzwald", No. 555, Regensburg 2001, , p.7 1957–1977 Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, United States Montana State University Bozeman Second-largest dome in United States at the time of its construction 1977–1983 Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona, United States Northern Arizona University Geodesic dome 1983–1991 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, United States Merit Co. Geodesic dome since 1991 Superior Dome Marquette, United States State of Michigan/Northern Michigan University Geodesic domeCast iron 1811–1881 Bourse de commerce(previously the Halle aux blés) Paris, France First French Empire Engineer François Brunet. Architect François-Joseph Bélanger. since 1881 Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton, United Kingdom Converted from a horse stables to a hospital. Slate-covered iron frame. Architects John Carr and Robert Rippon Duke. E. P. Copp: "The Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton", Rheumatology, Vol. 43 (2004), p.385Wrought iron 1871–1873 Royal Albert Hall (details earlier) 1873–1937 Rotunde (details earlier)Steel 1902–1955 West Baden Springs Hotel West Baden, United States Lee Wiley Sinclair Steel and glass dome. Architect Harrison Albright. 1955–1964 Charlotte Coliseum (details earlier) 1964–1975 Harris County Domed Stadium (details earlier) 1975–1984 Louisiana Superdome (details earlier) 1984–1985 Istra dome (details earlier) 2001–2013 Oita Stadium (details earlier) since 2013 Singapore National Stadium (details earlier)Reinforced concrete 1913–1930 Centennial Hall Wrocław, Poland Architect Max Berg 1930–1957 Wholesale Market Leipzig (details earlier) 1957–1963 Palazzetto dello Sport Rome, Italy Built for the 1960 Summer Olympics. Consulting engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. 1963–1971 Assembly Hall (details earlier) 1971–1976 Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia, United States City of Norfolk Consulting engineer Pier Luigi Nervi 1976–2000* King County Stadium Seattle, United States King County Reinforced concrete dome. Demolished on 26 March 2000. Architects NBBJ, John Skilling, and Emil Praeger. Glazed since 2002 Desert Dome Omaha, United States Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Glazed geodesic dome. Holds the world's largest indoor desert.
By continent List of structures that have been the largest dome on their continent:
Europe
Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Notes Referencesmft 1250 BC1st century BC Treasury of Atreus (details earlier) 1st century BC19 BC Temple of Mercury (details earlier) 19 BC109 AD Baths of AgrippaArco della Ciambella (details earlier) 109–128 Baths of Trajan (details earlier) 128–1436 Pantheon (details earlier) 1436–1871 Florence Cathedral (details earlier) 1871–1873 Royal Albert Hall (details earlier) 1873–1937 Rotunde (details earlier) 1937–1957 Wholesale Market Leipzig (details earlier) 1957–1990 Belgrade Fair Hall 1 (details earlier) since 1990 () Borlänge, Sweden Originally an exposition hall with a few stores at ground level, became a three level mall. Architect .
North America
Held record Diameter Name Location Builder Notes References m ft 1864–1867 United States Capitol Washington, D.C., United States Architect Thomas Ustick Walter 1867–1902 Salt Lake Tabernacle Salt Lake City, United States Largely built without nails. Architect Henry Grow. "The Great Mormon Tabernacle at Salt Lake". Scientific American. 8 June 1867 1902–1955 West Baden Springs Hotel (details earlier) 1955–1963 Charlotte Coliseum (details earlier) 1963–1964 Assembly Hall (details earlier) 1964–1975 Harris County Domed Stadium (details earlier) 1975–2009 Louisiana Superdome (details earlier) since 2009 Cowboys Stadium Arlington, United States HKS, Inc. Diameter is estimated. Retractable structural steel roof (14,100 tons of structural steel).
South America Held record DiameterNameLocationBuilderNotesReferences m ft Palace of the Argentine National Congress Buenos Aires, Argentina Government of Argentina Bronze-plated dome. Architect Vittorio Meano. 1960 Palace of the Brazilian National Congress Brasília, Brazil Government of Brazil Architect Oscar Niemeyer
Asia Held record DiameterNameLocationBuilderNotesReferences m ft 2nd century150 Red Basilica (details earlier) 150–1312 Sanctuary of AsclepiusTemple of Asclepius (details earlier) 1312–1659 Dome of Soltaniyeh Soltaniyeh, Iran Persian architects were building double shell domes at the start of the 5th century, but the Dome of Soltaniyeh is the earliest such architecture extant, dating to 1312, over 100 years before Brunelleschi used the same technique to build the dome of Florence Cathedral. This makes the Dome of Soltaniyeh the earliest existing double shell dome. The Florence Cathedral's dome has octagonal supporting walls, like the Dome of Soltaniyeh. The Dome of Soltaniyeh is the third largest brick dome in the world (after Florence Cathedral and Hagia Sophia). Hagia Sophia is older than the Dome of Soltaniyeh, but the Hagia Sophia is a single shell brick dome. 1659–1937 Gol Gumbaz Bijapur, India Sultanate of Bijapur Mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah II (16271657) of the Sultanate of Bijapur Manfred Görgens: "Kleine Geschichte der indischen Kunst", DuMont, Köln 1986, , p.226 1937–1944 Phnom Penh Central Market Phnom Penh, Cambodia Reinforced concrete. Engineer Wladimir Kandaouroff. Architects Jean Desbois and Louis Chauchon. 1944–1960 Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre Novosibirsk, Russia Reinforced concrete 1960–2001 Araneta Coliseum Quezon City, Philippines J. Amado Araneta Also known as the Big Dome. Opened as the world's biggest indoor venue in 1960. Architect Dominador Lugtu. 2001–2013 Oita Stadium (details earlier) since 2013 Singapore National Stadium (details earlier)
Africa