The Design and Construction of the Millennium Dome

The idea of covering the whole site for the millennium exhibition to provide a protected environment followed the first scheme for housing it in a number of large buildings. This paper describes the engineering design and construction of the roof now known as the Millennium Dome. The design started with the engineering decisions that led to the fabric and cable structure. This concept was then developed into the final form of a spherical dome supported by 12 masts, and the cables were arranged to eliminate dams in the su~ace that could possibly initiate ponding. The construction details were developed to accept the cable movements and to assist with the assembly process, and special equipment was planned for lifing the net. The selection of PTFE-coated glass-fibre cloth is described, along with the method of developing the cutting patterns and the attachment details.

W.I. Liddell and P.W. Miller