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All Canada Québec Montreal Biosphere of Montreal

Biosphere of Montreal

Designed by Buckminster Fuller, this relic of the 67 Expo survived fire and ice.

Montreal, Québec

Added By
Michelle Enemark
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  Michelle Enemark
Waterfall at the entrance   trinitycoyle e06da18c / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  newexperienceaddict / Atlas Obscura User
Glass and geodesic dome textures  
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  ajbelongia / Atlas Obscura User
Light on the structure   Michelle Enemark
  Michelle Enemark
Biosphere on the horizon   Michelle Enemark
The biosphere now envelops an Environmental Museum   Michelle Enemark
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About

As their contribution to Montreal's 1967 World's Fair Exposition the United States government commissioned architect, scientist, and well-known genius Buckminster Fuller to design a pavilion for the Canadian exhibition.

Fuller, who popularized, perfected, and named the Geodesic Dome, designed a 20-story-tall dome in the fashion of his hallmark design to represent the USA. Done in a full two-thirds sphere, rather than the typical half dome, the massive steel structure was seen and admired by over 5.6 million visitors who went into the dome to see exhibits from actual spaceships from the Apollo missions to American works of art.  The dome's steel skeleton was fitted with a clear acrylic covering, making the structure look like a massive, glittering jewel.

When the fair ended, the pavilion remained. The dome was originally meant to be bolted together, allowing the pavilion to be dismantled when the fair was finished, but budget constraints led workers to weld the dome together instead, securing the dome's place in Montreal's landscape.

The sphere would remain open to the public for nine years until an accident involving some routine welding maintenance caused the acrylic covering to catch fire, engulfing the entire sphere in a spectacular ball of fire with flames that burned for 30 minutes. When the flames subsided, there was no sign of the acrylic walls to be seen, but the steel trusses of the dome remained. After the fire, the dome was closed to the public for over fifteen years.

In June 1995, the dome rose from the ashes and was re-purposed as a museum devoted to environmental action. The reopened dome sported no acrylics on its exterior this time around, due to the costs of keeping the gigantic dome warm and cool, and probably to prevent future accidents. However, the dome was hit with another disaster in 1998 when an ice storm forced the biosphere to close for five months. 

The biosphere reopened, and still houses the museum. Through the fire and Canadian ice storms, the Biosphere of Montreal remains, a sturdy and beautiful example of "Bucky's" geodesic architecture.

Related Tags

Buckminster Fuller Domes Spheres Architecture Statues Disaster Areas Architectural Oddities World's Fair

Know Before You Go

By metro: Jean-Drapeau station (Yellow Line); two-minute walk.

Community Contributors

Added By

michelle

Edited By

Max Cortesi, ajbelongia, newexperienceaddict, amcagg...

  • Max Cortesi
  • ajbelongia
  • newexperienceaddict
  • amcagg
  • dpagonis
  • trinitycoyle e06da18c
  • FannyVDK
  • Zadigmathafack
  • maxsmaller

Published

July 12, 2016

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  • http://www.ec.gc.ca/biosphere/default.asp?lang=En
Biosphere of Montreal
160, Chemin Tour-de-l'Isle
Île Sainte-Hélène
Montreal, Québec, H3C 0K7
Canada
45.518988, -73.534194
Visit Website
Get Directions

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montreal

Montreal

Québec

Places 39
Stories 8

Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montreal

Montreal

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