Christina Ondrus

Cosmodesic Dome

The Cosmodesic Dome imagines the dark-sky as architecture–
merging geodesic dome, astronomical star chart and pinhole camera
to simulate celestial observation without light pollution.

What if the future was dark–a wild future under a free, unfettered night sky awash in stars? This untamed night sky is our ancient inheritance, experienced for millenia by our planetary ancestors, both human and more than human. The Cosmodesic Dome offers a literal and poetic imagining of the reciprocity between sky and being. Merging the architectural form of a geodesic dome with the precision of a celestial planisphere sky chart, the 30-50 foot aluminum dome is perforated with a laser cut plot of the night sky. In a sculptural twist of day for night, the perforations create a pinhole camera that projects a live sunlit view of the nighttime stars under the dome. The resultant space is a micro refuge for experiencing the power of dark-skies. Upon entering the pavilion and gazing up, the dome of the starlit sky will be illuminated externally by our closest star, the sun. Looking groundward, the floor will dance in projected starlight, creating an overall sensation of being enveloped in the cosmos.

The simplicity of the dome is as clear as its message–darkness matters. Skyglow is reported to affect 80% of the global population and is accelerating by an estimated 9.6% each year since 2011. Light pollution is more than an aesthetic problem that diminishes our view of the stars, light pollution disrupts wildlife patterns, circadian rhythms, and wastes energy, which in turn increases carbon emissions. This project creates a direct experience that asks what is lost as dark-skies are obscured? 

Life on Earth evolved over millennia illuminated solely by sun, moon and starlight. Night and darkness are our primordial rights. Rapid industrialization and artificial light now overpower the environment. Many have never witnessed the wonder of a true dark sky, where thousands of stars and the Milky Way are visible. The Cosmodesic Dome offers a glimpse of this larger reality that is attainable through societal change.