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10 Eye-Catching Examples of Spherical Architecture

by Rick Anderson

According to historian Giorgio Vasari, in the 14th century, Pope Benedict XI requested sample works from artists around Italy to see who was worthy of creating paintings for Saint Peter’s Basilica. When the pope's attendant visited the famed painter and architect Giotto, he simply painted a perfect red circle—freehand—and was subsequently awarded the honor. A sphere, the circle’s three-dimensional cousin, holds the same appeal in architecture. At once futuristic and timeless, a perfectly round building is a feat of engineering that instantly creates a sense of allure, perhaps because of its resemblance to the shape of our own planet. Architects have created variations of spherical structures around the world, some with faceted exteriors, others with slick façades, but each becoming an icon all its own by virtue of its sublime geometry. Here, AD rounds up ten of the most enigmatic spherical buildings around the world, from Buckminster Fuller’s Biosphère to Walt Disney World’s Spaceship Earth.

Perisphere (Queens, New York)

One of the most recognizable symbols of the 1939 World’s Fair, the Perisphere in Queens, New York, housed an exhibition called "Democracity" depicting urban life in the future. Designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. André Fouilhoux, the alluring structure was dismantled to use as raw materials in World War II.

Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Spaceship Earth (Orlando, Florida)

The most iconic structure of Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Spaceship Earth is a geodesic dome designed by Wallace Floyd Design Group in collaboration with science fiction author Ray Bradbury. The aluminum-clad structure famously contains a ride that takes guests through a virtual time machine of humanity.

MSG Sphere (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Designed to fit more than 18,000 seats, MSG Sphere Las Vegas is a new arena set to open in that city by 2020. A collaboration between the Madison Square Garden Company and the architects at Populous, the bubble-like venue will also have a sister structure in London.

Tianjin Binhai Library (Tianjin, China)

The work of Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the Tianjin Binhai Library in northeast China features an illuminated sphere at its center. From that focal point, wavelike rows of books emanate outward in a visually pleasing curvilinear design.

Amazon Spheres (Seattle, Washington)

Intended as mostly private workspaces for its employees, the Spheres at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters feature a jungle-like interior filled with lush greenery. The glass structures are accessible to the public through an exhibit space at the ground floor, retail spaces, or on the company’s guided office tours.

Biosphère (Montreal, Canada)

Located in Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Biosphère is an environmental museum inside a geodesic structure designed by architect Buckminster Fuller. Originally built as a pavilion for the 1967 World’s Fair Expo 67, the building featured clear acrylic cells that filled in its steel frame, but those were destroyed in a 1976 fire.

Ericsson Globe (Stockholm, Sweden)

The largest hemispherical structure on earth, the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden is an arena and event space designed by Svante Berg and Lars Vretblad. In addition to housing concerts and sporting events, the globular building acts as the sun in the Sweden Solar System, the world’s largest permanent scale model of our closest celestial bodies.

Nagoya City Science Museum (Nagoya, Japan)

Located in the city for which it's named in Japan, the Nagoya City Science Museum features a spherical planetarium known as Brother Earth. Opened in March 2011, the solar-powered structure is the largest planetarium in the world.

La Géode (Paris, France)

Opened in 1985, La Géode is a globe-shaped cinema designed by architect Adrien Fainsilber and engineer Gérard Chamayou. Located in Paris’s Parc de la Villette, the mirrored stainless-steel building houses a 400-seat IMAX theater.

Sphaera 2000 (Ketzelsdorf, Austria)

in 1971, artist Edwin Lipburger built his spherical home, Sphaera 2000, in his village of Ketzelsdorf, Austria. After a dispute with local authorities over lack of permits, he moved the structure to Vienna and declared the site his own sovereign nation, the Republic of Kugelmugel. After failing to pay taxes, he was subsequently arrested and later pardoned by the president, and his home now stands as a tourist attraction.

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