The Dome of Discovery was a tempory building built by architect Ralph Tubbs as part of the festival of Britain which took place on London's south bank in 1951. The dome was made from steel and concrete mainly and was a huge structure. The dome housed many of the attractions at the festival and became an icon for architects and engineers growing up at the time. The building stood next to a metal spike, 300ft high called the Skylon which was equally iconic, but served no purpose other then to hold an anemometer at the top of it.
The Dome of Discovery, the most dramatic pavilion on the 1951 Festival of Britain's South Bank Exhibition site, was the largest dome in the world at the time and a remarkable technological achievement.
Powell and Moya in the case of the Skylon and, for the dome, Ralph Tubbs.
One of the earliest challenges was to design a structure for the dome which could keep the the total number of parts to the minimum and with members that could be prefabricated, transported to site and erected with the greatest possible ease, speed and efficiency.
Now the dome is closed, the spate of bad news that hung over it like a thick smog has lifted.
The incoming Conservative government smashed the Skylon to pieces and bulldozed the Dome of Discovery, both icons that would now be loved and revered landmarks.
If some of the dome land is now sold well, the dome and its park can remain a public place, with no need to sell it, though it might be rented.
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