The Dome over Manhattan was a 1959 proposal for a 3-kilometer-diameter

geodesic In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connection. ...

domed city A domed city is a hypothetical structure that encloses a large urban area under a single roof. In most descriptions, the dome is airtight and pressurized, creating a habitat that can be controlled for air temperature, composition and quality, ty ...

covering

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

by the architects

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

and Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics,inc. Fuller expanded on his earlier work designing geodesic domes and advocating for decreased use of resources, and made a variety of claims to support the "Dome Over Manhattan," such as that it would reduce energy usage in NYC to 20% of what it was in 1960. The concept inspired the science fiction writer

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of '' Analog Science Fiction and F ...

's story "Manhattan Dome" in the September 1968 issue of ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'', subsequently expanded into the 1976 novella '' City of Darkness''. A Fuller dome over Manhattan also appeared in John Brunner's 1968 novel ''

Stand on Zanzibar ''Stand on Zanzibar'' is a dystopian New Wave science fiction novel written by John Brunner and first published in 1968. The book won a Hugo Award for Best Novel at the 27th World Science Fiction Convention in 1969, as well as the 1969 BSFA Awar ...

''.

References

{{reflist 1960 architecture 1960 in New York City 1960s in Manhattan Buckminster Fuller Geodesic domes Midtown Manhattan Unbuilt buildings and structures in New York City