David H. Geiger (1935 – October 3, 1989) was an American engineer who invented the air-supported fabric roof system that at the time of his death was in use at almost half the domed stadiums in the world. Geiger was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received a bachelor's degree from

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

, master's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and PhD in engineering from Columbia University. While an adjunct professor at Columbia University with a part-time engineering practice, Geiger designed the enclosure for the United States pavilion at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. He had been tapped after the architecture firm Davis-Brody won the design contest for the building. Davis Brody's winning design was a 30-story high air filled "pumpkin" atop the pavilion and they needed an engineer with the expertise to implement it. Geiger was designing the US Pavilion to be capable of withstanding Japan's earthquakes and typhoons when Congress approved only half of the expected budget. To accommodate this severely reduced budget, he drastically cut the proposed height and used a low profile cable-restrained air-supported roof of his own invention, employing a super-elliptical perimeter compression ring and diagonally-run pattern of cables which prevented fabric sag around the edges. Geiger's fabric air-supported roof invention was significantly cheaper than the largest fixed dome structure of the day: the Astrodome. After Osaka, Horst Berger joined Geiger's practice which became Geiger Berger Associates. Around the U.S. in the 1970s and early 1980s, Geiger Berger built eight stadia with air-supported roofs. They also went on to produce pioneering designs for a series of low-cost long-span cable, tensile membrane structures including the first tensegrity type dome for the Olympic Gymnastics Venue, Seoul, Korea (which had been inspired by the work of

R. 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 ...

), first translucent insulated fabric roof at MNP Community & Sport Centre (originally the Lindsay Park Sports Centre), Calgary, Alberta, Canada, first “permanent” low profile air-supported fabric roof to cover a stadium at the Pontiac Silverdome in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

. The partnership with Berger dissolved in 1983 and Geiger formed Geiger Associates, which was acquired by KKBNA in 1986. In 1988, Geiger in partnership with former Principals and colleagues from Geiger Associates went on to found Geiger Engineers. Geiger died in 1989 while traveling in Seoul where he had designed three venues for the 1988 Olympics.

Notable domes

* Pontiac Silverdome,

(1975) * DakotaDome, Vermillion, South Dakota (1979) * Stephen C. O'Connell Center (1980) *

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

(1982) * BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1983) * MNP Community & Sport Centre (formerly Talisman Centre and originally Lindsay Park Sports Centre), Calgary, Alberta (1983) *

RCA Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons (1984– 2007). It was completed at a cost of $77.5 million, as part of the Indiana Convention Ce ...

, Indianapolis, Indiana (1984) * Tokyo Dome, Tokyo (1988) *

Redbird Arena CEFCU Arena, formerly known as Redbird Arena, is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose arena located in Normal, Illinois, on the campus of Illinois State University. Built in 1989, the building is notable for its use of a Teflon-coated roof that gives off ...

(1988) *

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

venues in Seoul, Korea ** Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium **

Olympic Fencing Gymnasium SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium () is an indoor sporting arena located at the Olympic Park in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The arena was built from September 1984 to April 1986. History It was known as the Olympic Fencing Gymnasi ...

Olympic Gymnastics Arena The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000. It was constructed between 31 Aug ...

* Tropicana Field (1989)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, David H. 1935 births 1989 deaths Drexel University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Structural engineers People from Philadelphia