History of modern period domes

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Domes
Symbolism
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Early and simple domes Persian domes Roman and Byzantine domes Medieval Arabic and Western European domes Italian Renaissance domes South Asian domes Early modern period domes Modern period domes
Styles
Cloister vault Geodesic dome Onion dome
Elements
Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery
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Domes built in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries benefited from more efficient techniques for producing iron and steel as well as advances in structural analysis.

Metal-framed domes of the 19th century often imitated earlier masonry dome designs in a variety of styles, especially in church architecture, but were also used to create glass domes over shopping arcades and hothouses, domes over locomotive sheds and exhibition halls, and domes larger than any others in the world. The variety of domed buildings, such as parliaments and capitol buildings, gasometers, observatories, libraries, and churches, were enabled by the use of reinforced concrete ribs, lightweight papier-mâché, and triangulated framing.

In the 20th century, planetarium domes spurred the invention by Walther Bauersfeld of both thin shells of reinforced concrete and geodesic domes. The use of steel, computers, and finite element analysis enabled yet larger spans. Tension membrane structure became popular for domed sports stadiums, which also innovated with rigid retractable domed roofs.