Calico Dome is an iconic landmark of Ahmedabad’s Relief Road. This architecturally-unique plywood structure near the Radio Market is very much in keeping with the trend of using everyday materials to create buildings.
Calico Dome gets its name from the Calico Mills set up by the Sarabhai family in the 1880s. The Sarabhai family became known for their excellence in many pursuits of arts and science. The brother and sister architect duo of Gautam Sarabhai and Gira Sarabhai took up the work of building this structure. They were inspired by Richard Buckminster Fuller who developed many architectural designs and popularised the geodesic dome where structurally-rigid triangular elements distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for their size. The Calico Dome is based on the concept of the geodesic dome, hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron that appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight.
This dome follows the design style of 20th century Ahmedabad where simple materials were used and experimented with to create great design. This dome was made using plywood. The steps here are flanked by a pair of embossed steel lotuses, similar to the motifs seen in some of the historical buildings of Ahmedabad.
Calico Dome was built in 1962. It later collapsed in 2001 earthquake. However, the restoration was planned by AMC. According to the plan, the restoration would be in two phases. The foundation of initial phase took place in January 2013 and was finished in fifteen months.
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