Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome is featured in a story in Connected World, a specialty digital publisher on sustainability and other topics. The article states that domes—whether made of brick and mortar, wood or contemporary materials—have been a staple of architecture for thousands of years, particularly as a cover for churches and stadiums. It then focuses on Northern's, which was completed in 1991.
"Currently, the Superior Dome, a domed stadium on the campus of NMU (Northern Michigan University) in Marquette, Michigan, is the largest wooden dome at 143 feet tall, a diameter of 536 feet, covering an area of 5.1 acres with a volume of 16,135,907 cubic feet," the description reads. "The structure is a geodesic dome constructed with 781 Douglas fir beams and 108.5 miles of fir decking, designed to support snow up to 60-lbs. per sq.ft. and withstand 80-mile-per-hour winds. It has a permanent seating capacity of 8,000 people, though the building can hold as many as 16,000 people."
The Superior Dome is now home to the NMU football, women's lacrosse and women's track and field teams, along with the Wildcat Marching Band. It has hosted a variety of other campus and community events over the years.
Read the full Connected World story, which also highlights a domed educational building in Sweden, here.