Montreal Biosphere

History of the American Pavilion

Built on the Terre des Hommes for the Universal Exhibition of 1967, the American Pavilion was intended to be one of the most spectacular of the event. Mission accomplished since the American Pavilion received more than 11 million visitors. At the time the geodesic dome was crossed by the train that crossed the exposition’s site

The project was designed by the inventor and architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, a real instigator and promoter of the geodesic structure dome in contemporary architecture. The renowned architect was looking for the lightest structure for a maximum volume. The height of the bubble is equivalent to a 20-storey building.

Consisting of a 3-dimensional wire mesh of triangle, the structure was covered with a set of acrylic panels, the same material that caused the loss of the original Pavilion. In 1976, a fire destroyed the outer envelope in less than an hour.

History of the Biosphere

Closed for many years after the fire by the city of Montreal, it was in 1990 that the Canadian government releases $ 17 million for the site redevelopment of the former American Pavilion. The new Environment Canada’s Biosphere finally open in 1995 after a reconstruction of the inside buildings after an architectural competition.

In 1998, new misfortune for the dome, an ice storm hit the south of Quebec Province and damage the Biosphere. The restoration lasted almost 5 months.