If one developers’s plans come to fruition, Westwood residents may never have to worry about the snow again.
Anaheim based innovators Sheild/Geometry has announced plans to seek approval for an 8.4 million dollar project that would completely enclose the city of Westwood in an environmentally controlled dome.
The company plans on using the town as a proving ground for technology that might one day enclose major U.S. cities, especially those prone to weather related disasters such as tornados and hurricanes, with a clear protective dome.
While the technology is still in its infancy, the company says that building a dome to protect a town the size of Westwood is far easier than most people imagine.
According to company spokeswoman Melinda Piersall, “quantum leaps have been made with regards to engineering and materials needed to enclose a community like Westwood.”
“Westwood is an ideal location for these tests because the area’s warm summers and cold snowy winters give us a perfect test base for our future products.”
According to company literature, the design is for an oblate ellipsoidal dome 4 miles in diameter, 600 feet tall at the center and with a surface area of 1.3 million square feet.
Construction will utilize some 90,000 clear Texlon ETFE panels, held up by air pressure. The slight 0.03 difference between exterior and interior pressures is generated by sixteen 100-horsepower fans.
Sheild/Geometry’s press release states that the company is just beginning the environmental impact review and rigorous permitting process.
To find out more about the Walker Lake Dome Project click here to visit the Sheild/Geometry website.
