Enter the Dome...

The tropical display dome is located in the mt coot-tha botanical gardens in Brisbane. It was built in the late 50's and while being an independently functioning microcosm, it looks pretty cool too...

I like the space-age feeling of the structure, the architectural quality of the plants and the hazy lighting.

Imagine a dewy, other-worldly girl languidly moving through the space, like an exotic flower unfurling her petals...

Entering the Dome and looking upwards
the white wall is the curved boundary of the
central pool and is about 2.5m high



Moving up the ramp to the left of the entrance
it begins to be possible to see the water in the central
pool about a quarter of the way around the dome


Looking upward


Looking back down the ramp


Approaching the top
the presence of an anonymous visitor helps put the scale
of the place into perspective. it actually seems bigger in the pictures.
i would guess the path is about 1.5 - 2m wide.



The view from the top
note ugly pool-fencing.
there is a gate so it may be possible to have the model
stand on the edge of the pool with the water behind her.
unfortunately the vista behind at this point isn't very interesting...



View across the pool
trying to pretend the fence isn't there...
i like the reflections of the trusses on the surface of the water.
the air inside is so still that the water is like a mirror
(a sort of radioactive-green mirror...)


Stairs near the entrance
i quite like the stairs and the stepped concrete planter boxes.
i can imagine the girl slouched into the corner with
one leg dangling down...



View from the top of the stairs
at the very beginning of the clip, you can see the top of
a wall that connects to the wall around the pool.
the model may be able to walk across this wall to stand
on the edge of the water without damaging any plants.
at the end of the video, you can see the path coming around.

this is as close as you can get to the actual dome on the inside
(without climbing over the barriers...)