Publish Date:
08/15/2013
For a Route 66 Icon,
the Future Looks Golden
Environmental engineering firm TEEMCO will restore and renovate the Gold
Dome building in Oklahoma City to be its corporate headquarters.
For travelers seeking a slice of
Americana, it’s hard to top a road
trip on the legendary Route 66.
Though many segments of the
2,448-mile road that connected
Chicago and Los Angeles have
been rerouted or replaced by
the Interstate Highway System,
devotees can still re-create the
drive, with the occasional detour,
and find its notable landmarks.
I n O k l a h o m a C i t y, o n e i c o n i c
structure will soon resume its
place as a literal bright spot along
the former route. In early June,
environmental engineering firm
TEEMCO purchased the 1958 Gold
Dome building, which had faced
repeated threats of demolition in
recent years. In an Aug. 12 press
release, TEEMCO announced
its 65 staff members will move
from its current headquarters in
nearby Edmond, Okla., to the
36,000-square-foot building, which
will be renamed the TEEMCO Gold
Dome. Prior to move in, the firm will
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TEEMCO Press Portfolio
restore and renovate the geodesic
structure to accommodate 150
occupants, in anticipation of the
firm’s growth.
CEO Greg Lorson says that
t h e b u i l d i n g — w h i c h T E E M C O ’s
press release states was the
fifth commercial geodesic dome
built in the world—represents
the firm’s objective to protect the
environment. Beyond its aesthetics
and histor y, the structure’s form
and materials—concrete, wood,
stone, and metal—represent the
intersection of natural and manmade
elements, he says. TEEMCO plans
to add interior geological, water,
and technological elements that
are functional and artistic. “For
us, the entire building, including
our presence in the building as
an environmental engineering
firm, will become a statement of
how man can positively impact his
environment,” Lorson says.
The building actually uses a double
dome construction in which the
exterior spherical dome is offset
from an interior elliptical dome by 10
to 15 feet, Lorson estimates. The
exterior dome, the first to feature
a gold-anodized aluminum roof,
stands atop a 10-foot-tall poured
concrete support wall and spans
145 feet in diameter. It comprises
625 diamond-shaped aluminum
panels, ranging in size from 7.5 feet
to 11.5 feet and weighing between
60 and 70 pounds, according to
th e former Gold Dome building’s
website. Over time, much of the
panels’ gilded finish has weathered
away, while the aluminum struts
have oxidized to white from their
original black, and later gold, color.
The building actually uses a double
dome construction in which the
exterior spherical dome is offset
from an interior elliptical dome by 10
to 15 feet, Lorson estimates. The
exterior dome, the first to feature
a gold-anodized aluminum roof,