Largest self-supporting dome igloo-world record set
by APEGNB
[April
19] GRAND FALLS, NB--The Northwestern Branch of the Association
of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick
(APEGNB)
have officially established a new world record for the largest
self-supporting dome.
Photo: This ice igloo, which was built for
the second annual Association of Professional Engineers and
Geoscientists of New Brunswick Igloo Building Competition
held Feb. 15-17, measured 7.9 metres in diameter and 4.2 metres
high. (enlarge
photo)
The ice igloo, which was built for the second
annual APEGNB Igloo
Building Competition in Grand Falls, NB (February
15 to 17, 2008) measured 7.9 m (25 ft 9 in) in diameter and
4.2 m (13 ft 8 in) high.
The previous world record was held by Hydro Quebec.
Their 2005 igloo had an internal diameter of 7.36 m (24 ft
2 in) and an internal height of 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in).
Event organizer Eric Ouellette, P.Eng., says
the igloo took 70 volunteers, 2000 blocks of ice and 50 hours
to build. “It required a lot of planning and hard work to
build a safe and solid structure that ultimately accommodated
more than 200 people at one time,” he says. “The igloo was
so strong that it stood intact for 59 days until a warm stretch
of weather brought it down on April 8.”
In addition to hosting the world record
attempt, the 2008 APEGNB
Igloo Building Competition had 10 teams of igloo builders
who competed for the coveted APEGNB igloo trophy. The teams
spent the weekend of February 15th building their own igloo
using only traditional and environmentally friendly tools
like snow spades and saws.
Restigouche Construction from Saint-André took
home the gold for their whimsical igloo that looked like a
seal. The silver medal went to the Falls Construction Team
and SNC-Snam received the Bronze medal.
The criteria defines a world record igloo as
a structure that:
1. Is constructed entirely and solely of blocks
of ice (note that this means the structure must be built from
the ground up, and may not be carved out of a larger mound
of ice or snow, for example).
2. Is broadly circular in shape.
3. Has a roof consisting of a dome that is completely
self-supporting (thus it must be completely unsupported from
either the inside or outside).
4. Has an arched doorway.
Money raised during the 2008
APEGNB Igloo Building Competition was used to fund
three engineering scholarships for New Brunswick high school
students and provide a donation to Habitat for Humanity’s
upcoming projects.
