The School of Architecture and Planning entered into a collaboration with The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on a short-term exhibition entitled "Reconstructing 'Weatherbreak' in an Age of Extreme Weather." This collaboration, led by museum curator Abeer Saha and assistant professor Tonya Ohnstad, will reconstruct the “Weatherbreak” – the first large-span geodesic dome to be erected in North America.
The Dome is a 25 foot high, 49 foot wide spherical structure that has captured the imagination of architects and designers around the world since 1950. It remains relevant today because it speaks to the challenges of affordable and sustainable housing in an age of climate change and extreme weather. The dome will be assembled in public view by Catholic University Architecture students July 2023 in the National Museum of American History's Flag Hall.