Build geodesic domes by subdividing Platonic solids onto a sphere. Explore frequencies from 1v to 5v, toggle between icosahedron, octahedron and tetrahedron bases, and see the mathematics of spherical tessellation in 3D.
A geodesic dome subdivides a polyhedron face into smaller triangles projected onto a sphere. Higher frequencies (2v, 3v, 4v, 5v) produce more triangles and a rounder approximation. The formula F = f₀ × n² gives the face count.
Select a base polyhedron and subdivision frequency. Toggle wireframe/solid/both rendering. Switch between full sphere and dome (half-sphere) modes. The stats panel shows face, vertex and edge counts.
Buckminster Fuller patented the geodesic dome in 1954. The fullerene molecule (C60) — also called a 'buckyball' — has the same geometry as a frequency-1 truncated icosahedron.