The inspiration for this project came during a visit to the interactive Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence, where the connection between art and science in Leonardo's work came alive. To honor this spirit of innovation, I decided to recreate a 3D model of his famous dome construction using modern technology.

This 3D-printed element is a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci's ingenious construction, as he outlined in the Codex Atlanticus. In the Codex Atlanticus (pp. 889-890), he sketches the image of a self-supporting dome, structured and held together solely by its weight and the effect of gravity. Leonardo designed this structure without the need for internal support to cover large areas. With the progressive addition of further interwoven parts, the dome can achieve enormous, if not infinite, dimensions.

The discovery of the Leonardo dome is credited to Rinus Roelofs, a talented Dutch mathematician and sculptor, who in 1989, while studying the problem of how to divide a sphere into solid parts, concluded that this could be done with wooden elements of equal size, equipped with notches, which interlocked to form the shape of a dome. However, upon examining the Codex Atlanticus, the scholar discovered that this dome had already been invented and designed by Leonardo centuries ago!

The elements were printed on an Ender 6 3D printer, with a layer height of 0.2mm, a 0.4mm nozzle, and only 5% infill to ensure lightness and stability. At least 24 of these elements are required to construct a complete dome. The elements are designed to be interwoven with each other, enhancing the strength and stability of the entire structure.

This project is a tribute to Leonardo's genius and his timelessness. It demonstrates how ancient constructions can be reinterpreted and brought to life with modern technology. I invite everyone to build Leonardo's fascinating dome and thereby bridge the gap between the past and the future.