We went out to the
Biosphere 2 facility (in Oracle, AZ, north of Tucson) last Friday, and we did the tour. (Holiday weekend, so the tour was self-guiding, which is ideal when you have a six-year-old who wants to go at his own pace).
The Biosphere 2 was originally designed to be a fully closed system. If you've seen photos of it, you'll notice that the main structure looks like a giant greenhouse. It was realized that in such a closed system, as sunlight heated the greenhouse during the day, the air inside would expand, with potentially enough pressure to break the glass panels.
To handle this, two "lungs" were built. Tunnels from the main structure went underground to two large (maybe 200' in diameter), round chambers. These chambers have a concrete floor and concrete walls. The ceiling is a synthetic rubber structure, with a 16 ton aluminum disc weight in the middle. As the air pressure inside the main structure increases, air is forced into the "lungs" and the ceiling rises. In the evening, when the air pressure is reduced, the weight of the aluminum disc forces air back into the main room. (I took a couple of pictures but my kid is in them, so I won't post them.)
The reason I mention this is because that chamber sounds REALLY amazing. When the docent was speaking, you could hear her voice circling around the room. I used my iPhone to take an impulse response (clap your hands, say yeah), and once I figure out how to get that recording off the phone I'll post it.
(Everyone should read the history of the facility and the people who started it. It's fascinating. And very, very weird.)
-a
by far one of the more cooler audio things I have heard. If I had gear would sample it. This is part of George bush airport in Houston. In different areas they have these domes which are different then the rest of the ceilings in the terminals. They were put in, in conjunction with nasa. And give a complete different sound then the rest of the airport Here is an example
