{"id":110429,"date":"2025-08-31T20:43:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T20:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110429\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T20:43:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T20:43:19","slug":"dome-in-yellowknifes-old-town-hopes-to-land-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110429\/","title":{"rendered":"Dome in Yellowknife\u2019s Old Town hopes to land world record"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Yellowknife business is hoping to be recognized for having the world\u2019s first geodesic dome made of recycled bicycle wheels and 2\u00d74 triangular frames. <\/p>\n

Matthew Grogono, an artist and co-founder of Old Town Glassworks and the owner of Old Town Bikeworks, said the dome incorporates around 800 bicycle wheels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unique, aesthetically pleasing, acoustically very satisfactory \u2026 and all around is quite an innovative structure,\u201d Grogono said.<\/p>\n

\"MatthewMatthew Grogono repairing a bike as part of a workshop in 2025. Serra Hamilton\/Cabin Radio<\/p>\n

Located at the back of Old Town Glassworks, the giant dome is protected on the outside by a white cover. Inside, it\u2019s a cozy canopy of circular rims, spokes and wooden beams.<\/p>\n

Grogono said he first made three domes like this in 2000 for the city\u2019s now-defunct Caribou Carnival.<\/p>\n

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Eleven years later, he said he found those domes in storage and put one in his backyard for a bicycle repair facility. He continued developing the project over the years with help from Philippe LeBlond and Wade Carpenter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now in its current stage where I would say it\u2019s stabilized and come to a point where I\u2019m happy with it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Gronogo has named his dome the Littlewood Geodesic Dome after a business in Alberta that sold dome skins to the Caribou Carnival.<\/p>\n

Grogono said he is aware of only one other dome made from recycled bicycle wheels in the world: LeBlond\u2019s dome, located in Whitehorse<\/a>. That dome does not have wood framing.<\/p>\n

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\"\"The exterior of the geodesic dome. Photo: Old Town Glassworks<\/p>\n

Grogono has applied to Guinness World Records for recognition of the dome in Yellowknife, which he expects will be a long process.<\/p>\n

Beyond possibly holding a world record, he said the structure is an example of the \u201ccommunity ingenuity, sustainable reuse and the creative spirit that thrives here in Yellowknife.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also hopes it will show people they can make emergency shelters from recycled bicycle wheels. He noted that scores of bicycles have been discarded in China<\/a> following the country\u2019s bike-sharing boom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf everyone starts driving more and more cars, we might have an acceleration in erratic weather patterns, and we might have more extreme weather situations. So we might need more emergency shelter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A smaller dome made from bicycle wheels, which was a joint project between Old Town Bikeworks and the YK1 school district<\/a>, is on display in front of the business. <\/p>\n

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