WHY THE BARE BALLOON FAILS
Stress finds the weak spot
Rubber stretches until its thinnest point gives way. All the load sits on the membrane, and the failure starts wherever it is weakest.
US Patent Pending #64/152,491
Air-supported sports and multi-purpose domes, engineered for Canadian climate and year-round operation.
Effective Insulated envelope
Less than traditional dome
Site-specific wind & snow load engineering
Fire-retardant certified membrane – CAN/ULC-S109
The first air-supported building platform engineered to meet NECB 2025, using up to 60–75% less energy than conventional domes.
Predictive pressure control is one of ALDO DOMES’ most advanced innovation. It uses software to turn the dome into an actively monitored and controlled building.
Membrane Warranty – 20 years (prorated)
Installation Warranty – 2 years
HVAC Manufacturer Warranty – 10 years includes maintenance contract
Furnace warranty – 25 years (limited to replacement of the heat exchanger only)
The ALDO envelope is designed as a structural and thermal system rather than simply a membrane enclosure, with an engineered effective insulation target of R20+.
Pick a use, a footprint and a city. We compute clear height, membrane area, design snow load, the internal pressure needed to carry it, plant sizing — and what the insulated ALDO envelope saves you every year against a conventional R-3.2 dome.
Every project is confirmed by site-specific climate data, energy modelling.
Wind rating
160 km/h
Perimeter
Reinforced anchoring system designed for uplift
Harness
Steel cable net over the full membrane
Tensioning
Pre-tensioned to resist flutter
Blowers
Redundant + pressure systems
Monitoring
24/7 pressure & wind monitoring
Steeper geometry sheds snow before it builds up. A rise-to-span ratio above 33% means snow slides off instead of loading the roof, and an automatic storm mode raises internal pressure when snow falls.
Rise / span
> 33%
Support
Air-supported, pressure-controlled
Interior
Heated environment
Accumulation
Shed by geometry
Engineering
Site-specific per NBC
Climate
Storm mode: automatic pressure boost in snowfall
Cable
19 mm galvanized steel with PE-jacketed
Coating
External PE protective
Corners
Reinforced construction
Function
Load distribution + redundancy
Anchoring
Terminated into perimeter anchorage
Design life
Long-term reliability
Material
PVDF architectural membrane
Tensile
8,500 N / 5 cm bidirectional
UV coating
TiO₂ exterior self-cleaning topcoat
Fire
Fire-retardant certified CAN/ULC-S109
Weight
1.5 kg/m²
Class
Heavy-duty industrial
A high-performance double-membrane envelope with an effective insulation value of R20, using an advanced thermal separation system between inner and outer layers to prevent thermal bridging.
Effective R
R20
Insulation
100-150 mm CNC-cut fibreglass matt
Facing
Aluminium film, both sides
Thermal bridge
Advanced separation system
vs. double-bubble
4 × significantly higher efficiency
Liner
Suspended insulated
Envelope
High-efficiency R20 systems
HVAC efficiency
81%
Heating demand
Reduced annually
Air management
Efficient systems
Materials
Sustainable long-life structural
Energy use
Up to 60–75% less than a traditional dome
Cooling
Integrated AC
Control
Building Pressure, temp, humidity, CO₂ Concentration
Air quality
HEPA Indoor air quality + CO₂ monitoring
Ventilation
Demand-controlled fresh air (CO₂-based)
Automation
Predictive Building Management System
Redundancy
Blowers + emergency pressure-generator, auto-transfer
Egress
Multiple emergency exits
Lighting
Emergency lighting
Weather
Continuous monitoring
Power
Backup power systems
Pressure
Predictive automatic pressurization ahead of forecasted wind and snow
Remote
Alerts + diagnostics + monitoring
A side-by-side look at how ALDO’s engineering outperforms the industry standard across HVAC, automation, cable reinforcement, insulation, fabric and expansion.
Internal BMS with remote monitoring.
Manufacturer Warranty – 10 years includes maintenance contract
The corners of a traditional air-supported dome are its highest-stress zones under heavy wind and snow loads.
19 mm galvanized steel cable harness with reinforced corner construction at the highest-stress zones — improving load distribution, cable anchoring and uniform membrane tension for long-term durability.
DEMONSTRATION / BALLOON TEST
A cable harness spreads load evenly across the whole membrane, so no single spot is overstressed. The simplest way to see it: inflate two identical balloons, one bare and one inside a net. Run the test yourself.
Bare balloon. Every bit of pressure is carried by the rubber alone.
Same balloon inside a net. The net shares the load and stops the rubber from overstretching.
—
Run the test to compare.
WHY THE BARE BALLOON FAILS
Rubber stretches until its thinnest point gives way. All the load sits on the membrane, and the failure starts wherever it is weakest.
WHAT THE NET CHANGES
The net takes the tension and spreads it evenly. The membrane only spans the small gaps between cables, so it is never stretched to its limit.
FROM BALLOON TO DOME
On a dome, the 19 mm galvanized steel harness carries wind and snow load across the whole membrane and into the anchors, with reinforced corners where stress is highest.
Animated simulation of a physical demonstration of load sharing, not a structural test of a dome. Air domes operate at a few hundred pascals (well under 0.1 PSI), and their structural design is verified per site to CSA S367 and the National Building Code. Balloon test: unreinforced balloon burst at 2.84 PSI; reinforced balloon reached 6.70 PSI intact, when the test was stopped.
In a double-membrane dome, the seam between inner and outer layers is the weak point. A direct weld forms a cold bridge — visible in thermal imaging — that drives heat loss, higher energy cost and condensation risk regardless of how much insulation sits either side of it.
A highly efficient Thermal Bridge Elimination Assembly with an insulated seam eliminates cold bridging between the inner and outer membranes — delivering superior thermal performance, structural integrity, and long-term durability.
Our unique and advanced fabric welding technology avoids cold-bridging.
ALDO innovative technology and precise insulation fitting result in: no cold bridge, no condensate water, excellent insulation performance.
This unique welding process is more complex and costly, but it ensures excellent insulation performance and significantly reduce energy consumption.
Standard single-weld seams leave a direct path between inner and outer membranes, forming a cold bridge — visible in thermal imaging — that drives heat loss, higher energy costs, and condensation risk.
The ALDO Dome utilizes a high-performance PVDF + TiO₂ (Titanium Dioxide) coated architectural membrane that is approximately 30% stronger than the standard membrane materials commonly used in many conventional air-supported dome systems. The combination of higher tensile strength, superior UV resistance, improved abrasion resistance, and reduced surface degradation provides significantly greater long-term performance under Alberta’s demanding climate conditions.
In addition to improved structural capacity, the PVDF + TiO₂ coating system provides enhanced self-cleaning properties, greater resistance to dirt accumulation, reduced solar degradation, and improved retention of membrane flexibility over time.
As a result, the ALDO membrane system is expected to provide up to 10 years longer service life than conventional dome membrane systems, depending on operating conditions and maintenance practices.
Estimated from envelope heat loss and heat gain.
Year-round cover over municipal turf, with a shared plant room and BACnet integration to the adjacent arena.
Expansion-ready connection point designed in from day one for a planned second field in phase two.
Sponsor branding on the membrane, integrated spectator seating and custom lighting for tournament play.
Custom-engineered domes tailored to your community's athletic needs and climate. Every dome designed to withstand local wind, snow and seismic loads while maximising interior clear span.
Rapid, efficient assembly with minimal site disruption and full regulatory compliance. Crews install foundations, steel, fabric and mechanical systems with precision scheduling around seasonal sports.
Fully automated control via mobile app — monitor internal pressure, temperature and environmental conditions in real time, keeping the dome at peak performance from anywhere.
ALDO Domes provides complete design–build delivery for advanced sports infrastructure — engineering, HVAC integration, automation, construction management and custom facility development. Send dimensions, a photo, or just an address.