The Field of Architecture and Design in Terms of Thermal Efficiency of Form

The article considers the possibility of using spherical form in functional architecture and design with reliance on the unique geometric property of the sphere: minimum surface area for a given volume. A brief historical sketch and an analysis of current directions of sphere application in architecture are given, followed by an analytical study of the dependence of a number of geometric characteristics of a spherical segment on the segment height at constant volume. It is shown that the optimum value at which thermal losses through the lateral surface of a spherical segment will be minimal is reached in the case of a hemisphere, provided that thermal losses through the base can be neglected. The range of rational values of the ratio of the spherical segment height to radius, at which the heat losses will be higher than the optimum values by no more than 26 %, is singled out.