Great Hall Entrance Foyer Dome

The Great Hall entrance foyer dome is a large dome above the entrance foyer of the Great Hall of the Aston Webb Building at the University of Birmingham.

The Great Hall is part of the Aston Webb building designed by the architects Sir Aston Webb and E Ingress Bell at the heart of the university’s Edgbaston campus. The Great Hall was the setting for the official opening of the Edgbaston campus performed by King Edward VII in 1909.

Externally the dome is constructed from iron plates which are riveted together. The plates are supported by timber boards on a timber frame which was assemble at ground level and lifted into position. All the domes of the Aston Webb Building were constructed in the same way.

From inside the foyer the dome appears as a large saucer-shaped dome featuring an attractive yet deceptively simple plaster panelled design. This has gently curved ribs radiating at an oblique angle from its centre and overlapping one another. The ribs are painted white and the panels are painted blue.