Placing the membrane on top of the arches protects the arches
and the suspension system from the weather outside. The free
flow of wind over the membrane roof, unobstructed by the arches,
creates uplift (suction) over nearly the entire surface, loading
primarily the peripheral foundations, and not the arches.
Therefore Spantheons can be designed to resist the strongest
hurricanes. Having the membrane on top of the arches also allows
the curvature of the membrane's ridge cable to be independent of
the arch curvature. For instance, by raising the apex of the
membrane, a peak can be created, that helps snow melting and
sliding off the roof. A hurricane-resistant Spantheon can be
built over the skyscrapers of downtown Houston (the geodesic
dome proposed by Discovery Channel can not). No air ships will
be needed to erect the 1.2-mile diameter Spantheon. Its 20
arches will be raised from the ground up, with a technique
utilizing Houston's rectangular grid of streets. The same
technique can be used to build a dome o