DOME TOPS OFF DEC DIGS IN STYLE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: ALAN WECHSLER Staff writer

It's not the sort of frivolity one expects to find on a building for state workers.

But there it is nevertheless, now playing on the skyline in downtown Albany: a dome of green glass and steel that tops the 15-story office building that will house the state Department of Environmental Conservation starting in March. The dome's only function: to spice up the roof with a dash of architectural curry.

``We knew the head of the building needed to be something special,'' said project architect Michael Phinney, who based the dome's design on a 1900s-era conservatory. ``So many buildings are just squared off, just to …