The Monolithic Dome Institute (MDI) advances the construction of the Monolithic Dome—a super insulated, steel reinforced, thin-shell concrete structure. Built worldwide for residential, commercial, and industrial uses the Monolithic Dome is beautiful, energy efficient, green, and strong.

Aerial view of the Rec from the football field.
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Local residents are enjoying the years of planning and work put in to improve the well-being of the community offered at the Reeves County Recreation Center. The facility began as an idea among the county commissioners in early 2012. Though elected officials changed over the years, each court has had at least one torchbearer who refused to let the dream lose momentum. … read more

Cutaway diagram of finished Monolithic Dome
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David, Barry and Randy South switched on the inflator fans to construct the first Monolithic Dome in April 1976. It was for a potato storage in Shelley, Idaho—105-feet diameter by 35-feet tall, which was pretty ambitious for their first dome. It changed their lives. They patented the process and started changing the world, one dome at a time.

Today, there are Monolithic Domes throughout the United States and the world—from the Arctic to the tropics—used for schools, storages, churches, homes, gymnasiums, safe rooms and much more. There are domes as small as 8-feet to over 340-feet diameter with engineering for even larger structures. … read more

Keeping up with the Domeses

Sign up for the monthly Monolithic Dome Roundup email newsletter for the latest news and links about innovative architecture, thin-shell structures, and the Monolithic Dome industry.

Typewriter in black and white.

We seek a journalist who wants to report on the Monolithic Dome industry. This is brand journalism, where we want to increase awareness of the dome industry and help it grow. … read more

A double rainbow near Italy, Texas.
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Bad concrete is today’s topic. A projector flashes picture after picture of concrete voids, poorly embedded rebar, and a concrete mess all over the ground. It’s Friday afternoon at the Spring 2023 Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop and Gary Clark is giving his presentation, “The Worst Shotcrete Job, Ever.” … read more

One final look at the Shamrock Chateau.
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While the house has sold, we still want to talk about this beautiful dome home because it’s unique, plus it’s the residence of retired Monolithic Dome designer Larry Byrne and his wonderful wife, Marilee. They designed and constructed a genuinely unique Monolithic Dome home, and we want to give it—and them—a proper sendoff. … read more

Stone covered Monolithic Dome home.

Today we look back at the astounding Whiteacre Monolithic Dome home in College Station, Texas. The triple-dome structure is impressive, as is the backyard pool—complete with waterfalls. But the most striking feature of the house is the stonework. The main house, guest house, garage, walkways, and landscaping are stone-covered. We love it. … read more

Sunset at Arcadia Dome Home.
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Thirty people toured our house—Arcadia Dome Home—during the annual dome tour on October 15, 2022. Most visitors came from Utah or southern Idaho, but some came from as far away as Colorado. They didn’t come empty-handed. They had ideas, sketches and questions about building their own dome home. So. Many. Questions. … read more

Aerial view of "Bruco: The Texas Italian Caterpillar."
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When the Dallas Observer wrote about the Monolithic Dome Research Park, they connected the domes to prepping for doomsday. That misses the point. We are not preparing for the end times; we are preparing for the end…of a good book, curled up on the couch, peacefully reading while a storm rages outside. … read more

Sunset picture of Arcadia Dome Home.

While writing about preparing for real-world emergencies I realized there is virtually nothing about our home, Arcadia, on this website. We built the home six years ago and posted several great stories on monolithic.org with pictures of its design, construction, and completion. It’s time to migrate and update the articles. … read more