The Monolithic Dome Institute 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.
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
Monolithic Domes are super-insulated, airtight structures that save money on heating and cooling. A byproduct of this excellent insulation and closed system can be a rise in CO2 and humidity. Luckily, these are problems easily fixed with the right design and air handling system tailored to fit the space. … read more
This article is a list of links to all the articles on the legacy Monolithic.org website relating to the benefits of Monolithic Dome homes. We are in the process of migrating these articles to this site. As we update and migrate each piece, you will see it disappear from this list. Meanwhile, the articles listed here provide good information that can now be more easily found. … read more
Looking for a durable, fast-build storm shelter for your RV park or property? In just nine days, we built a reinforced Monolithic Dome storm shelter for RV park owner Leslie Mezzabifera. Complete with a Tornado Tamer door and custom-installed ship porthole windows, this safe room offers long-term protection, emergency readiness, and year-round functionality. … read more
Building a single-family, Monolithic Dome dream home is out of reach for most people due to time, cost, zoning and other factors. In this story, Brian A. McLoughlin of Green Dome Living offers a solution—Silo-Style Monolithic Dome Apartment Buildings. … read more
Four tornado shelters in Central Ohio show how communities are investing in Monolithic Domes for long-term safety. FEMA helped fund most of them—though one town is still waiting. Whether or not FEMA continues to defray the costs of constructing tornado shelters, resilient towns have been choosing Monolithic Domes for decades. They cost the same as conventional structures but offer unmatched protection and performance. … read more
DIY Photo Tutorial: Good maintenance of your Monolithic Dome involves cleaning and coating it every 5 to 10 years. These tasks can be done safely by installing one of our stainless steel Anchor Points, designed specifically for Monolithic Domes. This photo tutorial walks you through the steps involved in retrofitting your dome. … read more
Construction Photo Journal! We recently built a 43-foot-diameter dome home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, and a dedicated utility space in the Hill Country of Central Texas. We snapped some photos during construction for this story illustrating the steps involved in building a Monolithic Dome home. … read more
One of the biggest hurdles in dome home construction is financing. Banks are much more willing to approve loans when a project follows a traditional package deal, meaning a general contractor, like Tri-Lakes Construction of Colorado, presents a proposal covering the entire build. This approach reassures lenders that the project will be completed as planned, unlike owner-managed projects, which carry more risk in the bank’s eyes. … read more
We’re in the process of migrating content from our previous website, Monolithic.org, to this website. While the transition is underway, the content on Monolithic.org remains a valuable resource. To make it easier for you to find what you need, this post is a curated list of links to Monolithic Dome Home feature articles that haven’t yet been migrated and updated. … read more
Construction wraps on the final Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop in Dawson, Texas, with the completion of a much-needed laundromat. Almost 30 students attended the five-day course with hands-on and classroom instruction. The September Workshop will be in Italy, Texas. … read more