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
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
We love this new Monolithic Dome home in Florida so much, we hired a professional photographer to show it off. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den, and a loft. The open living area and kitchen make the space feel warm and welcoming. Outside, the house is tucked into the trees beside a tranquil pond, and the screened-in porch is ideal for taking in the view. … read more
Today’s video takes you inside Bruco—our manufacturing plant where we build every Monolithic Dome Airform and other fabric architecture projects. … read more
We’re back at it in Florida, putting up another Monolithic Dome—this time using an Orion-style design with a Transverse Airform inflated atop a segmented stemwall. … read more