In The Media

WSAW-TV covers gymnasium dome inflation in Spencer, Wisconsin

Partially inflated Airform membrane for Spencer gym

POSTED 7 Jan 2021 By Dave South

“It’s a great day to be a Spencer Rocket,” said district administrator Mike Endreas at the Spencer Public Schools gymnasium dome inflation. District officials turned on the fans to inflate the 107-foot diameter dome on Saturday, January 2. WSAW-TV was on hand to capture the event. … read more

TBT: The past and future Johnson Creek School

POSTED 30 Jul 2020 By Dave South

Today’s Throwback Thursday is a bit different as we look to the past and the future in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. In 2016 the Johnson Creek School District opened a five-dome school to serve as the combined middle and high school. The small district of 750 students was dealing with old school buildings plus a hodgepodge of additions and portable classrooms. The maintenance costs were increasing and they needed something new. They tried several times to pass a bond to build a conventional school, but each time the voters rejected it. So they sought for a more innovative, affordable solution and found the Monolithic Dome. … read more

Easter Sunday tornados send residents to Monolithic Dome safe rooms

POSTED 13 Apr 2020 By Dave South

A tornado outbreak, Sunday evening, wreaked havoc throughout the south. Residents in Starkville, Mississippi, took refuge in a Monolithic Dome safe room. … read more

The ‘Texas Bucket List’ features Monolithic Dome Research Park in Italy, Texas

POSTED 6 Apr 2020 By Dave South

UPDATE: Now watch the full segment online. This week, The Texas Bucket List is featuring the Monolithic Dome Research Park on their weekly, syndicated television program. Entering its fourteenth season of “sharing the joy, wonder, beauty and excitement of Texas,” host Shane McAuliffe interviews Gary Clark and tours the Monolithic Domes in Italy, Texas. It’s fun to be profiled by a Texas program, after all, the 240-foot long caterpillar shaped manufacturing plant — Bruco: The Texas Italian Caterpillar — is an iconic landmark on Interstate 35E. … read more

Quick Look: Monolithic Dome safe rooms in the news, Jan 2020

Congressman Kevin Brady speaks about FEMA grant

POSTED 23 Jan 2020 By Dave South

Several Monolithic Dome safe rooms recently made it into the news. A nearly completed safe room in Mississippi was used for the first time as a large storm approached the community. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, opened its new community center and tornado shelter dome. A first responder safe room grant awarded to Covenant Christian School in Texas. And a Tennessee high school applies for FEMA grant for a combined gymnasium and safe room. … read more

Engineering.com article calls for buildings to survive AFTER disasters

POSTED 6 Aug 2019 By Dave South

A building must do more than stand during a disaster. It must be useful afterward. Water infiltration and other issues can render a still-standing structure useless. Emily Pollock digs into this issue in her Engineering.com article, Outside In: Designing Building Envelopes to Withstand Climate Change. … read more

Wisconsin newspaper features Johnson Creek’s new domed school

POSTED 14 Sep 2016 By Dave South

The Wisconsin State Journal featured the Johnson Creek middle and high school as they begin their first year in the new school. It is the first Monolithic Dome school in Wisconsin and the district went all-in, creating a five-dome campus with a gym, cafetorium, administration offices, and two classroom domes. Barry Adams writes about these first days and what the district plans for in the future. … read more

Monolithic Dome tourism at Johnson Creek’s new high school

Superintendent Garvey tours school construction

POSTED 12 Jan 2016 By Dave South

The Monolithic Dome high school in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin is also becoming a sort of tourist attraction. In a Wisconsin State Journal article, Superintendent Michael Garvey reports adding tour guide to his job. “Garvey frequently hands out hard hats and makes the rounds with taxpayers, area superintendents, construction design professionals and anyone else with a curiosity about the facility scheduled to open for the start of the 2016-17 school year.” … read more

First dome school in Wisconsin on schedule

Brick-like appearance of concrete stem-wall

POSTED 2 Dec 2015 By Dave South

Five Monolithic Domes under construction in Wisconsin will become the first Monolithic Dome school in the state. The Johnson Creek Middle School / High School will include classrooms, gymnasium, cafetorium (cafeteria and small auditorium), administration offices, and more. Good weather and hard work mean that construction is slightly ahead of schedule. Everyone is optimistic it will all be ready for the 2016-17 school year. … read more

‘Eye of the Storm’ in the news again

POSTED 9 Sep 2011 By Carol Cirulli Lanham

It’s perhaps the best known of all the Monolithic Dome homes in the world, and it continues to make headlines every time a hurricane threatens the U.S. mainland. The Eye of the Storm on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, was the focus of another news feature after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. … read more

Xanadu Island Resort earns a Green Globe

POSTED 4 May 2010 By Carol Cirulli Lanham

The Xanadu Resort in Belize was the first Monolithic Dome resort in Central America and the Caribbean when it opened in 1998. Now it can lay claim to another first. The property recently became the first Green Globe Certified Island Resort in the town of Ambergis Caye, according to The San Pedro Sun. … read more