The News

WSAW-TV covers gymnasium dome inflation in Spencer, Wisconsin

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: Design inspiration in a frozen hotel

POSTED 17 Dec 2020 By Dave South

In today’s Throwback Thursday we revisit the Ice Hotel — 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. This unique hotel is built and rebuilt every winter using ice, snow, and a lot of creativity. It’s a masterpiece of design and is an inspiration for curved architectural elements that could be built — permanently — in a Monolithic Dome. … read more

Obituary: David Barney South, 1939-2020

POSTED 3 Nov 2020 By Dave South

We are sad to announce the passing of David Barney South Sr. — husband, father, entrepreneur, and inventor. David was married to the late Judy Lynne South (née Bates), and they raised nine children together. He co-invented the Monolithic Dome with his brothers, and they built a new construction industry. … read more

Tour a remarkable underground Monolithic Dome home for sale in North Texas

The hobbit house entrance to the underground Monolithic Dome house in Buffalo, Texas.

POSTED 21 Oct 2020 By Rebecca South

The underground dome house in North Texas is getting a lot of attention. This completely hidden Monolithic Dome home is totally unique, absolutely private, and currently up for sale. In addition to real estate listings and coverage by local news websites, national news outlets like HouseBeautiful.com and Today.com have published stories about this unusual house. … read more

Visualizing the spherical dome calculator

Spherical dome calculator conceptual sketch

POSTED 14 Oct 2020 By Dave South

Eighteen years ago, I wrote the first dome calculator for our website. I’d used the formulas before in spreadsheets, pattern programs, and even a script for the Palm Pilot. Writing the little program in the new web language of Javascript was fun. We still use it today, but it’s showing its age. The old calculator doesn’t work well on phones, and it has a dated, turn-of-the-millennium style. We have a new website; it is time for a new calculator. … read more

Dome construction is nearly complete for Las Vegas gypsum storage

POSTED 11 Sep 2020 By Dave South

Shell construction is almost complete for a large gypsum storage east of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pabco Gypsum is a vertically integrated mining and manufacturing facility that produces 110 million square meters of drywall per year. The new dome replaces a 50-year-old steel dome. … read more

How our Monolithic Dome home keeps out smoke from rampant California wildfires

Comparison of Wellville mountains before and during smoky days

POSTED 22 Aug 2020 By Dave South

As I look out my home-office window I can usually see the Wellsville mountain range. It’s a beautiful, living view that changes nearly every day with summer heat, fall colors, winter snow, and spring blossoms. Today, I can’t see the mountains at all. The whole valley before me is covered in smoke. … 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

The story of a Hawaiian dream home — now for sale

POSTED 14 Jul 2020 By Dyrinda Tyson

Whoever buys Jo King’s Hawaiian dome will buy so much more than a home. They’re buying a dream. The dome has a lot to offer, starting with breath-taking views. Snuggled on an acre of land in the Waimea Valley on Kauai, it’s surrounded by an abundance of history and natural beauty. The open floor plan offers two bedrooms and two and a half baths upstairs with another bath as well as two outdoor showers downstairs, all covering about 1,700 square feet. Painted coconut palms adorn the concrete walls, and a large lanai takes full advantage of the scenery. … read more

Fall 2020 Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop canceled due to COVID-19

Monolithic Dome workshop graduation photo

POSTED 3 Jul 2020 By Dave South

We live with hope for a better future, yet we need to recognize the realities of today. COVID-19 cases are surging in Texas and across the US. There is no reason to believe the coronavirus pandemic will end anytime soon. We must accept that this is our new “normal” and plan accordingly. To that end, we are canceling the Fall 2020 Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop. … read more

The many uses of a Mississippi storm shelter

Aerial view of safe room near both elementary schools

POSTED 6 Jun 2020 By Dyrinda Tyson

As tornadoes tore through parts of their state on Easter weekend 2020, many Louisville, Mississippi, residents made their way to their community safe room — again. … read more

TBT: The Lincoln County Farm Center

POSTED 28 May 2020

Today’s Throwback Thursday is the Lincoln County Farm Center on US Route 66 in Chandler, Oklahoma. It’s home to the first Monolithic Dome fertilizer storage project — built more than 40 years ago in 1978. In 2011, the storage dome was covered with stainless steel and in 2015 they built a large, Monolithic Dome ranch store. … read more

‘We're Going in Oklahoma’ tours finished Eagle Event Center

POSTED 26 May 2020 By Dave South

The Eagle Event Center in Hennessey, Oklahoma, is finished. Hennessey Public Schools received the Certificate of Occupancy, and the new building is open — just in time for tonight’s graduation ceremony. Superintendent Mike Woods recently gave Jack Quirk of We’re Going in Oklahoma a tour of the new facility, and we get to tag along in the newly posted video. … read more

Delaware Military Academy: Fulfilling their mission in a Monolithic Dome

Outside of Anthony N. Fusco Sr. Athletic Center

POSTED 17 Apr 2020 By Amy South

Located in Wilmington, Delaware, the Delaware Military Academy is home to the first Monolithic Dome of its kind in the Mid Atlantic United States. With over 500 young cadets attending the school, the dome has opened up new opportunities for the cadets. The administration of the academy has expressed gratitude for the many benefits of a Monolithic Dome, and the cooperation and generosity of those involved to make the project completion possible. … read more

Monolithic Dome industry response to COVID-19

Giant sign that "We're all in this together."

POSTED 15 Apr 2020 By Dave South

After receiving so many COVID-19 related emails — some from companies we haven’t dealt with since the early 2000s — we feel it’s time to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the Monolithic Dome industry. But first, we want to thank you. … read more

A new landmark: Palapa Pineapple Monolithic Dome home stands tall

POSTED 13 Apr 2020 By Dyrinda Tyson

For the Spellings, a house on the beach was their dream. Inspired by a Monolithic Dome Island Resort, Dave Spellings decided that a dome would be the perfect abode for him and his wife. Overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the two-story dome home provides a comfortable place for the couple to enjoy their island life. … 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

TBT: We revisit Shalom Dome

POSTED 9 Apr 2020 By Dave South

As we migrate content from our old website we feel it’s time to start our own version of Throwback Thursday. This week it’s the Shalom Dome home in Platte City, Missouri. Completed in 2017, the 3,000 square foot house features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, office, home theater, loft, and a beautiful great room with kitchen and dining area. The unique shape of the Monolithic Dome combines orion-style stem-walls with a multi-dome shaped Airform. … 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

Spring 2020 Workshop is CANCELED

POSTED 14 Mar 2020 By Dave South

The Spring 2020 Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop is canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Everyone who signed up will receive a full refund. There are persuasive arguments that we should be proactive in limiting the spread of the virus. We can either voluntarily choose to sacrifice events and travel now, or the virus will likely force painful restrictions in the future. We choose the former for the sake of our workshop attendees and our staff. Hopefully, if we all work together, we can host the Fall 2020 Workshop in September. Thank you to everyone who signed up. We also thank everyone for fighting this pandemic and pray for those suffering from it — may they receive the care they need and recover quickly. … read more

The Hennessey superintendent said, ‘I want to build a dome.’

POSTED 28 Jan 2020 By Jack Quirk

Before the sun came up on a cold December morning, the crew turned on the four large blowers that were to inflate the structure. They said it should take about three hours to completely inflate, which gave my team plenty of time to set up the four time-lapse cameras, a drone, and several ground video cameras. Next thing we knew, the roof was up within minutes, including that big heavy ring. We were not ready! Think about this, an entire weather-sealed, full-size gymnasium was completely standing in about 45 minutes! … 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

Time-lapse of large ammonium nitrate storage inflated in Elkhart, Texas

POSTED 13 Jan 2020 By Dave South

It’s Monday morning, January 6, and Wayne Norsworthy with El Dorado Agricultural Products flipped the switch to the inflator fans. A 115-foot diameter by 92.5-foot tall Airform began to inflate. Soon, the tallest building in Elkhart, Texas is a Monolithic Dome Airform. … read more

The New Monolithic Dome Institute

POSTED 7 Jan 2020 By Dave South

Welcome to the new Monolithic Dome Institute. It is more than a new website; it’s a new company, a new look, and an expanded mission to advance the construction of the Monolithic Dome and curved architecture. … read more

Monolithic granted patent for Transverse Airform pattern

POSTED 10 Oct 2019 By MDI News

The offer for a commemorative plaque always arrives first when a patent is granted. The plaque company usually beats the patent office by a day or two. It’s an effective marketing strategy; after all, Monolithic has five of these plaques. Now there will be six. A couple of days later, the official notice from the United States Patent and Trademark office arrives. Monolithic Constructors, Inc., is granted patent number 10,400,462 for the “Transverse Span Airform Structure.” … read more

Luxury eco-tourism dome hotel coming to Costa Rica

POSTED 10 Oct 2019 By Dave South

A dome hotel is opening in Costa Rica this December. The IGLOO Beach Lodge is a series of individual Monolithic Domes surrounding a swimming pool. Each dome is a room with one or two beds with a huge windowed entryway. Vines will grow over the shells to complete what is billed as a luxury eco-tourism accommodation. … read more

Tour the nearly completed Jackson Farmers fertilizer blend plant

Aerial view of Monolithic Dome fertilizer blend plant

POSTED 25 Sep 2019 By Dave South

The tent is up, chairs placed underneath, tables set up nearby, grills are hot, steaks are ready, and pickups are parking on the grassy field. Time again for the annual Jackson Farmers, Inc. open house where farmers see demonstration crops, listen to sales presentations, eat steak, drink beer, and — this time — inspect their new Monolithic Dome fertilizer blend plant. … read more

Ohio opens first tornado shelter at Delaware State Park

POSTED 26 Aug 2019 By Dave South

Ohio is probably not the first State people think of when discussing tornadoes. Oklahoma or Kansas are more likely to provoke visions of violent skies and Dorothy running for the storm cellar. Yet, 36 tornadoes already struck Ohio this year — double the total tornadoes in 2018. “We are not dealing with a theoretical hazard,” said Sean Miller at the open house of the new Delaware State Park Tornado Shelter. “This is a very realistic hazard … and campers are vulnerable.” … read more

The ‘spaceship’ house for sale again in Colorado [SOLD]

POSTED 20 Aug 2019 By Dave South

Architect Jason Elliott Purdy designed the “spaceship” house for Clarence and Louise Lederhos who constructed the dome in 1978. “For some reason, I always wanted to live in a round house,” said Louise Lederhos in an interview. “But it was the energy efficiency that drew us to this design.” In 2016, they sold their home. Today, it’s on the market again. … 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

Student prank covers MIT Great Dome with Captain America’s shield

POSTED 10 Jun 2019 By Dave South

MIT students hacked the MIT Great Dome by turning it into Captain America’s shield in honor of Avengers: Endgame. Students carefully covered the dome with a fabric “shield” on Saturday, April 27, 2019, during the opening weekend of Endgame. MIT sophomore Raymond Huffman shot a drone video of the shield on Sunday morning. By Monday, the shield was taken down. … read more

Fantastic Colorado dome home with indoor salt-water swimming pool for sale

POSTED 5 Jun 2019 By milehimodern

There’s a palpable “wow factor” to this home. Surrounded by a sense of pleasure and possibility, the structural roots of this monolithic dome home define its genius. The brainchild of aeronautical engineer Chris Barnes, the dome was built intentionally to be a showplace for modern design, energy efficiency, optimism and individuality. … read more

Anonymous donor gifts dome gymnasium to Idaho community

POSTED 30 May 2019 By Dave South

Thanks to a generous, anonymous donation the community of Hansen, Idaho, has a new gymnasium. The Hansen School District owns the 120-foot diameter monolithic dome but shares it with the city. “This is a unique facility,” said Superintendent David Carson at Friday’s open house. “It’s a community school district partnership. Both entities will be able to use it — a lot.” … read more

Dave and Mary Spellings’ Palapa Pineapple taking shape in Belize

POSTED 21 May 2019 By Dave South

Interior construction is underway for Dave & Mary Spellings’ Monolithic Dome home — the Palapa Pineapple — in Belize. Dave Spellings said he got the idea about 25 years ago when he visited Ivan Sheinbaum’s Xanadu Resort on Ambergris Caye in Belize. “I wanted a smaller, more unique shape, with one room on top of the other. I squeezed the dome into the shape it’s in.” … read more

Monolithic Dome cameo in upcoming ABC TV show

POSTED 16 May 2019 By Dave South

A shoutout for the Monolithic Dome making a brief cameo in the trailer for ABC’s new show, Stumptown. The trailer clearly shows the cement storage facility built for Lone Star Northwest, Inc. on the Willamette River in downtown Portland, Oregon. … read more

Obituary: Judy Lynne Bates South, 1940-2019

POSTED 27 Feb 2019 By Dave South

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Judy Lynne South — loving wife of David B. South and beloved mother of ten. She died in Waxahachie, Texas, on Monday, February 25, 2019. … read more

Animals—and people—sheltered in dome during Hurricane Michael

POSTED 14 Nov 2018 By Dave South

Forecasts predicted Hurricane Michael would land in Panama City as a strong, but still manageable, Category 3 hurricane. Employees of the Humane Society of Bay County — along with their families, friends, cats, and dogs — spent the day preparing to ride out the hurricane under the protection of their Monolithic Dome. As everyone settled in for the night, no one expected anything too severe. Then Hurricane Michael intensified into the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Florida panhandle. … read more

The Vanguard School charters K-12 education in new Monolithic Dome

POSTED 7 Nov 2018 By Robin Intemann

Facing west toward the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs provides a dramatic foreground thanks to its royal blue sports field and the dome structure situated nearby. The 20,000-square foot Monolithic Dome houses twelve classrooms and two science labs for the school’s 215 seventh and eighth graders. “It looks cool,” says student Ciera. “A lot of people see it and wonder what that thing is and I get to tell them it’s the junior high building!” … read more

Letter: Margaret tells her story of riding out Hurricane Michael in a Monolithic Dome home

POSTED 5 Nov 2018 By Margaret Clayton

I was not a bit afraid during Hurricane Michael. A South Florida newspaper said there were sustained winds of 185+ mph and gusts of 201 mph. I believe that as I watched the neighbor house explode and saw trees twist and fly apart. Debris pounded the dome viciously. My hurricane windows were fractured but held so no rain entered. … read more

Hurricane Michael smashes power transformer into Monolithic Dome home

POSTED 1 Nov 2018 By Dave South

Hurricane Michael smashed a power transformer into Margaret Clayton’s caterpillar shaped Monolithic Dome home. The home is a few miles southeast of Mexico Beach in Port Saint Joe, Florida. Clayton stayed in her home during the hurricane. Everything was going well — until her neighbor’s house exploded. … read more

Shell complete for FEMA rated Monolithic Dome safe room in Louisville, Mississippi

POSTED 19 Sep 2018 By Dave South

Crews recently completed a Monolithic Dome shell in Louisville, Mississippi for a FEMA rated safe shelter. The shelter is part of a larger state initiative to protect communities from tornadoes like the deadly outbreak in April 2014 that claimed 10 lives in Louisville alone. … read more

Eye of the Storm for sale [SOLD]

POSTED 2 Jul 2018 By Stewart Ulrich

Located on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina is a beautiful Monolithic Dome home known as “Eye of the Storm.” That beachfront property can be yours because the home is now up for sale. Listed at $4.9 million, this hurricane proof home is spread across 4,097 square feet. It features three bedrooms, five bathrooms, and other amenities and is one of the most well-known dome homes in the country. … read more

Immersive 3D dome theater under construction at Hawaiian aquarium

POSTED 10 May 2018 By Stewart Ulrich

The Maui Ocean Center on the island of Maui will soon be the home of a Monolithic Dome functioning as a theater for the center. Ground was broken in April 2018 and construction is underway. … read more

A mountaintop dome event center

POSTED 6 Apr 2018 By Stewart Ulrich

When the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma set out to build a new building at the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center, a Monolithic Dome was not the first thought. In fact, it was practically an afterthought. But what it became was a Monolithic Dome conference center hosting thousands every year. … read more

A family legacy continues in Monolithic Dome store on Route 66

POSTED 4 Apr 2018 By Dyrinda Tyson

Children are generally the first to notice them, pointing up as they enter the Lincoln County Farm Center. “I think their perspective is magnified because they’re low,” said Mandy Myers, who runs the store with her mother, Nelda Matthews, and her sister, Mara Blackwell. “They immediately notice the ceiling. They’re the first to see the eagles.” … read more

Monolithic completes large logo on The Vanguard School dome

POSTED 1 Nov 2017 By Stewart Ulrich

Logo creation is one of the newest services Monolithic offers and this is the biggest one they’ve done yet. … read more

The Vanguard School holding open house for new dome

POSTED 29 Sep 2017 By Stewart Ulrich

The recently completed dome addition will be shown to the public for the first time. … read more

Shalom Dome gets underway

POSTED 4 May 2017 By Stewart Ulrich

After 20 years of dreaming, the Small family is finally seeing their desire for a dome home realized. The process of construction is underway, to their great excitement. They recount their journey in choosing to build a Monolithic Dome home. … read more

Johnson Creek’s five-dome school was the product of planning and thought

POSTED 15 Mar 2017 By Stewart Ulrich

When the new Johnson Creek middle and high school opened in September 2016, its unique design generated a lot of attention. The school is comprised of five interconnected Monolithic Domes, the first of its kind in Wisconsin. Much planning and design went into this structure, as would be imagined for a project of its size and prominence. … read more

Construction begins on The Vanguard School dome addition

POSTED 11 Nov 2016 By Stewart Ulrich

The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, CO is adding a Monolithic Dome to its campus. The building will serve as the junior high for the charter school and will house seventh- and eighth-graders. … read more