The News

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

Community open house for Catoosa dome

POSTED 1 Nov 2016 By Stewart Ulrich

The Catoosa Cafeteria Monolithic Dome held an open house this week. The ceremony publicly celebrated the opening of the domed addition to the school. … read more

New Catoosa cafeteria dome provides shelter in tornado area

POSTED 23 Sep 2016 By Stewart Ulrich

A new Monolithic Dome now stands on the school grounds where a tornado came tearing through 23 years ago. Catoosa, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa, was the site of a F4 storm in 1993 that killed seven people and injured many more. Thanks to a new Monolithic Dome, people at the school can now feel safe from another such storm. … 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

A pioneering monolithic-style dome home for sale in Colorado [SOLD]

POSTED 27 May 2016 By Jana Easley

Rarely does a home with such a rich history and distinctive architecture become available. This extraordinary home — which sits on approximately 3 acres — was constructed in 1978 by the current, original owners. It was a time between two of the worst energy crises in the U.S. — 1973 and 1979 — caused by interruptions in petroleum exports from the Middle East. Oil prices skyrocketed, and many homeowners began to look for alternative energy sources to run their homes. Others decided the best solution was to use less energy. … read more

Curved inspiration in ice

POSTED 19 Jan 2016 By Dave South

We are often asked if living in a Monolithic Dome is like living in a cave. It’s hard for some people to imagine a bright and beautiful interior that’s curved. Even more difficult is imagining the possibilities a dome structure provides. Usually people ask questions about hanging pictures or how well furniture fits against the dome wall. Sometimes, however, designers break through the square world and show us how it’s done. In Sweden, a temporary ice hotel is a masterpiece of curved architecture. … 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

Aerial video of Catoosa, Oklahoma safe room under construction

POSTED 10 Dec 2015 By Dave South

Greg Miller submitted this great HD aerial video of the Catoosa Public Schools safe room under construction. You can see that work continues on the exterior while Monolithic construction crews work inside. The Monolithic Dome concrete shell is expected to be finished before Christmas. … 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

Great news story with timelapse of Catoosa safe room inflation

POSTED 24 Nov 2015 By Dave South

NewsOn6.com has a great story about the a Monolithic Dome inflation in Catoosa, Oklahoma earlier this month. The 136-foot diameter facility will be a cafeteria for the school and a safe shelter during tornadoes for the students and community. There’s an excellent time-lapse of the inflation in the story. … read more

A fireplace in a Monolithic Dome

POSTED 8 Oct 2015 By David B. South & Dave South

I’m often asked if there’s a trick to installing fireplaces in a Monolithic Dome. It’s pretty straightforward. The real question is, “Do you need the fireplace?” I see the romantic appeal of visiting around a glowing fire or the desire to reduce your heating bill. However, the energy efficiency of the dome typically changes a need for a fireplace into a want. If you decide you really want a fireplace, here are some tips on installing one in a Monolithic Dome. … read more

The first fertilizer storage and a barbed wire plaque

POSTED 17 Jul 2015 By David B. South

The fourth Monolithic Dome built outside Idaho was in Chandler, Oklahoma for Bill Matthews in 1978. I had written an article for a fertilizer magazine explaining how a Monolithic Dome would be a terrific fertilizer storage. Bill read the article and flew to Idaho to see our domes. We hadn’t built a fertilizer storage, yet. His would be the first and it opened the gates to fertilizer domes all along the Mississippi River. … read more

Construction continues for event center with oblong shaped Monolithic Dome

POSTED 19 Feb 2015 By Dave South

Construction progresses for the new Mathena Event Center at Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center. This Monolithic Dome is especially interesting because of the non-standard shape of the dome itself — it’s roughly an oval around the perimeter wall. … read more

A closer look at the birth of the Monolithic Dome

POSTED 7 Oct 2014 By David B. South

A dream sparked by a talk about geodesic domes, life in Chicago running a computer center, founding a polyurethane foam insulation business, and the path that led to the invention of the Monolithic Dome — read the personal story and history of the Monolithic Dome as told by David B. South. … read more

An important revisit — Monolithic’s first fertilizer storage plant

POSTED 12 Jan 2012 By David B. South & Freda Parker

Knowing that a Monolithic Dome would make an ideal fertilizer storage, in 1978 I sent information to a fertilizer magazine. They wrote an article, featuring the Monolithic Dome as a new product, and I received a call from Bill Matthews in Chandler, Oklahoma. Bill wanted a fertilizer storage dome on a site just off America’s famous highway — Route 66. … 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

Mile Hi Church and its ‘work of heart!’

POSTED 16 Feb 2009 By Freda Parker

“We’ve built a work of heart!” On its website that’s how Mile Hi Church in Lakewood, Colorado talks about its new sanctuary — a huge Monolithic Dome that called for an Airform of over 55,000 square feet. Opened in April 2008, the dome has a diameter of 233 feet, a height of 63 feet, a seating capacity of 1500, and a balcony that will eventually accommodate 600 more. … read more

Luxury Monolithic Dome home

POSTED 10 Nov 2008 By Freda Parker

A rare and exceptional Monolithic Dome home sits on nearly an acre of land, close to Cherry Creek State Park in Centennial, Colorado. Nearly 50 mature trees shade the dome and provide privacy. Designed for energy-efficiency and durability by Chris Barnes, a former aeronautical engineer who worked with Howard Hughes, the dome was built in 1982. … read more

The Gladiator Coliseum in Italy … Texas

POSTED 1 Mar 2002 By Freda Parker

Once the 2,000 residents of Italy, Texas, passed a $2 million bond for a multipurpose center, administrators began researching popular construction methods for school facilities. Superintendent Mike Clifton said, “Of course we were all familiar with the domes. We had a good overview. But we really had to see for ourselves, so we visited Thousand Oaks — a dome already operating — and we came away convinced.” … read more

The Invisible Dome Home — Privacy, security and longevity, all under one roof

The great room and entryway of the underground house in Buffalo, Texas.

POSTED 21 Mar 2001 By Freda Parker

Visitors to Glenn Young’s Monolithic Dome home often have a problem finding his front door. That’s because Glenn and John St. Pé, co-owners of Dome Contractors, Inc., built Glenn’s Monolithic Dome home completely underground. “We’ve had people come out who didn’t know there was a house there and actually parked on top of it,” Glenn said. … read more

Italy High School gymnasium construction photo journal

Rendering of Italy High School gymnasium

POSTED 15 Jan 2001 By Kris Garrison

The Italy High School Multipurpose Center is a 148-foot diameter gymnasium in Italy, Texas. The finished gym will accommodate 1500 and is expected to be finished on December 1, 2001. The facility will be used for basketball, physical education, volleyball, theatrical performances, and more. Beyond the gymnasium floor, the building includes locker rooms, restrooms, storage, a concession stand, and a ticket booth. The dome will also serve as an emergency shelter during severe weather. … read more

Hurricane Keith huffed and puffed and …

POSTED 21 Dec 2000 By Freda Parker

Like the wolf of Three-Little-Pigs fame, Hurricane Keith huffed and puffed and literally blew homes down, but unlike our fairy tale wolf, Keith didn’t stop there. From Friday, September 29 to Sunday, October 1, 2000, Keith — a force 4 hurricane with winds up to 135 mph — raged over Ambergris Caye off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea. With the ease of a giant weeding his garden, Keith uprooted trees, flattened buildings, overturned aircraft, and jettisoned boats onto rocks. Meanwhile, the severe, three-day rains Keith brought with him caused floods and mudslides, swept jetties away, and downed power lines. … read more

Xanadu — A dome in paradise

POSTED 21 Mar 2000 By Freda Parker

Xanadu — Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined that name for his imagined paradise in 1797. Some two hundred years later, Ivan and Judy Sheinbaum began creating their Xanadu — a Monolithic Dome tropical island resort on Ambergris Caye in the West Caribbean nation of Belize. … read more

Building The Eye of the Storm

POSTED 1 Jan 1998 By Freda Parker

On a sunny morning in 1991, at a home site on Sullivans Island, South Carolina, George Paul, designer and builder of dome structures, anxiously watched an Airform inflating. Paul had watched many such inflations before — but never with this much anxiety. … read more