The News

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

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