Monolithic Dome News &amp; Stories

A stunning tour of the red rock Chavez Ranch Road dome home [SOLD]

Posted 20 Apr 2021 By Dave South

Stunning is the only word for it. It is a massive, red-rock coated Monolithic Dome nestled among the red landscape of Sedona, Arizona. The house contains 10 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a fitness room, a theater, a beautiful kitchen, and so much more. … read more

Over the edge with vertical ellipsoids

Sketch of concepts used in the vertical ellipsoid dome calculator

Posted 18 Mar 2021 By Dave South

Inflatable shapes are the basic components of Monolithic Dome design. If it inflates, it can be constructed … probably. There are two primary shapes that dominate dome design — the sphere and half-ellipsoid. However, these are not the whole design palette. Sometimes we need to go beyond the basics. or in this case, beyond half of the ellipsoid. … read more

Rare winter storm wreaks havoc in Texas

Posted 23 Feb 2021 By Mike South

Monolithic Domes are amazing. The insulation, coupled with the concrete’s thermal mass, creates an atmosphere that is hard to describe. Simply put, it feels the same today as it does in the middle of summer. If you set the thermostat at 70 (21°C), it just stays there. During the two-degree, 24 hour period, my heater ran for a total of 9 hours. This is a small heater, with only 30,000 BTUs. Most homes the size of mine have 100,000 BTU heaters, but even my neighbors with electricity struggled to stay warm with heaters running nearly 24/7. … read more

Refactoring the ellipsoid calculator

Posted 28 Jan 2021 By Dave South

Circles and spheres are easy to measure. Calculating a spherical dome’s floor area, surface area, perimeter, and volume are straightforward mathematical formulas. When I wrote the new Spherical Dome Calculator, the challenge was the scaled drawing, not the computed values. Ellipsoids — on the other hand — are hard. … read more

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: 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 [SOLD]

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

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

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

The President’s Sphere

Updated 10 May 2022

The President’s Sphere was the long-running column written by David B. South. Started in 1986 as part of The Monolithic Dome Roundup newsletter, it ran continuously in one form or another until 2015. … 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

Monolithic Domes

Cutaway diagram of finished Monolithic Dome

Updated 18 May 2022

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

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

Keeping up with the Domeses