Monolithic Dome News & Stories

At home in ‘Sweet Dome Alabama’

Sweet Dome Alabama dome home near New Hope, Alabama.

Posted 23 Aug 2011 By Freda Parker

Back when their children were just kids and Beverly and Kenneth Garcia took family vacations, they discovered beautiful New Hope, Alabama. “We were then living in Mississippi, but we fell in love with the New Hope area,” Bev said. “It’s gorgeous up here - the mountains and the lake and we like to fly fish.” Then and there Ken and Bev decided that when they retired, they would relocate to New Hope. … read more

Avalon superintendent recounts blessings in tornado aftermath

The old gym roof damage next to the new dome gym without damage.

Posted 3 Jun 2011 By David Del Bosque

April’s tornadoes, specifically the one that rumbled through Avalon, served as a reminder of how precious and dear our children, school and community are to all of us. While we feared and marveled at nature’s fury, we counted our blessings that no one individual was harmed. … read more

Avalon dome provides safe haven during tornadoes

WFAA news 8 van parked outside Monolithic Dome gym.

Posted 28 Apr 2011 By Carol Cirulli Lanham

When the Avalon Independent School District in Texas needed a new multipurpose building, Superintendent David Del Bosque had safety at top of his mind. Since the nearby Italy school district had just completed a Monolithic Dome gymnasium center of its own, the decision was easy. “I personally was concerned about safety for students: the stability of the building in case of a storm,” Del Bosque said, adding that when he saw Italy’s dome, he knew that it was “the safest structure anywhere.” … 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

Church members call Hurricane Rita “eerie”

Satellite image of Hurricane Rita over the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted 25 Sep 2005 By Freda Parker

As millions of people attempted to evacuate the Houston area, I-45 became completely clogged. Northbound traffic moved at speeds between one-half to one mile per hour. Because of this, about a dozen members of Maranatha decided to stay in their Monolithic Dome church during Hurricane Rita. … read more

New Monolithic Dome multipurpose center at Avalon

An orange ribbon across the front of the new Avalon Multipurpose Center.

Posted 21 Nov 2002 By Freda Parker

While the population count of Avalon, Texas may be in doubt and small, its pride and interest in their school is not. Most recent proof of that is Avalon’s new Multipurpose Center, for its 250 students in pre-kindergarten to Grade 12. Designed by Monolithic Architect Rick Crandall and built with a 12’ stemwall, this Monolithic Dome measures 124’ x 25’ with a total height of 37 feet. … read more

Avalon High School gymnasium construction photo journal

Posted 7 Mar 2002 By Kris Garrison

The construction process of the Avalon Multipurpose Center in Avalon, Texas. The Avalon ISD school administration broke ground on the new facility on December 19, 2001. The completed Monolithic Dome is 124-feet in diameter by 25-feet tall on a 12-foot stem wall. It features a full-size basketball court, four locker rooms, synthetic glass block foyer, restrooms, concessions, and seating for 720 spectators. … 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 Pantheon — A temple to all gods

A panoramic image of the whole interior.

Posted 21 Jun 2001 By Freda Parker

Michelangelo (1475–1564) looked at everything with an artist’s critical eye, and he was not easily impressed. But when Michelangelo first saw the Pantheon in the early 1500s, he proclaimed it of “angelic and not human design.” The Pantheon’s concrete dome inspired landmarks worldwide and is the spiritual ancestor to the modern Monolithic Dome. … read more

The unforgettable events and activities at Park University’s sports center

The double dome complex and main entrance.

Posted 1 Jun 2001 By Freda Parker

“No one who attended the first graduation at our new Breckon Center will ever forget it,” said Rita Weighill of Park University. The new twin-dome sports facilities is a first-class sports venue added to the extensive underground campus at Parkville, Missouri. … 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

Sports center for underground college

Rendering of twin Monolithic Dome sports complex.

Posted 1 Jun 1999 By Freda Parker

Built among bluffs and wooded hills, Park College overlooks the Missouri River. That, in itself, is not unusual. But buildings constructed largely of limestone mined from below the campus is, and that’s just what Park College has at its home campus. … read more

Maranatha Church — A Dome Sanctuary

The main entrance to the Maranatha Church.

Posted 21 Dec 1998 By Freda Parker

Pastor Ronnie Trice and his wife Sandy organized Maranatha Church in December 1973, initially to serve its local community of Mont Belvieu, Texas. But church membership increased rapidly, so they built a 208-foot diameter Monolithic Dome with room to seat 4,000. … 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