It’s time to say goodbye to the South Sawmill Lodge. Randy South’s family of South Industries started the 90-foot diameter dome in 2009 on the old family homestead in Island Park, Idaho. Over the next four years, the family squeezed in time to finish the dome which became a lodge and reunion center rented out to dozens of families over the years. The lodge sold this spring. … read more
The Eagle Event Center is the multipurpose athletic, administration, and instruction facility at Hennessey Public Schools in Hennessey, Oklahoma. The 25,000 square foot (2,322 m²) structure includes a competition gymnasium for basketball, volleyball, and other athletic activities. The floor can also be covered with carpeted tile and used for dances, assemblies, and community events. There are four team locker rooms, a referee locker room, concession stands, a training center, walking track, and a 2,000 square foot (186 m²) lobby. The gym seats over 1,800 at athletic events and almost 2,000 for assemblies. … read more
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
Twenty years ago, the school board in Avalon, Texas, broke ground on a new Monolithic Dome gymnasium. It would be more than just a place for playing ball, it became a classroom, concert hall, community center, and — when necessary — a storm shelter. No wonder it’s called the Avalon Multipurpose Center. … read more
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
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
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
A Monolithic Dome safe room is designed to withstand tornadoes, hurricanes, and other disasters. It meets the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA P-361) standards for “near-absolute protection” for sheltering-in-place. But a Monolithic Dome safe room is more than a building. It’s comfort during the storm. It’s lives saved. It’s a place of recovery. … read more
Letters and testimonials from Monolithic Dome Builders Workshop alumni. … read more
One of the major benefits to a church, school, or any institution in a Monolithic Dome is the energy savings. Recently, we completed a study of a 34,000 square foot church located near Houston, Texas, and determined it could pay for itself in energy savings. … read more
Gypsum is a calcium sulfate mineral, mined from large natural deposits found all over the world. About three-fourths of gypsum is used in building materials such as gypsum board — also called wallboard, drywall or Sheetrock — as well as concrete, plaster, and more. It is also a fertilizer mainly used for soil conditioning. … read more
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
The Avalon Multipurpose Center is a school gymnasium for the K12 school district in Avalon, Texas. The facility features a full-size basketball court, four locker rooms, synthetic glass front, foyer, restrooms, concessions, and seating for 720 spectators. … read more
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
The Mile Hi Church Sanctuary is a 233-foot (71 m) diameter by 63-foot (19.2 m) tall Monolithic Dome. It is the third, and largest structure on the Mile Hi Church campus in Lakewood, Colorado. The huge dome required a 55,000 square foot (5100 m²) inflatable Airform membrane. The sanctuary seats 1,500 with plans to add a 600 seat balcony. The wooden stage features movable towers and platforms and can accommodate a 140-member choir. … read more
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
A Monolithic Dome home is more than concrete and steel. It’s a feeling. A feeling of warmth on a cold winter’s night. A feeling of serenity during a terrible storm. A feeling of beauty as light fills vaulted rooms. Living in a dome changes your expectations of how a house should perform. … read more
The Oktibbeha County Community Safe Room is a Monolithic Dome built near McKee Park and the Starkville Sportsplex in Starville, Mississippi. The structure is a FEMA P-361 rated safe room that can protect 1,500 people during a severe storm. Planning for the tornado shelter began in 2014 after “a tornado outbreak ravaged Mississippi, including an EF-4 tornado that devastated Louisville.” … read more
The Shalom Dome home is a Monolithic Dome home located in Platte City, Missouri. The Small family has enjoyed the many benefits of living in a Monolithic Dome home. … read more
The Elkhart Ammonium Nitrate Storage is a Monolithic Dome storage built at the El Dorado Agricultural Products retail facility in Elkhart, Texas. It stores 20,000 tons (18 kt) of granular ammonium nitrate in a 115-foot (35 m) diameter hemisphere on a 36-foot (11 m) integrated stem wall. The overall height is 92.5-feet (28 m), making it the tallest building in Elkhart. … read more
The Pantheon is arguably the first monolithic dome. Not in the sense of the modern, insulated structure, but as the original one-piece, monolithic, concrete dome — the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. No other significant structure of antiquity has survived as well preserved nor with the roof intact. … read more
The multipurpose athletic and classroom facility at Spencer Public Schools K-12 campus in Spencer, Wisconsin, houses a gymnasium, wrestling room, fitness center, and more. It was part of a $5.9 million upgrade that included improvements to the elementary school portion of the existing school. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paid $2.9 million in improvement grants since the facility is also a shelter-in-place safe room. … read more
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
The Chavez Ranch Road dome home is a large Monolithic Dome residence that was also billed as a vacation rental. With ten bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and many amenities the home is an unmistakable landmark along the banks of Oak Creek just south of Sedona, Arizona. … read more
The Anthony N. Fusco, Sr. Athletic & Academic Center is a beautiful addition to the Delaware Military Academy’s campus. School administration at the Academy saw a need for the students to have more space for athletic and academic activities, and decided a dome gymnasium could provide this extra space. The collaboration of a few different companies was able to produce the new facility for the young cadets to utilize. … read more