Southern Towers Monolithic Dome Home
This elaborate house was designed by the owners with help from the Monolithic Dome Institute and South Industries. Mike South patterned the complicated Airform. The home is comprised of four domes tied together via tunnel connectors.
These floor lights create a very cool look. The tunnels of this house connect the individual domes but allow for each area to be completely private.
The Southern Towers is a partially underground Monolithic Dome home comprised of four domes, all of which are on stemwalls. The individual domes are connected via tunnel connectors built into the Airform. The largest of the four domes is 38 feet (8.5 m) in diameter and 23 feet (7 m) tall. There are two 30-feet (9.1 m) diameter domes. One is 14 feet (4.3 m) tall, and the other is 15 feet (4.6 m) tall. The tower dome is 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter and 30 feet (9.1 m) tall! It has a tall, winding staircase and a main floor with 360-degree views.
There is one large extended augment for the garage door and two smaller extended augments for cozy book nooks.
“We have tunnels for hallways with reading nooks in the hallways,” the homeowner said. “We built two because we knew as we got old, we would fight over them, and now we have two grandchildren who enjoy them.”
The owners designed the house themselves, with help from designers and the team at Monolithic. The Airform was designed and fabricated at the Monolithic Dome Research and Industrial Park in Italy, Texas. It was shipped to the job site and inflated in April 2019. South Industries built the shell.
When lightning struck in August 2023, the homeowners were in the big dome toward the front of the house doing some storm watching. The lightning bolt was so powerful the force shook the neighbor’s house 1000 feet away. The lightning sizzled through a small patch of the Airform and foam, but the damage was a simple cosmetic fix.
The kitchen is an attractive mix of modern and classic. The retro stove takes center stage and resides next to a commercial refrigerator. The wood ceiling, rafters, cabinets and countertops give the kitchen a warm glow.
Southern Towers was inflated in April 2019. The white Airform is fully inflated and ready for construction to begin inside. It’s always fun to build using Airform technology—fully formed structures rise up seemingly out of nowhere overnight.
Looking up at the top of the tower during construction, the multiple wood floors are starting to take shape.