Commercial Monolithic Dome Structures

Monolithic Domes are flexible. They can fill any structural need. So in addition to being designed as homes, schools, churches, sports facilities and bulk storages, they can be factories, prisons or jails, fire stations, administrative or business offices, etc.

Monolithic Domes are the greenest structures currently available. They have the added advantage of a super-strong outer shell and a clear-span interior. Those qualities make the domes a natural choice for virtually any type of building.


Aggieland Fitness Dome

The exterior brick facade provides a beautiful finish. The “rust color” trim matches the brick and gives the facility continuity. A conventional entryway greets members.

Aggieland Fitness Dome was complete in January 2004 and was the world’s first Monolithic Dome fitness center. The 124′ × 40′ dome encompasses 12,000 square. feet on ground level and 2400 square feet on the mezzanine level. “The dome has done all the things I was hoping it would do. It differentiates us from other buildings and brings potential customers through the door,” said Steve Lumpee, owner of Aggieland Fitness in College Station, Texas.

Monolithic Dome Airplane Hangars and the Invention of the Hangar Door

Rendering of a small Monolithic Dome hangar with lateral door used for a private jet. Millions of dollars are spent on private jets and corporate air travel yet these planes are often stored in hangars incapable of protecting the planes during violent weather. A Monolithic Dome hangar is a tiny price to pay to protect a multi-million dollar investment.

Read the story of the invention of the revolutionary Monolithic Dome Airplane Hangar Door in David B. South’s latest President’s Sphere. Monolithic Dome Airplane Hangars are super energy efficient, tornado safe, firesafe and earthquake safe. They are also about as bulletproof as you can make a building. Included in his story, is a sketch of a Monolithic Dome Hangar for the F-35 Airplane.

Natural Ovens Bakery— A “Whole” Lot of Firsts

Shell construction was completed in December 2001.

In 1834 a small settlement in northwest Indiana got its first log cabin. That settlement was Valparaiso, whose name was chosen because of its meaning: vale of paradise. One hundred sixty-nine years later, Valparaiso, now with a population of more than 27,000, got its first Monolithic Dome — a manufacturing facility built by Paul and Barbara Stitt, owners of Natural Ovens Bakery, headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Monolithic Dome Indoor Rodeo Arenas and Horse Barns

A horse “apartment.” Individual stables like this one could be constructed surrounding an outdoor arena.

“Yeh Doggies!” and “Ride ’em, Cowboy!” Gone are the days of pretty girls and dusty ranch hands straddling wooden fences, cheering cowboys on bucking broncos at a local rodeo. During the last decade or so, that local rodeo has evolved into a far more sophisticated indoor event. Monolithic Domes, with their size, energy efficiency and versatility, make perfect rodeo arenas and barns.

A Monolithic Theater: Practical, Affordable and Beautiful

Fancy Theater with rotating stage. But still half price of competitor.

Multifunctional! That’s not a term often used to describe a theater, but it fits well for a Monolithic theater. We can design and construct an elegant theater, of virtually any size, for plays, concerts, operas, graduations, special school or community events and even large funerals.

The South Sawmill Lodge: A Monolithic Family Project

Please note the exterior: What looks like rough sawn wood is acutally concrete.  In the winter, transportation is arranged by a large snowcat pulling a schoolbus on skies.  The facility can easily handle 200 or 300 people.

Randy South, Director of South Industries, and his family have decided to build a special, family reunion dome and name it South Sawmill Lodge. It’s located just a half-mile south of the sawmill site that Randy’s dad and granddad owned.

Concession Stands with Your Team Colors and Emblem

Whether for a professional franchise, a college program or a high school, Monolithic concession stands will attract fans and help build support for the home team.

Monolithic now offers concession stands shaped to resemble giant football helmets and painted with a team’s emblem and colors. They’re the perfect, team-supportive concession stands for any sport stadium or venue. 

Military Praises South Industries Monolithic Dome Project

At Fort Irwin, Colorado, this 75-foot-diameter dome is equipped with windmills and solar collectors.

In 1844 when U.S. Army Captain John C. Fremont and Kit Carson established a rudimentary camp there, Fort Irwin was just a hot, sandy spot in the Mojave Desert. But it grew and grew. By 1979 Fort Irwin became the site of a military, world-class National Training Center. Located in California’s northern San Bernadino County, NTC now has a population of almost 9000. More recently, Fort Irwin has become home to the largest renewable energy project ever established by the Department of Defense (DOD) and Monolithic Domes are now a part of that project.

Travel in style by staying at a Monolithic Dome B&B

Thyme For Bed Inn in Lowell, Indiana

As you make your summer travel plans, consider experiencing life in a Monolithic Dome along the way by booking a room in a unique bed and breakfast. Thyme For Bed Inn in Lowell, Indiana was recently featured on a “Fantastical Five” list of unique inns. Hundreds of visitors have stayed in the Monolithic Dome’s four bedrooms since it opened in 1999.

New Oroville: A High-tech City of Monolithic Domes in India

In 2000, Catalytic Software began the construction of a massive, self-sustaining complex of domes, that includes attractive, safe areas for living, working and socializing.

In 2000, Catalytic Software, a global enterprise, began the construction of a massive, self-sustaining complex of domes, that would include attractive, safe areas for living, working and socializing. Located on 50 acres in Hyderabad, India’s hi-tech hub, this city of 4000 domes, mostly EcoShells, is called New Oroville.

DuPont’s Monolithic Dome Hurricane Shelter

Hurricane Shelter at DuPont’s Mississippi Gulf Coast Facility

In 2004, Monolithic designed a dome for DuPont. They wanted a structure that could survive a category 5 (155+ mph winds and 18+ foot surge) hurricane, for their plant in DeLisle, Mississippi. It got tested by Hurricane Katrina.

Indoor Golf: Better than Par for the Course

A complete, eighteen-hole, indoor golf course is not yet a reality. We can build the domes large enough, but the price may be too high. However, a nine-hole course is much more realistic.

Indoor golf may now be affordable utilizing the Monolithic Dome. A nine-hole course could be built perfectly in four, 400-foot domes. Proposed plans include two holes in each of three domes and three holes in the fourth dome.

Monolithic Theme Park Domes: Bringing Fantasies Down To Earth

Winter Wonderland- You are in Switzerland, skating on a beautiful trail that opens onto a large ice pond. You spend the day exploring the ice caves, riding the tram to the restaurant lodge, or shopping in the village. The Monolithic Dome makes this possible in even the hottest areas of the world.

Monolithic Domes — those sturdy, most stationery of stationery structures — have entered a new realm — the realm of fantasy. Rick Crandall, Consulting Architect, says, “Monolithic Domes make perfect fantasy domes, and they are rapidly gaining popularity for fantasy environments such as those in theme parks, water parks, zoos, theaters, planetariums — even shopping malls.”

Monolithic Towers: Multistory Dormitories and Apartments

These multistory dormitories have many of the important benefits of Monolithic Domes, including energy efficiency and the ability to resist fire and high winds.

Monolithic has been a bit slow about designing and building multistory living units. We recognize the need is extremely great. In many places land is just too valuable to tie up with single-unit residences. So we have asked architects and designers to come up with multistory designs.

Monolithic Emergency Center

Emergency Center Prototype A (birds eye view) — This alternative for the Emergency Center has the three domes in a row. It will fit on narrower property. The size of the domes will be determined by what needs to go in the building.

A Monolithic Emergency Center is an all-encompassing complex that includes specific areas for fire engines, rescue vehicles and ambulances; 911 and police communication centers; a disaster shelter. It is much, much more than a fire station.

The Ideal Data Center: A Monolithic Dome

Shelters  — Shown here are two Tornado/Hurricane Shelters.  These are for storing bank buildings and emergency response equipment.  They could as well be housing data centers.

Companies need secure buildings – especially if they host computer systems and store data. Monolithic Domes make secure, solid, permanent facilities that can withstand tornadoes, earthquakes, wild temperature fluctuations and even rifle fire.

Xanadu— A Dome in Paradise

Xanadu Island Resort — Ivan Sheinbaum’s first completed Monolithic Dome has three fully furnished apartment suites at Xanadu Island Resort.

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.

A Monolithic Dome Fire Station

Large firehouse — This firehouse can hold various emergency vehicles as well as provide sleeping quarters.

At Monolithic, we think fire stations should be indestructible. They house emergency response teams – the firefighters and paramedics a community needs when natural or man-made disasters strike.

Disaster Recovery Domes Coming to Texas

What’s one of the first things people need right after a hurricane? According to Peter Fedele, the answer is cash. That’s why he is building a Monolithic Dome outside of Houston to store ATMs, mobile banks, satellite communication equipment, and back up generators for financial institutions.

Monolithic Dome Entertainment Centre Planned for Palm Springs, CA

Super Sound Stage 1

A one-of-a-kind, ultra-green Digital Studio and Entertainment Centre is planned for a five-acre site in Palm Springs, at Cathedral City, California. In this desert location, Monolithic Domes are the ideal “green” construction to oppose the severe desert conditions of extreme summer heat, the intense desert winds and earthquakes.

Beam me up, Scottie

Starship Pegasus in its heyday

The Starship, a fully outfitted as a restaurant or fast food operation is available for sale or lease. It has a complete kitchen, a large open space dining and entertainment area, a large walk-in freezer, a security system, and serving and food preparation areas.

Now Playing: The 21st Century Movie Theater

Proposed Movie Theatre

In an interview with Leland, I asked why Monolithic Domes provide the ideal architecture for movie theaters. Leland said, “Theaters should look unique. They always have. That’s tradition with theaters. Monolithic Domes are the perfect structure to provide a unique and interesting theater on the outside and the inside. People are attracted to the unusual.”

Price, Utah: A Review of Its 20-Year-Old Monolithic Dome Complex

Public Works Complex — The Public Works Department of Price, Utah operates in a complex of Monolithic Domes built in 1982 and beautifully landscaped.

A uniqueness in Price, Utah is its four, interconnected Monolithic Domes, serving as its Public Works Complex since 1982. It consists of a three-story dome, 90′×40′, with administrative offices and three additional domes, each measuring 130′×43′, that house a Fire Station, a vehicle and equipment maintenance shop and a storage facility.

Bruco – A Very Busy Caterpillar

Makeover — In Summer 2001, Bruco got a makeover and now has a multi-colored coat to complement his flirty eyes, smiley mouth and glow-in-the-dark cowboy boots.

With its flirty eyes, smiley mouth and cowboy boots that glow in the dark, Bruco, our manufacturing plant in Italy, Texas, looks nothing like a typical factory. But while Bruco might look like a playful, giant caterpillar on the outside, it’s serious work on the inside.