Lesson Learned: Stick-to-itiveness Pays Off

Monolithic Domes in Caledonia, Missouri — Voters approved a bond for construction of three Monolithic Domes, two to house classrooms for grades 3 through 6 and one as a gym.

After rejecting four bond issues in five years, in 2000, the 165 residents of Caledonia, Missouri overwhelmingly approved one. That approval happened because School Superintendent Larry Graves and Elementary Principal Steve Yount launched an intensive, persistent campaign aimed at educating their community about Monolithic Domes.

Beggs, Oklahoma Builds Two Monolithic Domes

Beggs, OK Event Center — Beggs built two Monolithic Domes: A 160’ diameter gymnasium/event center built on a 24’ Orion wall; a 112’ diameter dome on a 12’ Orion wall that provides nine additional classrooms, offices and a student commons area.

After receiving a Monolithic Dome School packet via snail mail, Marsha Norman, Superintendent of Beggs ISD in Beggs, Oklahoma gathered a few school board members and Architect Michael McCoy and headed to Italy, Texas to discuss building options with David South and tour nearby Monolithic Dome gymnasiums and homes.

Cradleboard Elementary

Cradleboard Elementary School — Three Monolithic Domes provide interiors with a total of 34,000 square feet.

Cradleboard Elementary in Whiteriver, Arizona is on an Apache Reservation, at 7000 feet in Arizona’s high country. In 1998, the community completed three Monolithic Domes with an interconnecting central corridor. Nestled among the Ponderosa Pines, this 34,000-square-foot facility has a multipurpose dome with a cafeteria, gymnasium, and an arts/music area. It’s flanked by two domes with classrooms for 300 students and 13 teachers in kindergarten through grade five.

Heber-Overgaard: A Combined Force

Heber-Overgaard — Their new school campus, opened in January 1999, features two Monolithic Domes, connected by a corridor.

Heber and Overgaard, two towns with a contingent boundary and a combined population of less than 2000, joined forces, creating one school district serving both their communities and the surrounding area. In January 1999, Heber-Overgaard opened their new school campus with its two Monolithic Domes, connected by a corridor with an inviting foyer accessing both domes.

Palo Pinto Dome: Eleven Years in the Making

Palo Pinto Dome — By January 2008, this Monolithic Dome home was nearing completion.

Most of us have experienced it at least once — that wonderful feeling when something we’ve planned for a long time finally comes true. In March 2008, Sharon and Terry Smith enjoyed such a euphoria when they moved into Palo Pinto, their new Monolithic Dome home.

Bishop Nevins: Florida’s First Monolithic Dome School

Nightime Glow — Those sparkling structures are the four domes at Bishop Nevins Academy in Sarasota, Florida.

In the morning sunshine, approximately 500 students scrambled into the four new Monolithic Domes of Bishop Nevins Academy, a Catholic school in the Diocese of Venice in Sarasota, Florida. Most had seen the domes and even walked through them before. Nevertheless, excited shouts and ohs and ahs of wonder permeated the air. It was the first day of school — a school of unique round buildings.

New Head Start Center Opts For Monolithic Domes

Centro De La Familia de Utah — These four Monolithic Domes in Genola, Utah were designed and built as a facility for Utah’s migrant workers. It includes a Head Start school for children and various educational programs for adults.

Soft is not a word usually associated with concrete. Yet, soft, round and homey were just what administrators at Centro de la Familia de Utah, the coordinating agency for Utah’s Migrant Head Start Program, saw in Monolithic Domes, as they reviewed possible school designs for their new facility in Genola, Utah.

Texhoma’s Showplace: A New, Monolithic Dome School

Old and new — In 1910 Texhoma built its first brick building, and in 2000 it built its first Monolithic Dome school facility.

“We’re so big it takes two states to hold us!” So says the town of Texhoma. Now Texhoma has a new, pride worthy accomplishment: a beautiful Monolithic Dome facility for its 426 students, in grades five through 12. The campus features two Monolithic Domes, 108 feet and 66 feet in diameter, connected with conventional construction.

A Solar Equipped Monolithic Dome in Illinois

Solar Equipped in Illinois — Kati and Robin Millers’ Monolithic Dome home has 6 solar-thermal collectors that collect the sun’s heat and convert it into thermal energy. It heats water that circulates through the radiant heating system to heat the home.

“All great projects start with a spouse!” That was Robin Miller’s reply when asked how and why he got interested in a Monolithic Dome home. He went on to explain that Kati, his wife, had lived in several coastal states but never in the middle of the country until they married and moved to Illinois. When Kati realized that tornadoes occur in Illinois, she insisted on building a disaster-resistant home. So the Millers began researching and found Monolithic Domes.

St Joseph Catholic Church: A blending of old and new

Architectural blending — A long wall connects St. Joseph’s new Monolithic Dome church with the original church, a small, traditional structure that now serves as the Parish Hall. Both the connecting wall and the stemwall of the dome are made of cut face block that looks like brick.

Most people really like what they see, hear and feel when they visit the recently completed St. Joseph Catholic Church in Commerce, Texas. And with its completion, the original church became the Parish Hall. “That was how we planned to do this right from the start,” Rev. George Monaghan said. “But that became one of our first challenges.” The pastor and his planning committee wondered what kind of a new structure would fit well with the old. They suspected that only something cornered and traditional would fit architecturally, but they wanted a structure that was energy-efficient, low maintenance, affordable and durable. Was that possible?

Featured Monolithic Dome Schools

America’s schools, both privately and publicly owned, are finding innovative ways to finance construction, seeking structures that will keep students safe from most natural and manmade disasters, and desiring facilities that use a minimum of energy. Read their stories.

A Unique Addition

Monolithic Dome addition — This 36’ diameter dome adds needed space with little increase in overall energy costs.

The night after our home addition was inflated, some of the neighbors thought a UFO had landed. A soft orange glow radiated from the elliptical bubble. It almost seemed alive. Sound like something from a science fiction movie? The foam and concrete dome has something to do with science, but there’s nothing fictional about it.

An Agrithermosphere

An agrithermosphere — This Monolithic Dome was designed as an indoor agriculture system.

What do you get when you combine an enclosed heated pool and indoor agriculture system? An Agrithermosphere — a building used entirely for agricultural purposes. That’s what Gregg Swiderski built in Marengo, Illinois on his 100-acre farm.

Featured Monolithic Dome Churches

Many churches are not the simple structures they used to be. Modern ones often include sophisticated audio/video equipment, nationwide radio and TV broadcasting, stages for drama productions, theme buildings, etc. Follow this link to stories about Monolithic Dome churches with such features.

Featured Monolithic Dome Sport Facilities

Monolithic Dome sport facilities, ranging in size from school gymnasiums to super arenas, often are designed and constructed for more than one use. Many double as disaster shelters. Others include stage and auditorium accommodations. This link will lead you to their stories.

At Home in Jasper, Arkansas

Home at last! — After many weather delays, Don Pass and Ron Boswell completed this 50′ × 20′ Monolithic Dome home. They finished the dome interior in just 6 weeks, including all cabinet work, floor coverings and sheet rock.

We have finally come to a breathing place, and can write of our “Birthing” of the dome. We finished the dome interior in six weeks! All cabinet work, floor coverings, sheet rock, and appliances are in and done. By doing the electrical, plumbing, and carpentry, I was able to save a great deal of money as well as frustration. We are moved in and have been living in the dome for the past four weeks.

First Monolithic Dome Home in Moscow, Russia

Monolithic Dome in Mocow — Sviet Raikov, a native Russian, built this Monolithic Dome home, 36′ × 18′, after learning the technology in a Monolithic Workshop. An American flag flies from the dome’s top.

Sviet Raikov, a native Russian, who attended a Monolithic Dome Workshop in 1994 and returned to Moscow with one of our Training Paks, reports the completion of a 36’ X 18’ dome home — the first of its kind in Russia!

There’s a Dome of a Home Going Up On Pensacola Beach!

Dome of a Home — Before constructing this fabulous Monolithic Dome, the Siglers had to provide written confirmation of its acceptance by neighbors. An overwhelming 97% responded favorably.

Although they have toured nine domes, the Siglers would have liked to have experienced life in a dome before making the major investment of actually building one. Seeing the Eye of the Storm on Sullivan’s Island was the decision maker. “That home was proof that domes could be built beautifully,” said Valerie Sigler.

Workshop Graduate Builds His Dream Dome

Free Will — It’s a unique Monolithic Dome home, 42′ × 18′, with 1585 square feet of living space.

If you said Joe Gora is a man who loves his dome home, you would be right. After completing two Monolithic Dome Workshops, Joe designed and built Free Will, a 42′ × 18′ dome with 1585 square feet of living space, on a double lot in Marietta, Georgia. That process took 18 months and culminated with Joe celebrating Christmas 2000 in his new dome. Since then, his delight with Free Will has not waned an iota.

The Eye of the Storm

Eye of the Storm — This Monolithic Dome home, on a beach site on Sullivans Island, South Carolina, is a prolate ellipse measuring 80′ × 57′ × 34′.

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.

Beautiful Monolithic Dome Home in the Texas Hill Country

A beautiful Monolithic Dome home — This dream home has a diameter of 50 feet, a height of nearly 29 feet, two stories and 3500 square feet of living space. The dome sits among shady trees on five wooded acres in gently rolling hills.

In 1999, Kim and Robert Reynolds designed and built a Monolithic Dome dream-home, a 5/8th sphere with a diameter of 50 feet, a height of nearly 29 feet, two stories and 3500 square feet of living space. Shaded by more than 80 live oaks, the dome sits on five wooded acres among gently rolling hills, seven miles northwest of Bandera, Texas.

The Clarks’ Monolithic Dome: A House Built of Credit Cards

Living room — It’s on the main floor and includes a small, wood-burning stove. The owners are not expecting to use the stove. Instead, they rely on a hot water system running along the floor of each level.

You’ve probably heard of a house of cards — one built by stacking playing cards to make a structure. But have you heard of a house built of credit cards? Figuratively speaking, the Gary E. Clark family of Ann Arbor, Michigan did just that. They built a house of credit cards — or, more accurately, financed with credit cards.

This Dome Just Clicks

Thinking round! — Rounded windows reflect the shape of Bill Click’s domicile in Bandera, Texas.

“Confusion isn’t necessarily bad,” said Bill Click, referring to the confusion of tax appraisers and insurance agents. Two years ago, Click and his wife moved into their Monolithic Dome home in Bandera, Texas, located about fifty miles west of San Antonio. “We have five acres of land,” Click said. "We’re on a hill and we have a great view.

A New Look for Randy South’s Monolithic Dome Home

A spacious home — Randy South and his family enjoy living in three, interconnected Monolithic Domes, encompassing a living area of nearly 4,000 square feet and now sporting a beautiful, stucco-like, EIFS finish.

Karen and Randy South and their seven sons and two daughters have liked their Monolithic Dome home since they first moved into it in 1996. After all, what was there not to like? Their nearly 4,000-square-foot dome home adorns a 1,260-acre butte that overlooks the beautiful Snake River in Menan, Idaho and provides them with a unique area for observing and enjoying wildlife.

Surrounded by Nature’s Antiquity

What a Site! — The Wortman dome home is surrounded by Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pines.

It was love at first sight when Sylvia and Keith Wortman found their 10-acre plot in Fairplay, Colorado. At an elevation of 9,953 feet, the area had an intriguing history dating back to the 1850’s Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, spectacular scenery and natural beauty that included Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pines. Sylvia and Keith saw it as the perfect place for the Monolithic Dome dream home they had been envisioning and planning for many years.

Going Small, Cozy and Safe!

Irie at twilight — Jerri Hudson named her 1000-square-foot Monolithic Dome home “Irie,” which means “alright” in Jamaican.

Irie is Jamaican for alright. And Irie is the name owner Jerri Hudson chose for her new, 1000-square-foot Monolithic Dome home that sits on a 40-acre, wooded site in Missouri. Since moving in this past November, Jerri has found her new home both comfortable and secure — exactly what she wanted.

Trinity Dome

Trinity Dome — It has a Caterpillar-like design of three interconnected domes, each with a diameter of 24 feet, a height of 13 feet and a total area of 1232 square feet. Accent siding was installed below the north-side windows and the front entry. The stone look complements the Airform fabric.

Helen and Pat Meylor call their Monolithic Dome home “Trinity Dome” because of their belief in the Holy Trinity and because it is a tri-dome structure.

A Dome Fit for a King

Eagle’s Eye — This Monolithic Dome home looks like a medieval castle, but it was designed and built with 21st century technology.

Bob Warden may call it “Eagle’s Eye.” But his new Monolithic Dome home suggests a castle. It even has a tower that looks medieval and a balcony on which you can easily picture a princess awaiting her knight in shining armor. Eagle’s Eye sits among stately trees, on 46 acres of quiet forestland, undisturbed by the big city sounds of busy Cincinnati, 45 miles west of it.

Keeping Up With the Joneses

The Jones Monolithic Dome Home — The family made picture boards about this dome and its qualities. They would place these in the driveway and answer questions from curious visitors.

Keeping up with the Joneses? That’s some challenge if you’re talking about matching what the Scott Jones Family of Colorado did in building their Monolithic Dome home. This Jones Family, Scott, Luann and their children Gregory, David, Melissa and Jeffrey, completed much of the work for their two-story, 46′ × 23′ dome as a do-it-yourself project.

Off Grid Central Alberta Monolithic Dome

Monolithic Dome home in Canada — This 55-foot diameter dome-home was designed by Mike Forsyth and built by Canadian Dome Industries in 2005.

A Monolithic Dome home, with a diameter of 55 feet, is owned by Lynn Cain and Mike Forsyth in Canada. It was designed by Mike Forsyth and built by Canadian Dome Industries in the fall of 2005. This dome incorporates the concepts of a passive solar house with a Monolithic Dome.

Yumadome — A Multigenerational Monolithic Dome Home

Eight suites — They are located off the atrium. French doors open to a balcony overlooking the atrium.

Comedian George Burns once quipped, “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city,” and his audience probably laughed and nodded in agreement. But there’s a unique family of eleven adults in Yuma, Arizona, who — while they might laugh — would not agree. This group — related to one another either biologically, through marriage, or simply through friendship and a shared sense of values — all live at Yumadome.

Due Sorelle: Two Sisters Design a Monolithic Dome Home

Let’s talk! — This small but cozy conversation area features soft-white, curved walls and plump, colorful sofas.

Due Sorelle in the romantic language of Italy means Two Sisters. Thanks to Melinda and Sarah, two daughters of Monolithic’s President David South, we now have a Due Sorelle at our headquarters in Italy, Texas. It’s a 32-foot-diameter Monolithic Dome home, whose 804 square feet include two bedrooms, one bath, a living/dining area and a kitchen.

A Monolithic Dome Home With A Texas Motif

A Texan’s Dome Home — It consists of 3, interconnected Monolithic Domes. Central dome is 28’ in diameter and 14’ tall. Two slightly larger domes, each 32′ × 14′, flank the middle dome.

Can the innocuous armadillo inspire the building of a Monolithic Dome? I wondered about that when I drove to Clifton, Texas to interview Jim Gibbons and see his new dome home. After all, the armadillo is both Texan and the inhabitant of an impenetrable, dome-shaped shell. And, as I soon learned, those are qualities Jim admires.

Compromise or the Best of Two Worlds?

Atalaya del Vulcan — The Cunningham home, named Atalaya del Vulcan, features a Mission Revival style of architecture.

So while some dome-purists might object to a compromise that disguises a dome, Cindy Sue and Daryl Cunningham of Menan, Idaho feel they have the best of both worlds: a Monolithic Dome, or what Darryl calls “the future of building,” and a classic Spanish Colonial home that would appeal to a huge number of modern Americans.

Downsizing Has Advantages

Welcome — A soft-pink front entryway greets and welcomes visitors to the O’Dell Monolithic Dome home in Harrisonville, Missouri.

Theresa and Patrick O’Dell have always been interested in energy-efficient structures, but their interest peaked in 2000 when they saw an ad for Monolithic Domes in Mother Earth News. Patrick said, "Our last house was a conventional, 2000 square-foot home. It was all-electric and our utility bills averaged about $120 a month.

Canadian Dome Builders Greet 400 Visitors during 2004 Dome Home Tour

Monolithic Dome Dream Home — Rebecca and Sunny Cushnie of Southampton Ontario, Canada enjoy these two interconnected domes. The larger dome includes the main living/dining area, a kitchen, laundry room and two bedrooms. The smaller come encompasses the master suite.

Southampton, Ontario Canada is famous for its beautiful sunsets. And now Rebecca and Sunny Cushnie share that fame because of their newly built Monolithic Dome home. An article describing this dream-home in the Toronto Star captured media attention and sent more than 400 visitors to the Cushnie home during Monolithic’s 2004 Dome Tour.

Monolithic Dome Home Survives Missouri Tornado

Open Interior — Romain’s home features an open floor plan and large door and window openings for plenty of light.

Romain Morgan was no stranger to tornadoes. She said, “I had been in a devastating tornado in 1957 in Kansas City, where our house exploded, and we were thrown around. I ended up under a refrigerator, holding one of my babies. So that’s why I decided on a Monolithic Dome and why my daughter and her family come here when there’s a tornado watch.”

Cliffdome — Then and Now

Deck the Dome — At Cliffdome, the Souths’ deck curved around the dome and provided a breath-taking view of the area.

In 1978, Monolithic’s president David B. South and Judy, his wife, built Cliffdome. The home is perched on the cliff of the South Menan Butte in Menan, Idaho overlooking the Snake River. Cliffdome was the largest Monolithic Dome home ever built at that time. It is 75-feet in diameter, 28 feet tall, two and a half levels, 8000 square feet of living space and 1500 square feet of attic space.

The Case Of The Disappearing Dome

Windows — A wall of windows in the dining area provides light and a gorgeous view of the surroundings.

Can a Monolithic Dome home that is three stories high and that has a diameter of 55 feet just disappear? Almost — if it’s built on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and if it’s painted a pale blue and if a fog creeps up that bluff. Barbara Stitt, who together with husband Paul own this dream-come-true Monolithic Dome home, said, “On a slightly foggy day, the house just about disappears, which is what we wanted.”

Fowler, Kansas Clears The Way For a New Dome School

Fowler High School Rendering

School officials in Fowler will find out in November whether they can move ahead with a Monolithic Dome building to serve as a new multi-purpose facility. Voters will decide on November 4th whether to approve a $1.94 million bond issue that would fund construction of a Monolithic Dome structure that would house a computer/technology lab, a new band/vocal room, a new gymnasium, two locker rooms, and a commons/concession area.

Luxury Monolithic Dome Home

A two-story grand foyer, with a tile floor, opens onto a generous great room.

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.

A Monolithic Dome Home and Lessons Learned

Eye at the Lake — “Eye at the Lake” is nearly 2,000 square feet which includes a loft that overlooks a great room with a kitchen, dining and family areas, home theater, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, office, spa room and laundry area.

In 1992 when Harold Townsend, a firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department, vacationed in South Carolina, he had no idea he would find his dream home. But that’s just what happened. Sightseeing on Sullivan’s Island, Harold spotted the “Eye of the Storm,” a concrete dome that has survived several hurricanes virtually unscathed. By 2005, Harold had reviewed books, videos and information on this website and had attended two of our Conferences.

Triumphs and Trials: A First Monolithic Dome Construction

Rosholdt Residence — The fall foliage creates a warm and inviting background to the Rosholdt’s three bedroom, one bathroom dome home in the hills of Mineral, Virginia.  To begin an orchard, numerous fruit tress have been planted on the property.  Commercial reinforced steel doors cut down to a four-foot length provide a Dutch-style shutter on every window.  They are foam-core insulated for an additional R-5 insulation factor.  The Rosholdts plan to coat the dome’s exterior in 2002.

— That’s what Erling and Barbara Rosholdt of Insight Developers near Charlottesville, Virginia claim it took to build their first Monolithic Dome, a 40-foot diameter, three bedroom, one bathroom home. Yet they don’t regret the experience. There are two reasons for that enthusiasm. Erling gives the first: "Our dome construction process took two years of weekends, holidays and vacations — more than 3,000 hours.

Antelope Springs Ranch: Combining old and new

Incorporating shapes — When Bonnie and Bill McLeod built their hunting lodge in Blackwell, Texas, they combined a two-story Monolithic Dome with a two-story octagonal structure.

Can you put a squarish structure next to a Monolithic Dome? Can you place traditional next to futuristic? Won’t the combination look odd? Bill McLeod, an architecture graduate who studied under a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, believes that integrating a Monolithic Dome with traditional shapes can aesthetically enhance its appeal.

The Callisto: Perfect Design for an Active Family

The Callisto  — This Monolithic Dome sports a wall of windows that lighten and enlarge its living area of less than 2000 square feet.

Many Americans might think that a home with a living area of less than 2000 square feet just wouldn’t do for a family of six.

“Not so,” said Michael (Mike) South, Monolithic Vice President and Construction Superintendent. In October 2006, Mike, his wife Tessa and their four children moved into a Callisto with a diameter of 50 feet, a height of 16.5 feet and a living area of just 1964 square feet.

Charca Casa: House by the Pond

Charca Casa — This attractive and spacious Monolithic Dome home, located at Monolithic’s headquarters in Italy, Texas, can be toured by appointment.

In Spanish, Charca means pond or puddle and Casa means house. Hence, the name Charca Casa or house by a pond. That acre pond functions as a spectacular backdrop for the spacious patio that fronts this fabulous Monolithic Dome home. A thirty-two-foot expanse of windows in the living room provides a view of the activities on the patio and the pond. Charca Casa is an attractive and interesting dome-home and is available for tours by appointment.