The Energy Detective is a device that lets you monitor the electric usage of your home. I bought one to track the energy usage of my dome-home and windmill. I was very surprised to find so much power in such a small device. According to the manufacturer of The Energy Detective (TED), just knowing what your house is doing and taking small steps to avoid using so much will drop your power bill 13% on average.
Imagine hitting the road, and going in search of new discoveries and then telling your story to a worldwide audience. That’s what Aaron Fown is doing on The Trip for Life
Monolithic is on Facebook! The best part is that you do not have to have a Facebook page yourself to see what all the buzz is about. Check it out and read comments and discussions about the Monolithic Dome, THE Twenty-First Century structure!
Oklahoma is home to more Monolithic Dome schools than any other state in the nation. It will soon have one more as Dale Public School completes construction on a new steel-reinforced concrete dome facility that will serve as an events center and cafeteria. The 109-foot-diameter building is scheduled for completion in January 2012.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is planning a grand opening for its new $4 million Monolithic Dome multipurpose facility in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Authored by architectural designer and artist Robert Bissett, this book takes the reader through all the stages required to produce a functional and attractive set of working drawings. The prospective home owner will learn how to start with a pencil-drawn floor plan, build a 3D computer model and produce and publish a complete set of house plans.
To dome or not to dome? That was my question. I had to make a decision about what to rebuild. Should I go with the traditional stick-built home or look at the alternative building techniques, which were becoming popular all over the country? I considered straw bales, earthship, earthbag, and several other options that would yield what I really wanted: an energy-efficient home.
In early 2010 my wife Maddy and I, as owners of a dome under construction, submitted our original “Cold Study” article to Monolithic. Now that we’re living in our furnished dome, we wanted to share more energy consumption data, again concentrating on the colder months in SW Virginia. These data are reported in the attached tables.
When Karen and Dan Tassell of Magnolia, Texas decided on a Monolithic Dome home, they agreed that Karen would do all the decorating, inside and out, and Dan would be in charge of construction details.
For 16 months, the construction of Jerri and Darrell Strube’s new Monolithic Dome home, 50 feet in diameter and 23 feet high, in Marlow, Oklahoma went relatively smoothly. Once Andy Barnes, owner of Alpha Omega Builders in Kingston, Oklahoma, completed the dome shell, Jerri and Darrell began doing the finishing. And all continued going rather well – until January 12.
At a presentation to a school board, I ran into an interesting situation. One of the school board members said, “It is extremely important that we bid this project out.” He was inferring that if they selected a Monolithic Dome they wouldn’t be able to bid it. I explained that there were several people who could bid the Monolithic Dome and that every single piece of the construction of any school building had to be bid. On further reflection, I realized how fickle the bid process is.
Roger describes their dome-home as “very energy efficient.” He said, “A couple of years ago, before the rates had gone up, I was happy to tell people that my highest (monthly electric) bill was $199. That was pretty amazing for a 3000-square-foot, all-electric house in Mesa.”
While most Americans are focused on the devastating tornadoes that have been ransacking the nation, those who live in coastal areas have another type of natural disaster on their minds. Hurricane season began on June 1, and meteorologists are predicting that it could be a much more active than last year.
Attention all Masons:
Put down your shovels and increase your productivity, with the
Monolithic Concrete and Mortar Mixer.
Sadly, it’s official. This year will go down as the deadliest tornado year since record keeping began, according to The National Weather Service. More than 500 people have died in tornadoes in 2011, with nearly half of the fatalities occurring in Alabama. Missouri ranks second with 139 deaths from the Joplin tornado alone.
May’s tornadoes, specifically the one that rumbled through Avalon, served as a reminder of how precious and dear our children, school and community is to all of us. While we feared and marveled at nature’s fury, we counted our blessings that no one individual was harmed.
Monolithic has been teaching, training, promoting and building these domes for 35 years. Some 4000 Monolithic Domes are in use, working and well proven in 52 countries and 49 American states. But they are still a secret!
I believe now is the time for Americans to rethink how we design and use our living areas. More specifically, I think we need small, easily and economically maintained dome-homes in which the same space is used for both day and night activities – in other words, a space twofer!
I don’t know of a high school or college that would not like a state-of-the-art, indoor stadium. But before Monolithic developed its technology such an undertaking was far too expensive. That is no longer true. High schools and colleges can now build a Monolithic indoor stadium for about what they would pay for an outdoor football stadium.
The deadly tornadoes that hit the southern United States were a vivid reminder of the tragic consequences that ensue when people do not have a safe shelter during severe weather. They also served to make Fowler school officials even more grateful that they had the foresight to build a Monolithic Dome multipurpose building to house their new gymnasium, band/vocal room and computer lab. The building, which is the first of its kind in Kansas, was funded in part by a $345,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
On Wednesday, May 11th, Fowler USD 225 in Fowler, Kansas will host an all-day, gala event celebrating the opening of their Monolithic Dome gymnasium, and they’re inviting everyone! Superintendent Sam Seybold put it this way. "We want a good turnout. I think it’s really important, especially with what’s been happening with the tornadoes in the South, for schools and communities to know (about Monolithic Domes).
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 multipurpose 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.”
Woodsboro, Texas is a small, agribusiness community near the Texas Gulf Coast that has about 1700 people and a high school with just 700 students. But Woodsboro ISD managed to get a FEMA grant of $1.5 million to build a Monolithic Dome multipurpose center/disaster shelter whose grand opening is scheduled for this May.
Two times each year, we invite would-be Monolithic Dome builders to our headquarters here in Italy, Texas for a hands-on, five-day workshop. Although participants start out in the classroom, they quickly go out in the field and actually build a dome. The goal is to train the next generation of dome builders who will keep this industry thriving for years to come.
Stephanie and Hunter Hunt are Dallas philanthropists who are working to make the world a better place by improving living standards for the world’s poorest people. That’s why they founded the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at Southern Methodist University. This week, the institute is raising awareness about global poverty by hosting a living village designed to inspire action.
Over the years, we have developed and done a lot of experimenting with our EcoShell 1 and our EcoShell 2. Today I want to continue the dialogue about the EcoShell 1.
Like many American families, the Smiths live in a small wood frame house. The traditional square home is located in a wooded area in Orange County, Texas. But that’s about to change. David Smith is a dome builder, and he’d like his family home to be the first of many that he builds in the area in the years to come. The Beaumont Enterprise featured the project after Smith inflated the dome, and it peeked out from behind the trees that surround his current home.
When you first begin really looking into current living conditions worldwide, what you hear and read appears overwhelmingly staggering – a situation impossible to correct or even improve. We do not believe that. For one, it’s too easy – too easy to just look at the bigness and give up. Secondly, we do believe we have solutions: 21st Century technology. We know it’s practical and we believe it’s doable.
April 2011 promises to be an exciting, hope-filled month for donors to Domes For The World (DFTW). Andrew South, president of DFTW, said that that’s when a significant shipment will be leaving for Haiti.
How would you like to take a computer class on Jupiter? Or perform in an auditorium on Neptune? If you’re a student at Robert L. Duffy High in Phoenix, Arizona you can do exactly that – but without ever leaving earth!
We need you to help this world into the 21st Century. That means understanding and using 21st Century technology that’s now available. Seriously consider learning and using this technology in your practice.. We will help you all we can.
JRR Tolkien, best known for his authorship of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, once said, “I am in fact a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unmechanized farmlands …. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field); have a very simple sense of humour; I go to bed late and get up late (when possible). I do not travel much.” Based on that description, it’s very likely that Tolkien would have loved the Hobbit House of Montana. It’s also equally likely that he would have been amazed to learn that this Hobbit House started as a Monolithic Dome.
The construction industry is becoming aware of the existence of reinforcing bars made from fiber-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass rebar has been on the market for some time, making inroads where steel rebar doesn’t work well. There is now a new entry into this field, rebar made from basalt continuous filaments.
People who live in Monolithic Dome homes usually are willing to think outside the box. So it’s not surprising that dome owners also commonly live “off the grid” or OTG for short. OTG is a term used to refer to homes that are self-sufficient when it comes to their utility services. They might generate their own electricy using wind, solar or other alternative energy sources. They also sometimes provide their own on-site heat.
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.
We are delighted to share our experience and expertise and teach our cutting-edge construction technology. Our position: No one outfit, no matter how big, can build all the buildings. We need you to help. The need for buildings is astronomical and you can help.
Zoning is a huge subject. It could easily take a book or two. But fortunately as it pertains to Monolithic Domes, we have just a few things to cover.
How would you like to be the first owner and occupant of a new kind of house? “It’s a real kick,” said Gary Clark of Italy, Texas. Gary, vice president of operations at MDI, had recently moved into the first Orion — the youngest, newest sibling in the Monolithic Dome family.
During our past century, it seemed wise to live far from smelly factories and noisy industrial areas. That’s no longer true. Most smelly factories and industrial areas have been cleaned up. So why are we still settling for two-hour commutes to work?
When Kelton’s one school building became overcrowded, its Board of Trustees proposed a $5 million bond election for an additional building. On May 10, 2008 voters overwhelmingly passed it.
Many of you have supported Domes for the World over the years, and followed our progress as we have worked to improve the lives of people in desperate need of safe and affordable housing. Now you have the opportunity to let the world know what you think about our efforts.
When we started the El Dorado Chemical Company plant in early 2010, we started doing some research on different additives to put in the concrete, to help with its chemical resistance. Early in our research, we came across an additive called MetaMax.
A Monolithic Dome is often used in its most economical configuration as part of a sphere. But sometimes the customer wants something more grand.
I met William Singer in 1995, first by phone, then through the Monolithic Workshop he attended, and we have talked considerably since then. I am guessing that William was sixty plus when we first met, and, of course, the years piled on us all. After graduating from that Workshop, William, one of those independent guys who makes things happen, built his own dome-home.
David B. South has spent most of his life trying to change the world. Since building his first Monolithic Dome in 1975, he has been working to convince people to think outside the box. Now he has a chance to be formally recognized as a Changemaker as part of an international competition for sustainable urban housing.
It took nearly 10 years of planning, fundraising and construction, but Fellowship Bible Baptist Church finally got their Monolithic Dome. About 3,000 people recently attended the first church service inside the new dome sanctuary.
David South answers questions about Monolithic certification, approval and credibility.
On the Monolithic Forum (Bulletin Board) there is an entire discussion topic titled “Low Income Housing.” Recently, David B. South made a post detailing his experiences in the subject matter.
We now have the technology! It’s here. We have it! We now know how to construct domes affordably. Monolithic suggests that architects, engineers and anyone else involved in structural design or construction learn the advantages of modern domes, and study the technology it takes to build them. Let us teach you.
Recently David South created a discussion topic on the Monolithic Forum (Bulletin Board). In this thread, he is spreading the word about dome home financing.