Grand Hassle Nets Grand Facility

Children’s Reading Center (CRC) — On its 11-acre site, CRC built a facility with five Monolithic Domes, funded primarily through a USDA loan.

Five Monolithic Domes — Largest dome has a diameter of 132 feet and encompasses 10 classrooms surrounding a library; multipurpose dome has a diameter of 75 feet; three remaining domes each have a diameter of 44 feet and serve as administrative area, staff area and lab.

Affordable and Practical — Cost for Monolithic Domes ran between $135 to $145 per square foot of finished floor space. That was a 25% savings over the $186 per square foot that the Florida Department of Education currently considers reasonable for school construction.

Worth the Effort! — Although it took CRC three years to comply with all of USDA’s requirements for a loan, administrators, teachers and parents feel that the campus they now have was worth the effort.

Hurricane Safe — CRC’s Monolithic Domes provide what FEMA calls “near-absolute protection” from hurricanes, a feature the adults wanted for the children.

Classrooms — CRC’s largest dome features an easily accessed, open library at its center and ten classrooms.

Multipurpose Dome — It includes an assembly area, cafeteria and two kindergarten classrooms.

Design and Construction — LPDJ Architects, LLC of Salt Lake City, Utah did the design and South Industries, Inc. of Menan, Idaho constructed the domes.