Las Vegas dome owners plan to persevere

David and Su-Z Allen can relate to the old phrase that even the best-laid plans often go awry. In the process of building their new Monolithic Dome home, “emergencies keep cropping up,” Su-Z told a reporter for The View newspaper in Las Vegas. But even though it is not yet finished, the Fenix Dome is an “impressive and eye-catching structure,” according to the article. “There is literally nothing like it in town.”

Some of the construction delays have been directly related to the home’s uniqueness. For example, air conditioning contractors do not understand that the super-energy efficient dome needs a much smaller AC unit than a traditional structure even though it’s located in the Mojave desert. “They’re greener than grass,” Monolithic’s David B. South told the newspaper. “A normal house will have one ton of air conditioning for every 250 to 300 square feet. These will use one ton per 1,000 square feet.”

Although the Allens may end up having to install the air conditioning themselves, they plan to persevere until the dome home is complete. Says Su-Z, “I was hoping to have it done two Christmases ago.”