January 2008 – For Sale: Dome Home That Made National Headlines

Carol Lanham • Published • Press Release Library

For Sale:

Dome Home That Made National Headlines After
Surviving Direct Hit from Hurricane Ivan

PENSACOLA BEACH (January 30, 2008) – The Florida dome home that made national headlines when it emerged virtually unscathed from a direct hit by Hurricane Ivan is on the auction block. The 3,400-square-foot Monolithic Dome home is up for sale for $1.25 million dollars, fully furnished.

“We very much enjoyed building and owning this unique vacation home, which we christened Dome of a Home,” said Mark Sigler, who built the home in 2002 along with his wife Valerie. “But now we are building a second dome home in Montana, and find it increasingly difficult to divide our time between the two parts of the country.”

Monolithic Domes are steel-reinforced concrete structures known for their energy efficiency and ability to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency’s standards for near-absolute protection from hurricanes. Because of the dome’s disaster-resistant features, FEMA provided a grant to the Siglers to build the home.

When Hurricane Ivan threatened the Florida coast in 2004, an NBC news crew took shelter in the four-bedroom dome home along with Mark Sigler. The news crew reported on the storm from the safety of the concrete structure as nearly 80 percent of the other structures on Pensacola Beach were either damaged or destroyed. The home has since been featured on the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and numerous national and regional magazines. Click here to read NBC reporter Kerry Sanders’ account of riding out the storm. HYPERLINK http://www.nbc6.net/news/3736171/detail.html

“Monolithic Domes are designed to withstand 300-mile-an-hour winds,” said David B. South, who invented and patented the construction process for building the unique structures and now heads the Monolithic Dome Institute in Italy, Texas. “While Ivan’s hurricane-force winds were not quite that high, the storm was fierce enough to prove that the dome is tough enough to withstand just about anything that comes its way.”

The dome home’s outdoor stairs tore away as designed during Ivan’s storm surge as the water flowed around the structure. But Sigler and the other occupants of the nearly sound-proof home did not become aware of the devastation in the surrounding area until the following morning.

“The curve of the dome combined with the materials used in its construction account for the building’s strength,” said Sigler. “It’s the very best type of construction available for coastal areas, and the energy efficiency of the dome is an added plus.”

The home features geothermal heat pumps with individual Hydro-Air units in each room that act as dehumidifiers. It also has a holographic fireplace, jetted hot tub and two large decks - one that faces the Gulf of Mexico and the other that faces Santa Rosa Sound. For more information about the home and to view photos of the interior and exterior, visit HYPERLINK http://www.domeofahome.com

For more information on Monolithic Domes, visit HYPERLINK http://www.monolithic.com