Year in Review: 2016

As the end of the year fast approaches, we look back on what 2016 held for us.

Schools had a big year in Monolithic Domes. As more and more are being built, school districts across the nation are realizing the value of school structures that double as storm shelters. We saw the first school dome in California open this year in Wasuma, with the possibility of more being built in the state. A five-dome school opened in Wisconsin and it looks incredible. A cafeteria that doubles as a shelter opened in a tornado-prone area of Oklahoma. Domes are planned for schools in Colorado and Oklahoma.

The Monolithic Dome Institute was featured in two different industry magazines this year. The Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects had a two page spread about Monolithic Domes in their summer issue of Columns. Along with background and history, it featured a photo of our caterpillar Bruco. Later in the year, Dry Cargo International did a special about cement storage domes in its November issue.

2016 also marked some important anniversaries. Our Founder David B. South built the first concrete Monolithic Dome in 1976, making this the 40th anniversary of that structure. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Monolithic Dome Institute. It was founded in 1996 to promote the dome building industry as a whole.

Ever wonder what the weather is like at the Monolithic Dome Institute? Well thanks to a Weather Underground station that went live this year, you can. Simply by logging onto their website, you can view the current temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, and humidity at our headquarters. Don’t have too much fun there with all that information.

Speaking of our headquarters, we had our annual open house this year in October and were pleased with how many came. It was busy all day with people interested in domes. A big hit was having dome designer Linda Ware answering people’s questions about designing a dome. Look for announcements next year about the open house.

We also held another open house this year, of a home in Utah. We were pleasantly surprised with the interest in this home. More than 350 people attended and we raised a significant amount of food and money for the local food bank. There was some local media coverage of the event as well.

To summarize, a lot of exciting things happened this year in the Monolithic Dome world. We hope 2017 brings just as many great things. To stay in touch with all the exciting things that are happening, be sure to connect with us online. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe to our monthly email newsletter The Roundup, by completing this form.