After ten careful years of discussion and development, Orange Coast College modeled its new planetarium on our spiral Milky Way galaxy and placed a Monolithic Dome at its center.

Metal cladding adds beauty, strength and sustainability to Monolithic Domes. It reduces the need for maintenance and can add decades of life to a dome. Steel shingles protect domes from extremes of temperature, UV light, and water absorption.

Cliffdome is an 8,000-square-foot Monolithic Dome residence built in 1979 on the South Menan Butte near Menan, Idaho. It was the first Monolithic Dome home designed by and for Judy Lynne and David B. South’s family. They dubbed the house Cliffdome because of its perch on a 30-foot cliff above the confluence of the north and south forks of the Snake River. Tours of the home were given up to four times a week to people from all over the world.

The Orion is Gary Clark’s Monolithic Dome residence at the Monolithic Dome Research Park in Italy, Texas. Built in 1999, it is the prototype and namesake of the Orion Style Monolithic Dome construction process. It was the first dome constructed using a single-sided form for the stemwalls, and integrated the stemwall-dome construction.

Living Arts College is a state-of-the-art campus with three connected Monolithic Domes on eight acres in Raleigh, North Carolina. Designed to house the cutting edge of digital arts and design equipment, media and curriculum, the complex was completed in 2004.

The Casa de los Milagros (House of Miracles) in Coatepec, Mexico, is an amazing example of curved architecture. This giant home—1000 square meters or over 10,000 square feet—seems like it was “grown” rather than built. The architect, Danilo Veras Godoy, didn’t use traditional blueprints, but rather depended on conversations with the family to inform the design. Curved structures like this are an inspiration and many of the ideas can be implemented using air-forming technology.