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Monolithicdome
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Amonolithicdome(fromGreekmonoandlithic,meaning"onestone")isastructurecast
inaonepieceform.Theformmaybepermanentortemporaryandmayormaynotremain
partofthefinishedstructure.
Formshavebeenmadeusingnearlyeverycommonstructuralmaterialincludingairpressure
supportedfabric.
Monolithicdomesareaformofmonolithicarchitecture.

Contents

ExampleofaMonolithicdomeattheCentrodela
FamiliadeUtahMigrantHeadStartCenter,
Genola,Utah.

1History
2Currentconstructionmethods
3Durability
4Climatecontrol
5Disadvantages
5.1Engineering
5.2Social
6Constructionrecords
7Seealso
8References
9Externallinks

History
Theigloomaybetheearliestformofmonolithicdome.Whileitisconstructedofblocksofcompressedsnow,theseblocksmeltandrefreezeto
formastrong,homogeneousstructure.Thedomelikeshapeoftheiglooexhibitsthetwomajoradvantagesofadomeshapedstructure:great
strength,andgoodinsulation.Thestrengthisduetothenaturalstrengthofthearch,andtheinsulationisduetotheminimalsurfaceareaofa
sphericalsection.
ThefirstmodernmonolithicdomestructurewasbuiltinProvo,Utahandopenedin1963asaniceskatingrink.CalledReam'sTurtleafterits
1967conversionintoageneralstorebynewownerPaulReam,thebuildingstooduntilitwasdemolishedin2006fornewconstruction.
Ream'sTurtlewasbuiltbyfirstcreatingamoundofdirtinthedesiredshapeoftheshell,anellipsoidalsection240feet(73m)long,160feet
(49m)wideand40feet(12m)high.Themoundwasthencoveredinagridofrebar,toprovidestrength,andalayerofconcreteapproximately4
inches(100mm)thick.Aftertheconcretewascured,thedirtwasexcavatedthroughthedoorways,leavingtheroofstandinginitsplace.The
floorwasthenpouredtofinishthestructure.
Today,monolithicdomesareusedinavarietyofresidential,commercialandindustrialprojects.Becauseofthestrength,durabilityand
economics,theyareusedtostorelargeamountsofvariouscommoditiesinthecement,fertilizer,agricultural,powerandminingindustries.

Currentconstructionmethods
Modernconstructiondifferssignificantlyfromtheoriginalconcreteoverdirtmethod.Thecurrentmethodsweredevelopedbythreebrothers
fromIdaho:Barry,Randy,andDavidSouth.ThefirstdomebuiltusingthesemethodwasconstructedinShelley,Idaho:
Areinforcedconcretefoundation,or"ringbeam",isconstructed,definingtheshapeofthebaseofthestructure.
Thefabricform,orairform,isattachedtothefoundationandinflatedwithanairblower.Theairformcontainsanairlocktoallow
workerstoentertheformwhileitisinflated.
Alayerofpolyurethanefoamissprayedontheinterioroftheform.(Itspurposesaretogiverigiditytotheairform,securetherebarin
place,providesupportforsprayingintheconcretemixture,andinsulatethefinalstructure.)
Rebarisattachedtotheoutsidelayeroffoam,usingclipsthatareattachedtothefoam.
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Severalinchesofconcretearesprayedovertherebarframe.
Aftertheconcretehasset,thebloweristurnedoff.
Theexposedsurfaceoftheairformmaybeleftasis,orasurfacetreatmentsuchaspaint,tile,etc.,maybeapplied.(Properselectionofair
formmaterialwillensurepreventionfromlongtermdegradationduetoultravioletradiation.)
Ininstanceswherenecessityrequireseconomicalconstructionformultiplesmallandbasicdwellings,thedomecanbebuiltwithoutinsulation
andtheairformcanberemovedaftercompletionandreusedtobuildadditionaldomes.

Durability
Thedome,whenfinished,isearthquake,tornadoandhurricaneresistant(theUSFederalEmergency
ManagementAgencyratesthemas"nearabsoluteprotection"fromF5tornadoesandCategory5
Hurricanes).Recently,anumberofmonolithicdomesconstructedusingMDItechniqueshavesurvived
majordisasters:
SeveralmonolithicdomesinFloridasurviveddirecthitsbyHurricaneKatrinain2005.
Manymonolithicdomeswereinthepathofthe2005and2006wildfiresinOklahomaandTexas,
andsurvivedwithonlyslightcharringoftheexteriorfoaminsulation.
In2003,amonolithicdomegovernmentbuildinginIraqsurvivedadirecthitbya5,000lb
(2,300kg).bomb.Theinteriorofthestructurewastotallydestroyed,butthedomeitselfremained
standing(seepicture).
ThedemolitionofReam'sTurtlealsodemonstratedthedurabilityofthemonolithicdomestructure.A
wreckingballdemolishedastripseveralfeetwidearoundtheperimeterofthestructure,withouta
collapse.Whenadoorwayononesidewaspulleddown,thedomefinallytippedover,andcollapsed.

Climatecontrol
Themonolithicdome,foranumberofreasons,isveryenergyefficient.Thesphericalsectionsofthe
domeofferminimalsurfaceareaforthevolumetheycontain,sothereislesssurfaceforheattransferwith
theoutsideair.Theonepiececonstructionofthemonolithicdomealsoeliminatesmanyoftheseams
throughwhichaircanleak,thoughthisismitigatedtosomedegreeinresidentialdomesbytheadditionof
multipledoorsandwindows.Byplacingtheinsulatingfoamontheoutsideoftheconcreteshell,the
concreteactsasaThermalmassinsidethebuilding,reducinginteriortemperaturefluctuationsfarmore
thanthetraditionalhome'sinsulationinsideofabrickorstoneveneer.

Thisdomedgovernmentbuildingin
Baghdad,formerlyapartofSaddam
Hussein'sregime,washitbya
5,000lb(2,300kg).bomb. [1]Apart
fromtheholemadebytheentryof
thebomb,itremainedstructurally
sound.

Disadvantages
Whilethemonolithicdomehasnumerousdemonstratedengineeringadvantages,therearealsosomedisadvantages,bothengineeringandsocial.

Engineering
Thetechniquesusedinmonolithicdomeconstructionareverydifferentfromnormalconstructionmethods,soonlyspeciallytrained
constructioncrewsaresuitedforbuildingadomeusingthemoderntechniques.
Thecurvedsurfacesinherenttomonolithicdomeconstructionoftenresultinoddlyshapedroomswhendividedup,whichcanresultin
wastedspaceinnarrowcorners.Thereareissuesofwastedfloorspaceduetowallcurvatureandproblemsfittingfurniture,similartothose
ofQuonsethuts.Thiseffectcanbeminimizedbyconstructingthedomeonastemwall,orbyusinganairformofsuchshapeastoallow
forstraight,verticalwallsatgroundlevel.
Themonolithicdome'slackofseamsmaymakeittoowellsealeddehumidifiersarerequiredinallbutthedriestclimates.

Social
Socialdisadvantagesofmonolithicdomesaretoalargedegreesharedbygeodesicdomes,duetothesimilarshapeandunorthodoxconstruction.
Thesedisadvantagesare:
Theradicallydifferentappearanceofthedomesalsodecreasestheappealfortheiruseasprivateresidencesthestandardcircularbase
doesn'tfitwellonsmalllotsfoundinmanyareas,andthestrangeappearanceanddesignmayrunafoulofneighborhoodbuilding
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covenants.Dependingonthesituation,alargevarietyofvariationsavailablefromthestandardcircularshapecanavoidsomeofthese
problems.
Buildingpermitsmaybedifficulttoobtainiflocalofficialsarenotfamiliarwiththemonolithicdome.
Resaleofamonolithicdomehomemaybedifficultbecauseofitsunconventionalappearance.

Constructionrecords
ThelargestmonolithicdomeintheworldisthehomeofFaithChapelChristianCenterinBirmingham,AL,whichis72feet(22m)tall,and280
feet(85m)indiameter.[2]Insideisafloorareaof74,500squarefeet(6,920m2)intwolevels.[3]
SomecommunitiesintheUnitedStateshavechosentousemonolithicdometechnologyintheconstructionofnewschools.[4]Amap[5]of
recentlybuiltmonolithicdomeschoolscanbefoundhere:[1](http://goo.gl/maps/FPSsI)
AresidentialdomeinPensecolaBeach,Floridahasexperiencedseveralhurricanessinceitwasbuilt.[6]

Seealso
Binishell
BubbleHouses(LitchfieldPark,Arizona)
Hurricaneproofbuilding
Italy,Texas
WallaceNeff

References

PensacolaBeach,Floridaafter
HurricaneDennisin2005

1. AirForceLinkWeekInPhotosGalleryView(http://www.af.mil/weekinphotos/wipgallery.asp?week=16)
2. "FCCCMonolithicDomeFacts"(http://web.archive.org/web/20080229130823/http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/churches/faith_chapelpaint/index.html).
Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://www.monolithic.com/gallery/churches/faith_chapelpaint/index.html)on20080229.Retrieved20080425.
3. "ArchitecturalDomeFacts"(http://web.archive.org/web/20080619014226/http://www.faithchapel.net/templates/cusfaithchapel/details.asp?
id=25116&PID=125891).Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://www.faithchapel.net/templates/cusfaithchapel/details.asp?id=25116&PID=125891)on2008
0619.Retrieved20080425.
4. http://www.monolithic.com/topics/domeschoolsinamerica
5. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?
ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100294571694516543874.000464b0fac8cef5d4111&ll=37.020098,96.152344&spn=18.214277,44.010276&source=embed
6. http://www.domeofahome.com/domeinformation/hurricane/

Externallinks
BuildingMonolithicDomes(http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/0328/building_11.html),by
SeanLanham,ArchitectureWeek
TrinityDomeConstructionLog(http://www.trinitydome.com),afirsttimehomebuilder's

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mediarelatedtoMonolithic
domes.

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