METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home
METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home
VALERIE A Tribute to our Friend Jonathan Zimmerman Jonathan, my dear friend, when we discussed the hurricane resistant properties of a dome, I had no idea that we would be putting your dome to the test so quickly, nor so often. Do you think Mother Nature is cranky because we dared challenge her strength? (ha, ha) I am so grateful to you for so many things. Foremost, I love you for making me laugh. I loved laughing with you because you made me laugh at myself; made me laugh with you, even when I really wanted to scream in frustration. Thank you for sharing your heart with us. I was inspired when you talked about your daughters. Never had I heard a father enjoy his children as much as you did. Laughing about the joys of parenthood was always my favorite past time with you. Well, you did it, Jonathan. You created a star! “Talkitecture” has become talked about architecture. Serenity by the Sea, aka Dome of a Home, has reached envious notoriety in her very young life. She is only just turning two and has made her debut literally across the world. Her beauty has been portrayed in print media from Saudi Arabia and around the globe; she has been filmed for programs in the UK, Canada, and Germany; nationally, she has been on the Weather Channel, Good Morning America, MSNBC news, National Geographic, Discovery, Keith Olberman Countdown, Joe Scarborough Country. The list goes on and on. This is a tribute to you, Jonathan. There are numerous domes out there, but none as famous or as beautiful as yours. You created a beautiful work of art and I am so glad the world appreciates her. But, anyone that knows you, knows that the truly beautiful creations you are most proud of are Jane and Tegan. You beamed when you spoke of them. Never have I seen a heart so full of love as yours for your girls. I love that about you! You are a beautiful Soul, my friend. Forever I will hold you dear. Until we meet again, Valerie MARK: 37
Last night we were supposed to be on an airplane, to pay our respects to our good friend, and architect in our project, Jonathan Zimmerman. He passed away last month. Instead we're preparing for the onslaught of yet another hurricane. But my heart and mind stays focused on my friend and the times we shared together and the man that he is. Jonathan was very passionate about his work, about life in general, but mostly about his girls. I mean, when he talked about his girls there was so much pride in his voice. You can tell that he considered his girls his crowning achievement in life. He was so proud of his daughters. His work speaks for itself. I always considered him the Frank Lloyd Wright of the dome building industry, even though he gave me grief about it. His work and his designs stood head and shoulders above any other work that I've seen in the dome industry. I feel extremely honored to have had the opportunity to work with him, to collaborate with him. To create the amazing home that Jonathan and I produced has been a high point in my life. This would have never been possible without Jonathan. No one else caught my vision of what I was trying to do like Jonathan did. He took my vision of a penguin and gave it the wings of an eagle. His genius caused the project to soar. The beauty in his design was an inspiration to me. He was the only thing that kept me going sometimes, when the project got really rough. Jonathan, I love you, I will always hold you dear to my heart. Please know that you've had a profound influence in my life. Thank you so much for sharing your life with me. And I know my friend, we will meet again. Thank you so much. I remember Mark telling Z from Day One that this house was going to be famous and featured in media across the globe. Z always cynically responded by reminding Mark how many times he had heard that empty promise. “Z” said that was just “talkitecture” and he was interested architecture. But, Mark held to his vision and the vision has manifested magnificently. Before Jonathan crossed over, I asked him to contact me after he made the transition. Not putting much stock in my request, he reluctantly agreed to communicate if possible. A few months later, I was at a “Messages from Beyond” gathering when Sharon Renae, the medium, shared these words with the audience: Z (which is what everyone called him), architect, San Francisco – where he was living, round building, and he says “he is pleased.” I was elated to know that Jonathan knew his daughter had married and was aware of Serenity‟s media successes. When it became apparent that Hurricane Dennis‟ arrival and Jonathan‟s memorial service were scheduled on the same day, I called on Jonathan for a favor. I knew from the previous “Messages from Beyond” session that Z was fully aware of the storm bearing down on Serenity. I 38
- Page 2 and 3: Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ..
- Page 4 and 5: Our mission is to help reduce the s
- Page 6 and 7: 2 HURRICANE IVAN Surviving the Stor
- Page 8 and 9: Fortunately, before I had left for
- Page 10 and 11: ack on the island in our homes; end
- Page 12 and 13: for the entire house, so we all sta
- Page 14 and 15: They slept in the parking lot of th
- Page 16 and 17: esistant than its conventional neig
- Page 18 and 19: 3 Mother Nature's Influence in My L
- Page 20 and 21: The winds spawned an F-1 tornado th
- Page 22 and 23: Two hours before the intense impact
- Page 24 and 25: The kitchen trash. 4 HUMBLE BEGINNI
- Page 26 and 27: The cost of submitting the applicat
- Page 28 and 29: equired building codes for the coas
- Page 30 and 31: 6 METAMORPHOSIS The Dome Home would
- Page 32 and 33: In utter shock, I stopped my sobbin
- Page 34 and 35: 7 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN The
- Page 36 and 37: I compiled our wish list into a sev
- Page 40 and 41: asked him to split his energy betwe
- Page 42 and 43: dangerous boats of debris. Not a si
- Page 44 and 45: 10 TO HURRICANE HELL AND BACK THE U
- Page 46 and 47: arrange for transportation to the n
- Page 48 and 49: SURVIVOR OR VICTIM As Katrina looms
- Page 50 and 51: trenches helping in innumerable way
- Page 52 and 53: I have learned to be mostly unattac
- Page 54 and 55: As I edit this book, I find there i
- Page 56 and 57: Although our counties are now suppo
- Page 58 and 59: Even with all of the heartache, tea
- Page 60 and 61: The SEAPILE piling is placed into t
- Page 62 and 63: The balloon created quite a stir on
- Page 64 and 65: that hold the balloons‟ pieces to
- Page 66 and 67: FLEX-C TRAC, solved our dilemma and
- Page 68 and 69: PRODUCTS SELECTED FOR THE COASTAL E
- Page 70 and 71: DENSGLASS GOLD® EXTERIOR GUARD Den
- Page 72 and 73: With its double pane, glass block i
- Page 74 and 75: Another significant advantage of ea
- Page 76 and 77: We used foam insulation throughout
- Page 78 and 79: frustrated with my family, I rememb
- Page 80 and 81: usiness to be managed." Never have
- Page 82 and 83: Architecture Magazine: Dome Home Su
- Page 84 and 85: 14 THE THUNDER ROLLS The thunder ro
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VALERIE<br />
A Tribute to our Friend<br />
Jonathan Zimmerman<br />
Jonathan, my dear friend, when we discussed <strong>the</strong> hurricane resistant<br />
properties <strong>of</strong> a dome, I had no idea that we would be putting your dome to<br />
<strong>the</strong> test so quickly, nor so <strong>of</strong>ten. Do you think Mo<strong>the</strong>r Nature is cranky<br />
because we dared challenge her strength? (ha, ha)<br />
I am so grateful to you for so many things. Foremost, I love you for making<br />
me laugh.<br />
I loved laughing with you because you made me laugh at myself; made me<br />
laugh with you, even when I really wanted to scream in frustration. Thank<br />
you for sharing your heart with us.<br />
I was inspired when you talked about your daughters. Never had I heard a<br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r enjoy his children as much as you did. Laughing about <strong>the</strong> joys <strong>of</strong><br />
parenthood was always my favorite past time with you.<br />
Well, you did it, Jonathan. You created a star! “Talkitecture” has become<br />
talked about architecture. Serenity by <strong>the</strong> Sea, aka <strong>Dome</strong> <strong>of</strong> a <strong>Home</strong>, has<br />
reached envious notoriety in her very young life. She is only just turning<br />
two and has made her debut literally across <strong>the</strong> world. Her beauty has been<br />
portrayed in print media from Saudi Arabia and around <strong>the</strong> globe; she has<br />
been filmed for programs in <strong>the</strong> UK, Canada, and Germany; nationally,<br />
she has been on <strong>the</strong> Wea<strong>the</strong>r Channel, Good Morning America, MSNBC news,<br />
National Geographic, Discovery, Keith Olberman Countdown, Joe<br />
Scarborough Country. The list goes on and on.<br />
This is a tribute to you, Jonathan. There are numerous domes out <strong>the</strong>re,<br />
but none as famous or as beautiful as yours. You created a beautiful work<br />
<strong>of</strong> art and I am so glad <strong>the</strong> world appreciates her.<br />
But, anyone that knows you, knows that <strong>the</strong> truly beautiful creations you<br />
are most proud <strong>of</strong> are Jane and Tegan. You beamed when you spoke <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>m. Never have I seen a heart so full <strong>of</strong> love as yours for your girls. I love<br />
that about you!<br />
You are a beautiful Soul, my friend. Forever I will hold you dear.<br />
Until we meet again,<br />
Valerie<br />
MARK:<br />
37
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