METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

The SEAPILE piling is placed into the ground by conventional methods. Davis Marine
Construction jetted the sixteen pilings several feet into the ground and drove the pilings to grade
level outlining the perimeter for the future dome structure.
After the pilings were placed in an oval shape, a concrete ring beam was created. Steel rebar is
placed vertically around the ring beam footing and then the concrete is poured. Later in the
process, the embedded bars are used to join the concrete shell with the concrete ring beam.
Without a doubt, choosing Seaward's composite pilings was a genius move on my husband's
part. When Hurricane Ivan hit, our yard became a virtual quicksand pit. The entire house was
gently rocking, as evidenced by the tapping of pictures on my interior walls. Instead of cracking
or splitting like concrete or wood pilings might have done, the composite pilings easily handled
the stress and dispersed it.
INVISIBLE SEA WALLS
BALLOON
The Monolithic Dome Institute, ( www.monolithicdome.com ) fabricated the airform that became
our home's shell or frame. The Airframe is made of a very heavy PVC vinyl fabric whose seams
are sealed with microwaves. After being attached to the ring beam, the fans inflate the airform in
less than thirty minutes. The fans must run continually throughout the construction of the shell of
the dome. If the fans fail, the entire structure can collapse in a mere seven minutes.
The balloon was inflated on April 30, 2002. In those twenty minutes, the beach's landscape was
irrevocably changed. How often is a home framed in a matter of minutes? Our joy expanded in
proportion to the dome‟s inflation. This was the day we had been waiting for – building could truly
begin now. Being inside the inflated airform is somewhat overwhelming. The expansiveness is
belied by the exterior appearance.
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