Don’t get me wrong, but the latest newsletter story about a condominium complex has me confused. Maybe its because I’ve been following Monolithic from early on.
Now, I understand the marketing that a business does to cover all bases, but how does the story “A Collaborative Vision for Multifamily Monolithic Domes” in the latest newsletter describe a “monolithic dome?” Is it only because it has a dome-like roof on it? Does the construction of it include inflating something? Is it because it is round? Is it because it could possibly survive a sever storm?
I’m confused by what I’ve carried with me about the survivability features of a dome that I learned way-back-there from Monolithic literature.
Monolithic Domes can be built with stemwalls of varying heights. McLoughlin’s plans are not a conventional building with a dome on top. I can see how a person might be confused, though.
Here is an article written byDavid B. South (DBS) about stemwalls. It’s a little out of date, but I thought since you have been following Mknolithic for a long while, you might like to read about different methods of integrating vertical walls into a one-piece dome from the horse’s (DBS’s) mouth.
Thanks for reminding me. The following clears it all up for me:
… we build a vertical wall with brick, block or a coated surface to the outside. Then the Monolithic Dome appears to start at the top of the block, but actually the entire building is one piece or Monolithic.
Spray the inside surface of the stemwall and the dome with a continuous seamless coat of polyurethane foam, from the ground, clear up and over the inside of the Airform.
After placing the rebar, apply structural concrete to create a one-piece (Monolithic) building.
