Gymnasiums -- Long-term benefits and greater value attracts coaches, superintendents, athletic directors and taxpayers
by Freda Parker
Picture this: 236 acres of gently rolling land, shaded by tall oaks, cooled by breezes wafting over a glittering pool and creek, and positively oozing beauty and serenity. That's the site of the summer camp facility and retreat center near Barry, Texas built by the DFW Church of Christ Jesus, Carrollton, Texas.
This summer, at that site, the church opened its new Monolithic Dome facility, a semi-elliptical structure with a diameter of 143 feet and a height of 45 feet. It encompasses 15,273 square feet of floor area on its main level and 1,089 square feet in the mezzanine.
On its interior the dome provides generous areas for recreation and various sports, administrative offices, a nurse's station, lockers, storage, and portable bleachers.
In an interview published in our Roundup (Spring/Summer 1999, p. 20), Administrator Mark Beaman said, "We're all looking forward to the gymnasium's completion and use at Thousand Oaks."
There are a lot of children who will be down for summer camp, and the gym is going to be a great place for them "a safe place, with fun, indoor activities."
Recently, we asked Beaman if the dome was meeting their expectations. "Yes, very much so," he replied. "Our dome gymnasium became fully operative this summer. In fact, we had a formal naming, Oakdome, and a dedication on July 9th."
Beaman said that Oakdome, in its first season, was used and enjoyed by groups of up to 135, ranging in age from six to adults. The recreations they participated in included basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, foosball, table games and weight lifting.
Oakdome's Manager Daniel Lima added, "This summer we had 1200 kids here from 13 different states. The groups arrived on Sunday afternoon and left on Saturday morning, and during the week they were here, they had a blast."
Lima said that keeping Oakdome cool and comfortable during this year's record-breaking heat and drought in Texas was "no problem at all." Nor does he anticipate any problem with heating during the winter.
"One of the best things about Oakdome," Lima said, "was the reaction of the kids when each group arrived. They were speechless, really amazed." Apparently, since most had never seen a Monolithic Dome, just playing in one was a treat.
Italy High School Multi-Purpose Building
"Looking down the road, twenty years from now, somebody is going to be very happy that we did this," said Mike Clifton, superintendent of schools in Italy, Texas, the same Italy that headquarters MDI.
Clifton's remark referred to the new Monolithic Dome, 148 feet in diameter, with classrooms for special activities, auditorium and gymnasium with a running track.
One would think that since most of Italy's 2000 residents, 650 students, 60 teachers and seven school board members are familiar with Monolithic Domes, selling them on the idea of a dome gym would have been a piece of cake.
But while it wasn't too difficult, it wasn't too easy either. Clifton said, "Of course we were all familiar with the domes. We had a good overview. But we really had to see for ourselves."
Rick Crandall and David B. South, in several meetings, gave the school board and administrators the documentation and information they needed. Clifton said, "That got us very interested in Monolithic structures, and then we visited Thousand Oaks, a dome already operating, and we came away convinced."
"We were impressed with what you get for the cost and the long term benefits," Clifton continued. He said that the deciding factors for them were the Monolithic Dome's superior insulation, its low energy use and its low maintenance, especially over years.
After reviewing various Monolithic Dome designs for gymnasiums, Italy chose the Orion, a design that combines the roundness of a dome with vertical outside walls (Roundup, Fall 2000, p. 10; Winter 1999, p. 24).
That attractive design met with just about everyone's approval. Now they anxiously await the start of construction and, if all goes as planned, the dedication of their new Monolithic Dome gymnasium at the opening of the 2001 school year.
"Besides being the new home for our Italy Gladiators, we'll be using the dome for regular classes, band assemblies, concerts, and graduation. With seating for 1500 spectators, I'm sure we'll be getting calls for playoff games," Clifton concluded.
Mountainair, New Mexico
It's the home of the Mountainair High School Mustangs. You know that immediately because a spirited mustang built of rod iron by the shop students and their teacher stands in front of their new auxiliary gymnasium, a Monolithic Dome, 110 feet in diameter and 27.5 feet high.
This school year marks the opening of Mountainair's new gym, and according to Ernest Renteria, high school principal and athletic director, "It's an event the kids are very excited about. They can't wait to get in and start using it. It's such a unique structure, and it fits our needs."
In a way, the uniqueness of the dome complements the uniqueness of the area. At an elevation of 6500 feet, Mountainair, about 60 crow-flying miles southeast of Albuquerque, is near the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, once a Native American trading community, then the site of Spanish missions. University of Arizona archeology students work in three digs every summer.
School District Superintendent Loyd Sellers said, "Monument Headquarters are in Mountainair, so the students who work at the digs are often here. They use the showers in our gym."
For years Mountainair's population stayed at right around 1300, but it's currently attracting retirees and artists and experiencing growth. The area is known for its art galleries and local talent.
Before constructing its Monolithic Dome, Mountainair's 380 students and 31 teachers used a cinder block structure built in the 1960s as their gym.
Jim Hayes, a school board member for the past six years, said that it and the other existing school buildings are conventional. "Their energy use is high," Hayes said. "There are maintenance problems, reroofing and cracks in the walls. There's quite a bit to do with the old ones. The older they get, the more you have to maintain. We're hoping to do better with the dome."
Superintendent Sellers agrees. He said that the energy efficiency of Monolithic Domes and their structural integrity were the features with the most attraction for them.
A Monolithic Dome's ability to convert into an instant disaster shelter was another attraction. Sellers said, "We already have an agreement with our local disaster team to use the dome gym for emergencies. We sometimes get very severe snowstorms. Last year school closed for eight days because of the snow. Such storms can close the Interstate, so people get trapped in surrounding towns, and the hotels and motels get filled up. Then folks get channeled over to us."
The DLR Group, the largest and oldest architectural firm in Farmington, New Mexico, did the design work for Mountainair.
Asked about working on a Monolithic Dome, Project Architect Karen Small said, "It was really interesting. It was our first time, and it was really neat to go through the process.
"We enjoyed the project, and we would like to work on another one. We know a lot more now," Small continued. "With this first one, there were a lot of unknowns, particularly with the penetrations. It was a little hard to figure the lighting and heating, because it was round. At first we planned on ducts conforming to the shape and style of the dome. But then we decided to go to radiant heating panels."
"So the mechanics were a little unusual," Small said. "I would say the membrane (Airform) on the outside was a little tricky. We had to make sure that we didn't cut away any excess, so we could use it for flashing. (Flashing: process of sealing around a penetration with Airform material to keep moisture out.) So that's a new thing for us."
Before making a final decision, Sellers, Renteria and Hayes toured several Monolithic Dome facilities in Arizona. At each location they were impressed with the low heating, cooling and maintenance costs for Monolithic Domes. Hayes said, "I think they're the thing of the future, really."
Park University
"Click this photo and watch it inflate!" That's the invitation on one of Park University's many website photos of their Monolithic Domes, construction, that should reach completion this November (www.park.edu/news/inflate2.gif).
Park University in Parkville, Missouri is the most extensive underground campus in the world. Built mainly of the limestone mined right on site, the university's underground student facilities include library and learning center, bookstore, computer lab, classrooms, the Campanella Gallery, the Morden Board Room, offices and a health clinic (Roundup, Spring/Summer 1999, p. 14).
In addition, Park University is developing an underground business complex for offices, retail outlets, warehousing and light manufacturing, that, when completed, will take up 24 million square feet of subsurface.
But one of Park University's most recent projects, spurred by articles about Monolithic Dome gyms in our fall 1997 Roundup, is their new Donald J. Breckon Sports Event Center. It involves twin Monolithic Domes, 130 feet in diameter, flanking a two-story, 3289-square-foot office complex.
Both domes will be used as gymnasiums by the university's 12 teams competing in men's and women's intercollegiate basketball, volleyball and soccer. According to Claude English, their athletic director, some of these teams have attained national ranking. English said that one gym will have two practice courts and will be used primarily for practice, while the other, with its 1000 spectator seats will host competitions.
When interviewed this past spring, Park's President Dr. Donald Breckon said that they began looking for structures for their new gymnasium that would provide some of the same benefits they already enjoyed in their underground campus, such as comfortable, consistent indoor temperatures, structural strength and stability, and low maintenance (Roundup, Spring/Summer 1999, p. 15).
To that, Executive Vice President for Administration Dr. Paul Rounds added, "It all boiled down to this. We found that by using the dome approach, we would end up with essentially twice as much space for the same amount of money. We could get two domes, two playing surfaces plus all the features we wanted, for the price of one playing surface."
Interviewed again for this issue of the Roundup, Rounds said, "Both domes are now completed as far as the Monolithic Dome process goes, but neither is being used yet. The floors are being finished and the connecting walls and offices between the domes are being erected as we speak."
Asked if he's pleased with how things are going, Rounds replied, "Very much so. Actually, everything's pretty much on target according to how it was planned in February and March, so we're not particularly behind. "And they're far enough along, he continued, "so that now we have a really good feel for the domes, and we're very pleased with them."
"Call me again in about 90 days, and we'll talk about playing games in them," Rounds concluded.
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