Home sweet dome

The congregation has now raised that money, but the catalyst for Phase 2 came from the Northern Credit Union.

“They have decided to accept our pledge money as collateral against construction advance, which allowed us to start building again (in October) and work right through to completion,” Mahood said.

Mahood estimates that will fast-forward the project’s completion by four years; $2.3 million doesn’t allow for much annual construction when the funds are spread out over five years, but when used all at once, it’s enough to get the project finished.

Construction has now begun on a second dome structure, the 4,000-square-foot “Core” youth and children’s centre, which will be connected to the first dome by an enclosed walkway. Structural steel started going up in November, and Mahood anticipated the building would be closed in by Christmas Eve.

The crew is simultaneously shaping the interior of the first dome, putting in the floor for a sloped, 800-seat auditorium. Sewer and water is being connected to municipal lines, electrical servicing is complete, and the entire site has been graded.

“They’re big, big steps for us,” Mahood said.

Work will now begin on the interiors, which Mahood estimates will proceed quickly. All Nations has retained the services of Hawkey Church Management to oversee site work, and a request for proposals has been issued for the theatre seating.

Chosen for its functionality and ease of construction, the dome design cost about $76 per square foot to build and will use an estimated 50 per cent less HVAC capacity than a traditionally built structure. With an R-value of 64 or better, the church will cost less to heat and should pay for itself in about 15 years, Mahood has estimated.

In using this novel building method, the church has also brought new construction knowledge to the North. South Industries, of Menan, Idaho, was brought in to construct the dome in 2012, and has since passed on their dome-building knowledge to local contractors, making the project “99 per cent Ontario-based,” Mahood said.

Mahood concedes it’s unlikely that dome-style building will suddenly set a new standard because of a solitary project, but he does believe dome buildings can serve a purpose for anyone seeking an enclosed, unobstructed space of 10,000 square feet or more.

“I think, visually, when people can see what we’ve done with the dome, acoustically, and then from an energy-audit perspective, then this kind of new and innovative technology that we’re building has the potential to become more mainstream for certain applications,” he said.