FEBRUARY 24-28, 2008
Pacific Domes was at the Catersource 2008 Event Solutions Idea Factory trade show in February. This show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was another opportunity for us to present our trend-setting product.
We set up a 24 ft. Dome, that was furnished with our custom designed “Spacebar,” to show how our product creates cutting-edge events.
Editor’s note: This is one in a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon.
What do you do and how long have you been doing it?
We design and manufacture shelter, playground, event and greenhouse domes. We make about 200 domes a year. We’ve been doing this since 1979 and began the business in 1980.
How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley?
I moved here from Madre Grande Monastery in the Mountains above San Diego in 1980.
What inspired you to go into this line of work?
I took a dome-building class at Pima Junior College in Tucson, Ariz. I made teepees when I was at UC-Santa Cruz. I was learning to make shelters and put the knowledge of my dome-and-teepee building together with the inspiration of my fellow monastery people. I moved here with a couple of friends to the Colestin Valley and decided to inaugurate our work as a business. At the time, I was a midwife and looking for something to do and we were good at it. We had figured out the process by the time we had housed the whole monastery. Originally, there were three off us who founded the company, but Jan and Jim Cannon moved away after a year and I’ve grown the company ever since, with a lot of help from my friends.
What decision or action would you change if you could do it again?
I would’ve started from the beginning making dome sizes using (eastern) sacred architectural calculations, creating harmonic resonance. Right now I’m having to backtrack because my measurements were in feet and inches, rather than fine-tuned measurements like those used in India thousands of years ago.
What’s the toughest business decision you’ve made?
When I’ve had to fire someone and I have had to fire people for dishonesty in the past.
Who are your competitors?
I’ve sold domes to people in other countries and then they try to start their own company. I could name four or five globally — Zen Domes in Germany is one.
How do you define success for your business?
When my clients and employees are happy and the business is not in debt. I don’t borrow money and we’ve grown from a little family business to a corporation doing $2 million to $3 million in annual sales.
What are your goals?
We’re starting a global outreach, connecting with dealers and doing some licensing. We’re gearing up to make frames in other countries — Portugal, Mexico, Japan, Russia, France, Australia and South Africa among others — because they are too heavy to ship and eventually when their marketplaces are developed we’ll make the covers there as well. My oldest son, Christopher Lejeune, helped found our sister company, Obscura Digital, which does media projections inside the domes. So we have major corporate clients — Sony, Pioneer, Mercedes — all the car dealers — and do movie sets. I have seven kids, who are part owners and help with the business, if they are old enough. In terms of succession it will be mostly employees.
What training or education did you need?
I took a dome building class, but geometry studies were useful. When I was in college they paid me to run student activities, one of which was a simulated societies game.
What’s your advice for budding entrepreneurs?
I would say take advantage of the online international community for communication because it’s the best way to communicate about your project to the rest of the world.
R. Buckminster Fuller–inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, poet and cosmologist was one of the most enlightened mystics of the last century. Fuller was truly a man ahead of his time.
His lifelong goal was the development of what he called “Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science”–the attempt to anticipate and solve humanity’s major problems through the highest technology by providing “more and more life support for everybody, with less and less resources.” “Bucky” is best known for the invention of the geodesic dome–the lightest, strongest, and most cost-effective structure ever devised. The geodesic dome is able to cover more space without internal supports than any other enclosure. It becomes proportionally lighter and stronger the larger it is. The geodesic dome is a breakthrough in shelter, not only in cost-effectiveness, but in ease of construction and energy efficiency. The geometry allows proper circulation of the ambient air with little energy input.
Bucky was an expert at observing nature and extrapolating its fundamental geometry. Fuller was part of a lineage of master geometrists, one of which is credited with being the father of science and philosophy, Pythagoras.
The Pythagorean schools and their knowledge of the “music of the spheres” are the foundation of inspiration for all of the famous geometers that followed from Plato to Kepler. All of them had a profound sense that the geometry found in nature is fundamental to creation. Now many new and exciting unification theories are using these fundamental geometries to solve complex space equations, which supports the view that geometry structures space, and is fundamental to creation.
Imagine yourself living in a highly structured space replicating the fundamental geometry of creation—the same geometry at the root of heavenly spheres and of the molecules of your body.
Many healers use the dome because they believe that geometry helps reorganize the cells of the body and hence improve health and creativity.
Another advantage to the dome is that it can be used to remove stray electromagnetic waves by grounding the metal structure into the earth.
The ultimate geometry of creation is the sphere—ie., atoms, molecules, the earth, the sun and the stars etc. All these spheres mathematically generate a point of singularity at the center where all waves cancel out to create stillness—the Bindu point of ancient meditation practice. Although the dome is a hemisphere, it emulates these dynamics.
Many meditators use the domes to enhance their practice with great success. Similarly, because of these spherical coordinates the acoustics inside the dome are phenomenal and exquisite. Chanting at the point of singularity in the center of the dome generates the effect of hearing yourself from within. Many musicians enjoy the dome for practice and performing.
Tired of Being Square?
Think of us as a breath of fresh air! Just as an ocean breeze refreshes the spirit, stepping into a Pacific Dome will enliven your Event! We combine the synergetic geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller with our progressively designed covers to bring your event a futuristic impact. Domes are nature’s perfect architecture and provide a unique and functional environment for every gathering.
History Unfolding
For over 25 years, Pacific Domes has been perfecting the function and beauty of our portable geodesic structures. We have earned a reputation for a standard of quality, excellence and professionalism that is unparalleled. We have won the international award in tent manufacturing and commercial tent rentals. Microsoft, NASA, E3, Mercedes, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Chrysler, Volkswagen, and Cirque du Soleil are a few of our satisfied customers. Our Event Domes are the hit of every trade show and event. They have been featured in movie sets such as Roswell, Lost, Survivor and a recent production, RedLine, as well as in commercials, concerts and music videos of pop artists Alicia Keys, White Stripes and many others. The acoustics inside of our domes are unsurpassed, providing a unique setting for musical and performance events as well as conferences.
Versatility Meets Functionality
Our enthusiastic staff will embrace your special project with attention and consideration. From design concept and planning to setup and strike, we work with you creating a one of a kind immersive environment. With an array of dome sizes up to 120 ft. diameter, we can fulfill your custom needs. We offer exterior, high visibility branding for advertisement, bay windows for view, welcoming large round doors and sky lights! Multiple domes can be connected to create a magnificent modular complex! With quick setup and strike, we are prepared to take on any size event.
Interior Freedom
The entire interior is open to your creativity! Our domes are free-standing. No support pole to obstruct your valuable layout. The geodesic design of our framework is extremely strong and can support lighting and sound equipment, as well as your favorite art or advertisements. Our engineers will collaborate with your in-house Music, Lighting and Interior Design Crews. The possibilities are endless! We graciously welcome your ideas, creativity and challenges.
Projection day and night!
Our EventLite and Lycra fabrics are lightweight for easy setup and perfect for digital projections. For nighttime projection these translucent fabric allows images to be seen both inside and outside the dome. For daytime events that require interior projection, we offer our Event Blackout or Duvatine domes. Our sister company, Obscura Digital is a world leader in immersive video projection and content creation. Their professional staff can help you with all your Media and Projection needs.
Ordinary Is Boring
Unlike traditional tents that provide a space in which to host an event, our domes become the life of the event! Your guests will be captivated by the pyramidal effect of the geometry, which energizes and creates a unified field. Transform your special event into a completely unique and memorable experience for all who attend. Just being inside one of our Pacific Domes feels good!
“Necessity is the Mother of invention”
R. Buckminster Fuller: In the 1940’s, inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician and cosmologist, R. Buckminster Fuller set his intention to solve mankind’s housing problem. Through replicating “nature’s own co-ordinate system” found in all spheres from planets to molecules, and through the understanding that gravitational forces are spherical (not linear), the geodesic dome was born. His designs superseded the structural integrity of any architectural structure yet made. In 1970, the American Institute of Architects awarded “Bucky” a gold metal, acclaiming the geodesic dome as “the strongest, lightest and most efficient means of enclosing space known to man”.
Pacific High school: In 1969 a dome building project began to house 60 students and teachers at an “alternative” high school in the California hills. Utilizing Bucky’s designs, 17 domes were made, experimenting with as many materials as possible; plywood, aluminum, sheet metal, fiberglass, Ferro-cement, cedar shingles, asphalt shingles, and even nitrogen-inflated vinyl pillows. This project became a focus for the counterculture’s dome building movement of the late ’60s/’70s.
The Domebooks: By 1970 it was obvious that there was enough interest and information to compose a publication about dome building. The Whole Earth Catalog’s production facility was utilized to create Domebook One and later, in 1971, Domebook 2. These books birthed a global movement utilizing Bucky’s dome technology. In 1973, Shelter was compiled. It is a “how to book” on hand built housing, with a chapter called Domebook 3. Some of the people from Pacific High school were also involved in the manifestation of the Domebooks.
Pacific Domes: In 1979, Madre Grande Monastery in Southern California had a shelter need for its members. A dozen domes were made, using steel tubing and sail cloth covers. As the beautiful setting was in the high mountains, windows for view and woodstove outlets were designed into the covers creating an ideal shelter system. A year later many of us moved to Southern Oregon. As the domes were successful and the back to land movement still strong, in 1980 a business was born! Over the past years, the need for larger and larger domes has maintained a constant growth. The larger domes have opened up the uses to include both shelters and Event structures. Due to the extreme portability, Pacific Domes are the strongest portable structure known to man. Thanks to the internet, this technology is spreading around the globe.
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