Xanadu Houses
The Xanadu Houses were notable for their easy, fast, and cost-effective construction as self-supporting monolithic domes of polyurethane foam without using concrete.
The Kissimmee Xanadu, designed by Roy Mason, was the most popular, and at its peak was attracting 1000 visitors every day.
[1] He was inspired by architect Stan Nord Connolly's Kesinger House in Denver, Colorado, one of the earliest homes built from insulation.
Mason had worked on a similar project prior to his involvement in the creation of the Kissimmee Xanadu House — an "experimental school" on a hill in Virginia which was also a foam structure.
Both Mason and Masters were influenced by other experimental houses and building concepts which emphasized ergonomics, usability, and energy efficiency.
[7] "No one's really looked at the house as a total organic system", said Mason, who was also the architecture editor of The Futurist magazine.
[8] The Walt Disney Company opened Epcot Center in Florida on October 1, 1982 (originally envisioned as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow).
[9] Masters, fellow Aspen High School teacher, Erik V Wolter, and Mason decided to open a Xanadu House several miles away in Kissimmee.
[10] Shortly after the Xanadu Houses were built and opened as visitor attractions, tourism companies began to advertise them as the "home of the future" in brochures encouraging people to visit.
By 2001, the Kissimmee house had suffered greatly from mold and mildew throughout the interior due to a lack of maintenance since being used as a visitor attraction, it was put up for sale again for an asking price of US$2 million.
It showed the house in disrepair with doors wide open, mold growing everywhere and a homeless man living inside.
The "explorers" walked through the house filming the decay firsthand as the homeless man slept in a chair on the main floor.
A pre-shaped vinyl balloon was formed and attached to the ring, and then inflated by air pressure from large fans.
The foam, produced by the sudden mixture of two chemicals that expand on contact to 30 times their original volume, hardened almost instantly.
Finally, the interior of the entire structure was sprayed with a 3⁄4 inch (1.9 cm) coating of fireproof material that also provided a smooth, easy-to-clean finish for walls and ceilings.
Inside the house, there was an electronic tour guide for the benefit of visitors, and the family room featured video screens that displayed computer-graphics art.
It featured a large false tree supporting the roof, and also acted as part of the built-in heating system.
The beds at the right of the room retreated into the wall to save space and cut down on clutter; the study niches were just the right size for curling up all alone with a pocket computer game or a book.
