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A quick thread about something the on my mind for several months now. it started during the stay home order last spring - memories of this house (no longer there) changed my entire perspective on life:
Xanadu, home of the future in The Wisconsin Dells is 1/12
Xanadu, home of the future in The Wisconsin Dells is 1/12
If you’re not from the Midwest, the Wisconsin dells is a tourist area in central Wisconsin that has all kinds of attractions. This house was always prominently visible as we drove through heading to a small cabin for a couple weeks every summer 2/12
Maybe it’s because in the Midwest we all grew up in houses usually made of 2x4s and siding that it stuck out. We were lucky to grow up in this house which was a French Canadian log house of vertical logs (recently listed for sale), but nothing was futuristic like Xanadu 3/12
So when I was nine or so after begging for a few summers, our parents got tickets for the Xanadu tour and it was awesome. It was like the space-age met the natural 70s: 4/12
I was instantly obsessed and suddenly saw so much possibility in the world. I convinced my parents to buy the 20 page book on how to plan and build your own Xanadu house 5/12
I spent hours drawing circles on a page with a protractor and a compass creating a layout for the house I wanted. It was the first time I also did financial calculations: the cost of the house based on the square foot estimate. Not my drawing but you get it 6/12
if I were more clever, I would’ve asked my parents if we could build a small model in our yard. We had a huge yard of about 5 acres. But i didn’t think of it.
Recently I saw similar idea floating around the Internet: inflating large balloons, spraying them with foam, 7/12
Recently I saw similar idea floating around the Internet: inflating large balloons, spraying them with foam, 7/12
...stripping the balloon off the foam, sealing the foam and boom. Your house is ready.
I’ve always found it super fascinating the idea of perfect yet instant structures that are cost-effective in the next generation of shelter 8/12
I’ve always found it super fascinating the idea of perfect yet instant structures that are cost-effective in the next generation of shelter 8/12
looking back it seems a little silly, but it introduced me to the world of architecture and as I was moving into graduate school I was trying to decide between a few things, architecture being when I was strongly attracted to.
Space is magic. A design we live in. 9/12
Space is magic. A design we live in. 9/12
I mean, just imagine what it was like in the early 1900s to see a frank Loyd Wright home so obviously and dramatically different from other homes of the time.
It feels like we’ve been in an architecture desert for years. Everything is either box or sticks and siding. 10/12
It feels like we’ve been in an architecture desert for years. Everything is either box or sticks and siding. 10/12
I think that’s why 3-D printed homes are so interesting or earth rammed homes or shipping container homes: it’s mesmerizing to think we could have a home quickly, easily, and affordably 11/12
Before Xanadu I had no clue what architecture was or that homes could be anything. It was an early life experience that blew my mind 
and I still scavenge the Internet for new housing ideas all the time.
whatever your interest, It’s good to always be dreaming
12/12
and I still scavenge the Internet for new housing ideas all the time. whatever your interest, It’s good to always be dreaming
12/12
