Here’s an amazing time capsule house, first spotted by Retro Ruth of No Pattern Required: The 1964 Dome House in Midland, Michigan — now for sale for the first time since it was built by the original owners, architect Robert Schwartz and his wife Barbara. Robert Schwartz was a student of Buckminster Fuller, father of the geodesic dome. According to this informative story in the Midland Daily News, which gave me permission to feature a few of their photos:
The shell of the house is made of foam — Styrofoam, manufactured by The Dow Chemical Co., which furnished the foam in exchange for cost information from Mr. Schwartz, who already had considered the concept of a hemispherical abode. At the prompting of his college mentor, R. Buckminster Fuller, Schwartz pursued the idea and Dow agreed to the experimentation. Schwartz was one of a handful of students Fuller was using to design geodesic domes for U.S. Marines Corps housing. In this case, the domes were made of cardboard and airlifted by helicopters.
Dow had developed a “spiral generation” machine that allowed for “spinning” a dome from Styrofoam. The machine rotated long pieces of four-inch thick Styrofoam in a circular manner that eventually became a dome. The foam was bound together with intense heat. A layer of concrete averaging two inches thick was sprayed on the dome using the Gunite method. The exterior was finished with a coat of Dow acrylic paint and a coat of Dow Corning Corp. sealant. It took only 14 hours to spin the … dome….
The story also points out that because its construction and materials, the house is very energy efficient. Well, what’s old is new again: Let’s build more of these, that Buckminster Fuller was a genius!
Where to see more photos, and additional links:
- Midland Daily News story. Thanks also, Kevin Prior, for permission to show a few of your photos.
- The real estate listing includes more photos (link now broken but redirects here) — the price, $325,000 — and a link to the realtor if you are in the market. This house is dreamy!
Heidi Swank says
Are there more of these houses about in the US? The other day I was driving up to an auction in North Las Vegas and saw a similar home. It wasn’t a geodesic dome house (there are a couple of these in downtown LV) but had very smooth walls and the funky look of this one. I’ll have to run up there sometime and take another look see. Maybe grab a couple of photos for comparison.
Thora Goodnight says
My father, Dale Johnson, engineered/designed the equipment to spin Styrofoam. He also did this building, which is the mess hall at Camp Neyati, on left side of photo: http://www.campneyati.org/
The process was used to cap containment ponds for Dow. He put them up all over the US, Europe, etc. If you fly in/out of St. Paul/Minneapolis you will see a lot of them there. There was a pod of domes built for a school in the Detroit area, but I have not been able to find the location.
Kersten says
Oh, someday- someday~ I’ll have a sunk in living room! And – I love LOVE(!!) the reoccurring Mondrian wall dividers throughout the house! I want to investigate that interesting window on the very top of the house! I imagine this house is very quiet when the windows are closed. Ahhhhh….. Wow. Fantastic!
Francesca says
If I understand correctly, concrete and sealant were put on the outside of the dome. Does that mean the interior walls are styrofoam? It looks like the ceiling is in the pictures, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that.
Allen says
My grandmothers friend had Styrofoam ceiling tiles throughout her house. From what I remember they had some kind of diamond pattern. I remember that they were Styrofoam because I commented on them once as possibly having asbestos and she corrected me and told me that they were Styrofoam. Sure enough they were when I looked really close!
Michael says
Michigan real estate has been an absolute bargain for years, and this masterpiece is no exception. Where else could you purchase such a unique, forward-thinking, enduring architectural gem for such an affordable price? The interiors are striking. I really admire the owners’ commitment to the design. The only thing missing for me is a fireplace. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Pam! 😀
Lawrence Bill says
What an interesting house. Everything looks unchanged–a time capsule, indeed. It kind of takes your breath away it’s still so fresh and clean. You look at some of these time capsule houses and wonder, what the heck happened? How did we get to this place today where we need to look to the past for such inspiration? This shows the kind of progressive architecture that once existed in the State of Michigan. It really shows the optimism that people had back then.
Trouble says
Who names their baby “Buckminster”? LOL
Trouble says
That’s like Little Lord Fontleroy.. Some names make me not positive (A nod to Pam for not using negative words on the blog).
Trouble says
Whoa, red flag here! The Green Meanies will freak out at the styrofoam bc it’s damaging to the environment! 😀
pam kueber says
i was wondering about that….
Zoe says
A house (or other building) made out of Styrofoam is no more unecological than a house made out of steel, or wood, and it’s more ecological than houses wrapped in vinyl. If you were making a Styrofoam house with the intention of dumping it into a landfill, THAT would be very unecological. But if you’re (or someone is) going to live in it for 50-199 years, no real harm done.
pam kueber says
i appreciate that, trouble. you are duly awarded one get out of jail free card. don’t abuse it. too much.
Francesca says
His first name is actually Richard. Buckminster is his middle name.
Laura says
This is such a neat house! The Dow connection is particularly interesting to me – I live just outside Lake Jackson, Texas, which is a Dow town. Dow employees go back and forth between here and Midland quite often – and the city of Lake Jackson was designed by Alden Dow utilizing a lot of what he learned while interning with Frank Lloyd Wright. I hope the right person buys this place and doesn’t do too much “renovating” – it would actually be a wonderful museum as a modern historic home.
pam kueber says
Yes, Laura, it was the connection to Dow, and to Fuller, that made this one particularly interesting to me, as well. I am very curious why the construction technology did not catch on — it seems to have endured and as mentioned, is very energy efficient.
Em says
Impressive! Love the interiors, the light and the furnishings.
Jenny says
Wow. That is an amazing house.
Jana (Berniecat) says
While I understand this house may not be everyone’s “cup of tea”, I think it is AWESOME! I love the innovative design that is energy efficient, yet provides for so many windows that let in so much light (in such a cold climate!).