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{{short description|Series of experimental homes in the US}}
] in 1994]]
{{Primary sources|date=August 2009}}


], 1990|alt=Exterior of the Xanadu House in Kissimmee, Florida in 1990.]]
'''Xanadu House''' (pronounced “''ZAN-uh-du''”) started as a novel architectural project in 1979, and eventually led to the construction of three similar visitor attractions in ], ], and ] in the early 1980s. All three were built with ] insulation foam rather than concrete, for easy, fast, and cost-effective construction.


The '''Xanadu Houses''' were a series of ]s built to showcase examples of ]s and ] in the home in the ]. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the United States: one each in ], ]; ], ]; and ], ]. The houses included novel construction and design techniques, and became popular ]s during the 1980s.
The Xanadu Houses were built to showcase how computers could be used in the home to carry out automated tasks, and because of their use of organic design and heavy use of technology, they became popular ]s during the 1980s. The Kissimmee Xanadu, designed by ] was the most popular, and at its peak was attracting 1000 visitors every day. The Wisconsin Dells and Gatlinburg houses were closed and demolished in the early 1990s; the Kissimmee Xanadu House was closed in 1996 and demolished in October 2005.


The Xanadu Houses were notable for their easy, fast, and cost-effective construction as self-supporting ]s of ] foam without using ]. They were ] designed, and contained some of the earliest ] systems. The Kissimmee Xanadu, designed by ], was the most popular, and at its peak was attracting 1000 visitors every day. The Wisconsin Dells and Gatlinburg houses were closed and demolished in the early 1990s; the Kissimmee Xanadu House was closed in 1996 and demolished in October 2005.
== History ==
]
Bob Masters, who conceived the Xanadu House concept, was an early pioneer in creating and living in houses built of rigid insulation. Before creating Xanadu House, Masters designed and created inflatable balloons to be used in the construction of the house. He was inspired by the "Kesinger House" in ], by architect Stan Nord Connolly, one of the earliest homes built from insulation . Masters built his first home in 1969 in two-and-a-half days during a blustery snowstorm, using the same methods later used to build Xanadu House. Masters was convinced that these dome-shaped homes built of foam could work for others, so he decided to create a series of show homes around the country. Masters’s business partner Tom Gussel chose the name "Xanadu" for the homes, a reference to Mongol Emperor ]’s summer residence ], which is prominently featured in ]’s famous poem '']''.


==History==
] ] had worked on a similar project prior to his involvement in the creation of Xanadu House. He created an “experimental school” on a hill in ] which was also a foam structure similar. Before creating Xanadu House, Mason and Masters were influenced by other houses and building concepts which emphasized ergonomics, usability, and energy efficiency. These included apartments designed by architect ] featuring detachable building modules. In addition, some of the more significant designs included a floating habitat made of fiberglass designed by Jacques Beufs for living on water surfaces, concepts for living underwater by architect Jacques Rougerie and the ] built in the 1970s which took advantage of the earth as insulation. Fifty years before Xanadu House, another "House of Tomorrow" at the Century Progress Exposition in Chicago introduced air conditioning, forced air heating, circuit breakers, electric eye doors, and other innovative features.


=== Early development ===
Mason believed Xanadu House would alter the way people thought about houses: as little more than inanimate, passive shelters against the elements. "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''. "The house can have intelligence and each room can have intelligence."
Bob Masters was an early pioneer of houses built of rigid insulation. Before conceiving the Xanadu House concept, Masters designed and created inflatable balloons to be used in the construction of houses.<ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|page=132}}</ref> He was inspired by architect Stan Nord Connolly's Kesinger House in ], ], one of the earliest homes built from insulation. Masters built his first balloon-constructed house exterior in 1969 in less than three days during a turbulent snowstorm, using the same methods later used to build the Xanadu houses.<ref name="bob earlydev">{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=124–125}}</ref>


Masters was convinced that these dome-shaped homes built of foam could work for others, so he decided to create a series of show homes in the United States. Masters's business partner Tom Gussel chose the name "Xanadu" for the homes, a reference to ], the summer capital of ], which is prominently featured in ]'s famous poem '']''.<ref name="firstxanadu">{{Citation
The estimated cost of construction for one home was $300,000. Roy Mason also planned a low cost version which would cost $80,000, to show that homes using computers do not have to be expensive. The low cost Xanadu was never built. The first Xanadu House opened in Wisconsin Dells, and was created by Bob Masters, and designed by ] in 1979. It was 4,000 square feet in area, and featured a geodesic greenhouse. In its first Summer, 100,000 people visited the new attraction.
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=126–129}}</ref> The first Xanadu House opened in ], ]. It was designed by architect Stewart Gordon and constructed by Masters in 1979.<ref name="firstxanadu"/> It was {{convert|4000|sqft|m2}} in area, and featured a geodesic greenhouse. 100,000 people visited the new attraction in its first summer.<ref name="firstxanadu"/>


===Popularity===
] opened the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow to compete with the Xanadu attraction. As a result Bob Masters found architect Roy Mason in 1980 at a futures conference in ], to design the second Xanadu. It eventually opened in 1983 in Kissimmee, Florida after several years of research into the concepts Xanadu would use. It was over 6,000 square feet in size, considerably larger than the average house because it was built as a showcase. At its peak in the mid 1980s, more than 1,000 people were visiting the new Kissimmee attraction every day. A third Xanadu House was built in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Shortly after the Xanadu Houses were built and opened as visitor attractions, ] companies began to ] them as the "home of the future" in brochures encouraging people to visit.
]The most popular Xanadu house was the second house, designed by architect ].<ref>{{Citation | last = Ferris | first = M. | title = Tomorrow's Living Today | newspaper = Softalk Magazine | pages = 106–117 | date = August 1983}}</ref> Masters met Mason in 1980 at a futures conference in ]. Mason had worked on a similar project prior to his involvement in the creation of the Kissimmee Xanadu House &mdash; an "experimental school" on a hill in ] 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. These included apartments designed by architect ] featuring detachable building modules and more significant designs including a floating habitat made of fiberglass designed by Jacques Beufs for living on water surfaces, concepts for living underwater by architect Jacques Rougerie and the ] built in the 1970s which took advantage of the earth as insulation.<ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=32–36, 196}}</ref> Fifty years before Xanadu House, another house from the ] at the ] Exposition in Chicago introduced air conditioning, forced air heating, circuit breakers and electric eye doors.<ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=95–96}}</ref>


Mason believed Xanadu House would alter people's views of houses as little more than inanimate, passive shelters against the elements.<ref name="commodore">{{Citation
]
| last = Halfhill
By the early 1990s, the Xanadu houses began to lose popularity because the technology they used was quickly becoming obsolete, and as a result the houses in Wisconsin and Tennessee were demolished. While the Xanadu House in Kissimmee continued to operate as a public visitor attraction until it was closed in 1996. It was consequently put up for sale in 1997 and was sold for office and storage use. 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. By ] ], the last of the Xanadu houses had been demolished, following years of abandonment and use by the homeless.{{ref|XanaduDemolished}} A condominium is planned for the Xanadu tract.
| first = Tom R.
| date = December 1982
| title = Computers in the Home of 1990
| periodical = ]
| access-date = 2008-05-27
| url = http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/magazines/home_automation_compute_dec_82/compute_dec82.htm
}}</ref> "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. "The house can have intelligence and each room can have intelligence." The estimated cost of construction for one home was $300,000.<ref name="commodore"/> Roy Mason also planned a low cost version which would cost $80,000, to show that homes using computers do not have to be expensive. The low cost Xanadu was never built. Approximately 1,000 homes were built using this type of construction.<ref>{{cite news |title=Time Passes Xanadu By: What Now? |publisher=] |last1=Tin |first1=Annie |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/06/10/time-passes-xanadu-by-what-now/ |date=June 10, 1994 |access-date=August 16, 2017}}</ref>


] opened '']'' in ] on October 1, 1982 (originally envisioned as the ]).<ref>{{Citation
== Design ==
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
Xanadu House was ergonomically designed, with future occupants in mind. It used curved walls, painted concrete floors rather than carpets, a light color scheme featuring cool colors throughout, and an open-floor plan linking rooms together without the use of doors. The modular exterior was reminiscent of a ], because of the domes built by spraying ] foam onto removable molds. Xanadu House featured white painted walls, a ] pole, an outside public toilet, and a lake. It had at least two entrances, and very porthole-type large windows. The interior of Xanadu was cave-like, featuring cramped rooms and low ceilings. The interior used a cream color for the walls, and a pale green for the floor. At the center of the house was the living room, in which a large false tree supported the roof, and also acted as part of the built-in heating system.
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|page=128}}</ref> Masters, fellow Aspen High School teacher, Erik V Wolter, and Mason decided to open a Xanadu House several miles away in Kissimmee. It eventually opened in 1983, after several years of research into the concepts Xanadu would use. It was over {{convert|6000|sqft|m2}} in size, considerably larger than the average house because it was built as a showcase. At its peak in the 1980s, under the management of Wolter, more than 1,000 people visited the new Kissimmee attraction every day. A third Xanadu House was built in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.<ref>{{Citation | title=Schlocky Gatlinburg antithesis of Smokies | date=June 1, 1986 | periodical=]}}</ref> Shortly after the Xanadu Houses were built and opened as visitor attractions, tourism companies began to advertise them as the "]" in brochures encouraging people to visit.<ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=132–135}}</ref>


===Demise===
Construction of the Xanadu house in ], began with the pouring of a concrete slab base and the erection of a tension ring 40 feet in diameter to anchor the domed roof of what would become the "Great Room" of the house. A pre-shaped vinyl balloon was formed and attached to the ring, and then inflated by air pressure from large fans. Once the form was fully inflated, its interior surface was sprayed with quick-hardening ] plastic foam. Spraying from the inside permitted work to continue even in wet or windy weather. The foam, produced by the sudden mixture of two chemicals that expand on contact to 30 times their original volume, hardens almost instantly. Repeated spraying produces a five-to-six-inch-thick structurally sound shell within a few hours. Once the foam cures, the plastic balloon form is removed to be used again. Once the second dome has been completed and the balloon form removed, the two rooms are joined together by wire mesh which is also sprayed with foam to form a connecting gallery or hall. This process is repeated until the house is complete. Window, skylight, and door openings are cut and the frames foamed into place. Finally, the interior of the entire structure is sprayed with a 3/4 inch coating of fireproof material that also provides a smooth, easy-to-clean finish for walls and ceilings. The exterior is given a coat of white elastomeric paint as the final touch.
]], 2014|217x217px]]By the early 1990s, the Xanadu houses began to lose popularity because the technology they used was quickly becoming obsolete, and as a result the houses in Wisconsin and Tennessee were demolished, while the Xanadu House in Kissimmee continued to operate as a public visitor attraction until it was closed in 1996. It was consequently put up for sale in 1997 and was sold for office and storage use. 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. By October 2005, the last of the Xanadu houses had been demolished, following years of abandonment and use by the homeless.


The Kissimmee house was featured in the 2007 movie '']''. 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. At the end of the segment, the man wakes up and threatens the "explorers" telling them to leave his home.
== Interior ==
The Xanadu Houses used an ] system controlled by ] ]s. The houses had 15 rooms each, of these the kitchen, party room, health spa, and bedrooms all used computers and other electronics equipment heavily in their design. For example, the bath could be filled with water at a set temperature on a specific date and time. The automation concepts which Xanadu House used are based on original ideas conceived in the 1950s and earlier. The Xanadu Houses aimed to bring the original concepts into a finished and working implementation. As visitors followed an electronic ] of the house, featuring constantly changing computer-graphics art shows on video screens in the family room, they learnt about the different advantages and features of the Xanadu House including the security and fire systems.


==Design==
]
]
]


=== Construction ===
The main features of the Xanadu House design included an "electronic hearth" featuring a television, games console, sound system, VCR and other electronics equipment, an automated Kitchen including tele-shopping and housekeeping capabilities, a family room with several television sets to watch multiple channels at once, a telecommunications antenna, computer-controlled heating and computer-controlled electricity and gas usage.
Construction of the Xanadu house in ], began with the pouring of a concrete slab base and the erection of a tension ring {{convert|40|ft|m}} in diameter to anchor the domed roof of what would become the "Great Room" of the house. A pre-shaped vinyl balloon was formed and attached to the ring, and then inflated by air pressure from large fans. Once the form was fully inflated, its surface was sprayed with quick-hardening polyurethane plastic foam. The foam, produced by the sudden mixture of two chemicals that expand on contact to 30 times their original volume, hardened almost instantly. Repeated spraying produced a five-to-six-inch-thick structurally sound shell within a few hours. Once the foam cured, the plastic balloon form was removed to be used again. Once the second dome was completed and the balloon form removed, the two rooms were joined by wire mesh which was also sprayed with foam to form a connecting gallery or hall. This process was repeated until the house was complete. Window, skylight, and door openings were cut and the frames foamed into place. Finally, the interior of the entire structure was sprayed with a {{convert|3/4|in|cm}} coating of fireproof material that also provided a smooth, easy-to-clean finish for walls and ceilings. The exterior was given a coat of white elastomeric paint as the final touch.<ref name="centerpages">{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=Plate A–L (Center insert)}}</ref>


=== Interior ===
Xanadu House's kitchen was automated by "autochef", an electronic dietitian which planned well-balanced meals. Meals could be cooked automatically at a set date and time. If new food was required, it could either be obtained via tele-shopping through the computer system or from Xanadu's own greenhouse. The kitchen's computer terminal could also be used for the household calendar, records, and home bookkeeping.
A Xanadu House was ergonomically designed, with future occupants in mind. It used curved walls, painted concrete floors rather than carpets, a light color scheme featuring cool colors throughout, and an open-floor plan linking rooms together without the use of doors. It had at least two entrances, and large porthole-type windows. The interior of the house was cave-like, featuring cramped rooms and low ceilings, although it is not clear whether these accounts describe the same Xanadu House with a thirty-foot dome. The interiors used a cream color for the walls, and a pale green for the floor.


The Xanadu house in Kissimmee, Florida used an ] system controlled by ] ]s.<ref name="commodore"/> The house had fifteen rooms; of these the kitchen, party room, health spa, and bedrooms all used computers and other electronic equipment heavily in their design.<ref name="dayatxanadu">{{Citation
The Xanadu homes also suggested a way to do ] at home with the ] room and the use of computers for electronic mail, access to stock and commodities trading, and news services.
| last1 = Mason
| first1 = Roy
| last2 = Jennings
| first2 =L
| last3 = Evans
| first3 =R
| title = A Day at Xanadu
| newspaper = Futurist Magazine
| pages = 17–24
|date=February 1984}}</ref> The automation concepts which Xanadu House used are based on original ideas conceived in the 1950s and earlier. The Xanadu Houses aimed to bring the original concepts into a finished and working implementation. Inside the house, there was an electronic ] for the benefit of visitors, and the family room featured video screens that displayed computer-graphics art. These art displays were constantly changing, being displayed on video screens as opposed to static mediums.<ref>{{Citation
|last=Harb
|first=Joseph A.
|date=February 1986
|title=No place like home - beep - zzzt - "smart home" technology reviewed
|periodical=Nation's Business
|access-date=2008-05-27
|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_v74/ai_4116362
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023161416/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_v74/ai_4116362
|archive-date=2008-10-23
}}</ref>
<ref name="computers_amazing_machines_pg92-93">{{Cite book
| last = O'Neill
| first = Catherine
| date = 1985
| title = Computers: Those Amazing Machines
| publisher = ]
| isbn = 978-0-87044-574-3
| pages =
| url = https://archive.org/details/computersthoseam00grac/page/92
}}</ref> The home also featured fire and security systems, along with a master bath that included adjustable weather conditions and a ] ].<ref name="dayatxanadu"/><ref name="computers_amazing_machines_pg92-93"/>


At the center of the house was the "great room", the largest in the house. It featured a large false tree supporting the roof, and also acted as part of the built-in heating system. The great room also included a ], small television set, and a ]. Nearby was the dining room, featuring a glass table with a curved seat surrounding it; behind the seats was a large ] the entire wall. The family room featured walls covered with television monitors and other ] equipment.<ref name="computers_amazing_machines_pg92-93"/> The ] in the family room was described as an "electronic hearth" by the home's builders.<ref name="computers_amazing_machines_pg92-93"/> It was planned as a gathering place for family members and relatives along the same lines as a traditional hearth with a ].<ref name="centerpages"/><ref name="computers_amazing_machines_pg92-93"/>
Computers in the master bedroom allowed for other parts of the house to be controlled. This eliminated chores such as having to go downstairs to turn off the coffee pot after one had gone to bed. The children's bedroom featured the latest in teaching microcomputers and "videotexture" windows, whose realistic computer-generated landscapes could shift in a flash from scenes of real places anywhere in the world to imaginary scenes. 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.


The kitchen was automated by "autochef", an electronic dietitian which planned well-balanced meals.<ref>{{Citation
The "great room" was the largest room in the entire Xanadu home, and included a ], small ] set, and a ]. Nearby was the dining room, featuring a glass table with a curved seat surrounding it; behind the seats was a large window covering the entire wall. The family room featured ] monitors and other ] ] covering the walls. The builders called the ] center an "electronic hearth". It was planned as a gathering place for family members and relatives, just as is a traditional hearth with a ].
|date=July 1983
|last = Mason|first= EA
|pages=143–144
|title=Medical engineering: meetings on research priorities
|volume=12
|issue=3
|pmid=6685066
|journal=Engineering in Medicine
|doi=10.1243/EMED_JOUR_1983_012_037_02}}</ref> Meals could be cooked automatically at a set date and time. If new food was required, it could either be obtained via tele-shopping through the computer system or from Xanadu's own greenhouse. The kitchen's ] could also be used for the household calendar, records, and home bookkeeping.<ref name="centerpages"/>


The Xanadu homes also suggested a way to do ] at home with the ] room and the use of computers for electronic mail, access to stock and commodities trading, and news services.
In the spa, people could relax in a whirlpool, sun sauna, and environmentally-controlled habitat, and even exercise with the help of spa monitors. One of the advantages of using computers in the home includes security. In Xanadu House, a ]-type voice would speak when someone entered to make the intruder think someone was home.


Computers in the master bedroom allowed for other parts of the house to be controlled. This eliminated chores such as having to go downstairs to turn off the coffee pot after one had gone to bed. The children's bedroom featured the latest in teaching microcomputers and "videotexture" windows, whose realistic computer-generated landscapes could shift in a flash from scenes of real places anywhere in the world to imaginary scenes. 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.<ref name="centerpages" />
== Disadvantages ==
An initial concern was that the cost of ] would be excessive, since several computers would be running all day, all year. However, Mason figured that a central computer could control the energy consumption of all the other computers in the house. Many believed using computers in the home was a disadvantage, because if the computer fails, occupants would be restricted from getting food, having a bath, and even leaving the house if doors are locked. Many also resisted the concept of computers in the home because of concerns people would become less social. Those in favour argued that computers improved security and helped get household chores such as cleaning done quickly.


In the spa, people could relax in a whirlpool, sun sauna, and environmentally-controlled habitat, and exercise with the assistance of spa monitors.<ref>{{Citation
While the majority of people who visited a Xanadu House felt at ease because of the organic design, others felt that the concept was not viable because it was badly affected by the weather. Other architects and designers saw Xanadu House as an unprofessional ] design because of the materials used, and the odd use of colors and shapes inside the home. Designers continued to build conventionally-shaped homes, dismissing Xanadu House as an unsuccessful concept. Many disliked Xanadu House as a practical home because of its low ceilings, curved walls, and cramped rooms.
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=149, 173}}</ref> One of the advantages of using computers in the home includes security. In Xanadu House, a ]-type voice spoke when someone entered to make the intruder think someone was home.<ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=82–85}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
|title=Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|year=1983
|last = Mason
|pages=134–135}}</ref><gallery>
File:Xanadu - master bedroom.jpg|Master Bedroom
File:Xanadu - whirlpool bathtub.jpg|Whirlpool Tub
File:Xanadu - dining room.jpg|Dining Room
File:Xanadu - lily pads.jpg|Indoor Ponds


==Xanadu in print== File:Xanadu - kitchen.jpg|Kitchen
File:Xanadu - futuristic architecture.jpg|Outdoors View
]
</gallery>


=== Concerns over energy consumption ===
A book about Xanadu House , entitled ''Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!'' and written by Roy Mason, Lane Jennings and Robert Evans was published by Acropolis Books in November 1983. The book explains how computers can be used in the home, including many concepts in use today.<!--examples?--> The book describes how the Xanadu Houses were designed and constructed. The book also includes an interview with Bob Masters, an early pioneer in creating and living in houses built with rigid insulation. The book includes several photos of the Xanadu Houses, and discusses several other similar examples of architecture that used rigid insulation or an automated computer system.
An initial concern was that electricity costs would be excessive, since several computers would be operating continuously.<ref name="commodore"/> Mason figured that a central computer could control the energy consumption of all the other computers in the house.<ref name="commodore"/>


==See also== ==See also==
* ]'s ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]

* ]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
* {{Citation |title = Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!
|first1 = Roy
|last1 = Mason
|first2 = Lane
|last2 = Jennings
|first3 = Robert
|last3 = Evans
|author-link = Roy Mason (architect)
|pages =
|publisher = Acropolis Books
|isbn = 978-0-87491-701-7
|publication-date = November 1983
|year = 1983
|url = https://archive.org/details/xanaducomputeriz00maso/page/260
}}


== Notes == == Further reading ==
* {{Citation
# {{note|XanaduDemolished}}
| last = Corn
| first = Joseph J.
| publication-date = May 15, 1996
| title = Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future
| publisher = The Johns Hopkins University Press
| pages = 157
| isbn = 978-0-8018-5399-9
| year = 1996}}
* {{Citation
| last = O'Neill
| first = Catherine
| publication-date = June 1985
| title = Computers: Those Amazing Machines
| publisher = National Geographic Society
| pages =
| isbn = 978-0-87044-574-3
| year = 1985
| url = https://archive.org/details/computersthoseam00grac/page/104
}}


==References== ==External links==
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|Xanadu_House.ogg|date=2008-05-15}}
* — Article about the demolition of the last Xanadu
* at ]
* Tom Halfhill. ''Using Computers in the Home'' (Compute Magazine Article, ] ])
* Catherine O'Neil ''Computers Those Amazing Machines'' (Book, ]), Page 90, 92. (Computing the Future) ISBN 087044574X
* ], Lane Jennings, Robert Evans. ''Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!'' (Book, ] ] ) ISBN 0874917018


{{Home automation}}
== External links ==
* "Using Computers in the Home"
*
*
*
*
*
*
* — 2005 photos of the demolished Xanadu
* — Photos of Xanadu from July, 1994
* — Urban Explorers photos of Xanadu in 2004.
* (QuickTime movie)


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Latest revision as of 13:12, 27 December 2024

Series of experimental homes in the US
This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Xanadu Houses" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Exterior of the Xanadu House in Kissimmee, Florida in 1990.
Exterior of Xanadu House in Kissimmee, Florida, 1990

The Xanadu Houses were a series of experimental homes built to showcase examples of computers and automation in the home in the United States. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the United States: one each in Kissimmee, Florida; Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The houses included novel construction and design techniques, and became popular tourist attractions during the 1980s.

The Xanadu Houses were notable for their easy, fast, and cost-effective construction as self-supporting monolithic domes of polyurethane foam without using concrete. They were ergonomically designed, and contained some of the earliest home automation systems. The Kissimmee Xanadu, designed by Roy Mason, was the most popular, and at its peak was attracting 1000 visitors every day. The Wisconsin Dells and Gatlinburg houses were closed and demolished in the early 1990s; the Kissimmee Xanadu House was closed in 1996 and demolished in October 2005.

History

Early development

Bob Masters was an early pioneer of houses built of rigid insulation. Before conceiving the Xanadu House concept, Masters designed and created inflatable balloons to be used in the construction of houses. He was inspired by architect Stan Nord Connolly's Kesinger House in Denver, Colorado, one of the earliest homes built from insulation. Masters built his first balloon-constructed house exterior in 1969 in less than three days during a turbulent snowstorm, using the same methods later used to build the Xanadu houses.

Masters was convinced that these dome-shaped homes built of foam could work for others, so he decided to create a series of show homes in the United States. Masters's business partner Tom Gussel chose the name "Xanadu" for the homes, a reference to Xanadu, the summer capital of Yuan, which is prominently featured in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem Kubla Khan. The first Xanadu House opened in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. It was designed by architect Stewart Gordon and constructed by Masters in 1979. It was 4,000 square feet (370 m) in area, and featured a geodesic greenhouse. 100,000 people visited the new attraction in its first summer.

Popularity

A photo of a welcome sign and entry path for the Xanadu house in Kissimmee, Florida.
Welcome sign at Kissimmee Xanadu house, 1985

The most popular Xanadu house was the second house, designed by architect Roy Mason. Masters met Mason in 1980 at a futures conference in Toronto. 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. These included apartments designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa featuring detachable building modules and more significant designs including a floating habitat made of fiberglass designed by Jacques Beufs for living on water surfaces, concepts for living underwater by architect Jacques Rougerie and the Don Metz house built in the 1970s which took advantage of the earth as insulation. Fifty years before Xanadu House, another house from the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago introduced air conditioning, forced air heating, circuit breakers and electric eye doors.

Mason believed Xanadu House would alter people's views of houses as little more than inanimate, passive shelters against the elements. "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. "The house can have intelligence and each room can have intelligence." The estimated cost of construction for one home was $300,000. Roy Mason also planned a low cost version which would cost $80,000, to show that homes using computers do not have to be expensive. The low cost Xanadu was never built. Approximately 1,000 homes were built using this type of construction.

The Walt Disney Company opened Epcot Center in Florida on October 1, 1982 (originally envisioned as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow). Masters, fellow Aspen High School teacher, Erik V Wolter, and Mason decided to open a Xanadu House several miles away in Kissimmee. It eventually opened in 1983, after several years of research into the concepts Xanadu would use. It was over 6,000 square feet (560 m) in size, considerably larger than the average house because it was built as a showcase. At its peak in the 1980s, under the management of Wolter, more than 1,000 people visited the new Kissimmee attraction every day. A third Xanadu House was built in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 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.

Demise

Exterior of Xanadu House in Kissimmee, Florida, 2004
Abandoned sign in Hunter's Creek, Florida, 2014

By the early 1990s, the Xanadu houses began to lose popularity because the technology they used was quickly becoming obsolete, and as a result the houses in Wisconsin and Tennessee were demolished, while the Xanadu House in Kissimmee continued to operate as a public visitor attraction until it was closed in 1996. It was consequently put up for sale in 1997 and was sold for office and storage use. 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. By October 2005, the last of the Xanadu houses had been demolished, following years of abandonment and use by the homeless.

The Kissimmee house was featured in the 2007 movie Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness. 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. At the end of the segment, the man wakes up and threatens the "explorers" telling them to leave his home.

Design

Construction

Construction of the Xanadu house in Kissimmee, Florida, began with the pouring of a concrete slab base and the erection of a tension ring 40 feet (12 m) in diameter to anchor the domed roof of what would become the "Great Room" of the house. A pre-shaped vinyl balloon was formed and attached to the ring, and then inflated by air pressure from large fans. Once the form was fully inflated, its surface was sprayed with quick-hardening polyurethane plastic foam. The foam, produced by the sudden mixture of two chemicals that expand on contact to 30 times their original volume, hardened almost instantly. Repeated spraying produced a five-to-six-inch-thick structurally sound shell within a few hours. Once the foam cured, the plastic balloon form was removed to be used again. Once the second dome was completed and the balloon form removed, the two rooms were joined by wire mesh which was also sprayed with foam to form a connecting gallery or hall. This process was repeated until the house was complete. Window, skylight, and door openings were cut and the frames foamed into place. 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. The exterior was given a coat of white elastomeric paint as the final touch.

Interior

A Xanadu House was ergonomically designed, with future occupants in mind. It used curved walls, painted concrete floors rather than carpets, a light color scheme featuring cool colors throughout, and an open-floor plan linking rooms together without the use of doors. It had at least two entrances, and large porthole-type windows. The interior of the house was cave-like, featuring cramped rooms and low ceilings, although it is not clear whether these accounts describe the same Xanadu House with a thirty-foot dome. The interiors used a cream color for the walls, and a pale green for the floor.

The Xanadu house in Kissimmee, Florida used an automated system controlled by Commodore microcomputers. The house had fifteen rooms; of these the kitchen, party room, health spa, and bedrooms all used computers and other electronic equipment heavily in their design. The automation concepts which Xanadu House used are based on original ideas conceived in the 1950s and earlier. The Xanadu Houses aimed to bring the original concepts into a finished and working implementation. 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. These art displays were constantly changing, being displayed on video screens as opposed to static mediums. The home also featured fire and security systems, along with a master bath that included adjustable weather conditions and a solar-heated steam bath.

At the center of the house was the "great room", the largest in the house. It featured a large false tree supporting the roof, and also acted as part of the built-in heating system. The great room also included a fountain, small television set, and a video projector. Nearby was the dining room, featuring a glass table with a curved seat surrounding it; behind the seats was a large window covering the entire wall. The family room featured walls covered with television monitors and other electronic equipment. The entertainment center in the family room was described as an "electronic hearth" by the home's builders. It was planned as a gathering place for family members and relatives along the same lines as a traditional hearth with a fireplace.

The kitchen was automated by "autochef", an electronic dietitian which planned well-balanced meals. Meals could be cooked automatically at a set date and time. If new food was required, it could either be obtained via tele-shopping through the computer system or from Xanadu's own greenhouse. The kitchen's computer terminal could also be used for the household calendar, records, and home bookkeeping.

The Xanadu homes also suggested a way to do business at home with the office room and the use of computers for electronic mail, access to stock and commodities trading, and news services.

Computers in the master bedroom allowed for other parts of the house to be controlled. This eliminated chores such as having to go downstairs to turn off the coffee pot after one had gone to bed. The children's bedroom featured the latest in teaching microcomputers and "videotexture" windows, whose realistic computer-generated landscapes could shift in a flash from scenes of real places anywhere in the world to imaginary scenes. 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.

In the spa, people could relax in a whirlpool, sun sauna, and environmentally-controlled habitat, and exercise with the assistance of spa monitors. One of the advantages of using computers in the home includes security. In Xanadu House, a HAL-type voice spoke when someone entered to make the intruder think someone was home.

  • Master Bedroom Master Bedroom
  • Whirlpool Tub Whirlpool Tub
  • Dining Room Dining Room
  • Indoor Ponds Indoor Ponds
  • Kitchen Kitchen
  • Outdoors View Outdoors View

Concerns over energy consumption

An initial concern was that electricity costs would be excessive, since several computers would be operating continuously. Mason figured that a central computer could control the energy consumption of all the other computers in the house.

See also

Notes

  1. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, p. 132
  2. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 124–125
  3. ^ Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 126–129
  4. Ferris, M. (August 1983), "Tomorrow's Living Today", Softalk Magazine, pp. 106–117
  5. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 32–36, 196
  6. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 95–96
  7. ^ Halfhill, Tom R. (December 1982), "Computers in the Home of 1990", Compute!, retrieved 2008-05-27
  8. Tin, Annie (June 10, 1994). "Time Passes Xanadu By: What Now?". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  9. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, p. 128
  10. "Schlocky Gatlinburg antithesis of Smokies", Houston Chronicle, June 1, 1986
  11. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 132–135
  12. ^ Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. Plate A–L (Center insert)
  13. ^ Mason, Roy; Jennings, L; Evans, R (February 1984), "A Day at Xanadu", Futurist Magazine, pp. 17–24
  14. Harb, Joseph A. (February 1986), "No place like home - beep - zzzt - "smart home" technology reviewed", Nation's Business, archived from the original on 2008-10-23, retrieved 2008-05-27
  15. ^ O'Neill, Catherine (1985). Computers: Those Amazing Machines. National Geographic Society. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-87044-574-3.
  16. Mason, EA (July 1983), "Medical engineering: meetings on research priorities", Engineering in Medicine, 12 (3): 143–144, doi:10.1243/EMED_JOUR_1983_012_037_02, PMID 6685066
  17. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 149, 173
  18. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 82–85
  19. Mason (1983), Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today!, pp. 134–135

References

Further reading

External links

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Home automation
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