It's been 40 years since a Life magazine item declared Ensculptic, this amorphous blob of a house, "light, airy, and wondrously unpredictable." It shows. Constructed entirely from polyurethane insulation foam, the home rocks some pretty sensuous curves, but it's not hard to imagine why this is "one of just a few foam houses in the US." There was a surge in popularity in the late '70s, and forward thinkers employed foam construction in a series of futuristic showplaces, like Florida's Xanadu, and filled them with the latest computer technology. It didn't take long for obsolescence to set in, and the built-in electronics doomed these techy shelters to demolition. Well, except for one beautiful example: this two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom affair outside Minneapolis can be had for $212K. They sure aren't building 'em like they used to, so if any of this sounds appealing, there's no time like the present.
· 670 North Branch Rd [Minneapolis Real Estate]
· Ensculptic [dedicated site]
· The Last of the Xanadus [Roadside America]
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