Xanadu: Home of the Future

History of the Xanadu Houses

Bob Masters, Pioneer in Construction

The Kissimmee Xanadu House was one in a series of experimental homes built by Bob Masters, the designer who pioneered the construction of homes using rigid insulation. Before developing the Xanadu House concept, he designed and built inflatable balloons for home construction. His inspiration came from architect Stan Nord Connolly’s Kesinger House in Denver, Colorado, one of the earliest homes made from insulation. In 1969, Masters built his first house using balloon construction techniques, completing the exterior in under three days despite a severe snowstorm. These same methods were later used to create the Xanadu houses.

Believing that dome-shaped foam homes could be practical for others, Masters set out to develop a series of show homes across the United States. His business partner, Tom Gussel, named the project “Xanadu” after the summer capital of Yuan, famously depicted in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan. The first Xanadu House, designed by architect Stewart Gordon and built by Masters in 1979, opened in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Spanning 4,000 square feet, it featured a geodesic greenhouse and quickly became a popular attraction, drawing 100,000 visitors in its first summer.

Roy Mason, Architect

The most popular Xanadu House was the one designed by architect Roy Mason. Before pursuing a career in architecture and design, Mason earned a master’s degree from the Yale University School of Architecture. In 1971, he designed a sprayed foam building for the experimental College of the Potomac in Paris, Virginia. Later, in 1978, he developed plans for Solar Village, a proposed community of fifty solar-powered homes in Columbia, Maryland. Throughout the 1980s, Mason served as the architecture editor of The Futurist magazine and was the first executive director of the Home Automation Association.

Mason was deeply involved in futurist movements. In 1966, he co-founded the World Future Society and designed the first Futurist Magazine logo, drawing inspiration from the Tomoe symbol. During the mid-1980s, he became involved in the strategic business planning of Intelligent Building Information Systems, an Arlington-based subsidiary of Bell System, and served as a spokesperson for the company.

Tragically, in 1996, at the age of 57, Mason was murdered in his home on Military Road NW in Washington, D.C., by Christopher Robin Hatton, a supposed close acquaintance. Under the influence of drugs and demanding money, Hatton brutally attacked Mason, striking him with a hammer twenty-five times. After a month-long manhunt, Hatton was captured and later sentenced to fourteen years in prison for the murder of Roy Mason.

Kissimmee Xanadu House

Masters met Mason in 1980 at a futures conference in Toronto, where they discovered a shared interest in experimental architecture. Both Mason and Masters were inspired by innovative housing concepts prioritizing ergonomics, usability, and energy efficiency. These influences included architect Kisho Kurokawa’s modular apartments with detachable units, Jacques Beufs’ fiberglass floating habitat for water-based living, Jacques Rougerie’s designs for underwater habitation, and Don Metz’s 1970s earth-insulated home. Decades before Xanadu, the Homes of Tomorrow exhibition at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago had already introduced groundbreaking residential technologies such as air conditioning, forced-air heating, circuit breakers, and electric eye doors.

Mason envisioned Xanadu House as more than just a passive shelter; he believed it could redefine how people viewed their homes.”No one’s really looked at the house as a total organic system,” Mason explained. “The house can have intelligence, and each room can have intelligence.” As the architecture editor of The Futurist magazine, Mason advocated for smart home technology long before it became mainstream. The estimated construction cost for a Xanadu home was $300,000, though Mason also designed a lower-cost version priced at $80,000 to demonstrate that computer-integrated homes didn’t have to be expensive. However, this budget-friendly model was never built. In total, approximately 1,000 homes were constructed using this innovative foam-based method.

On October 1, 1982, The Walt Disney Company opened the Epcot Center in Florida, originally conceived as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Inspired by this innovation-driven atmosphere, Masters, along with fellow Aspen High School teacher Erik V. Wolter and Mason, decided to establish a Xanadu House just a few miles away in Kissimmee. After years of research into the cutting-edge concepts, Xanadu would incorporate, the house officially opened in 1983.

Construction

The construction of the Xanadu House in Kissimmee, Florida, began with installing a concrete slab foundation and placing a 40-foot diameter tension ring to anchor the domed roof of what would become the “Great Room.” A pre-shaped vinyl balloon was then attached to the ring and inflated using high-powered fans to create the structure’s form.

Once fully inflated, the exterior surface was coated with a quick-hardening polyurethane plastic foam. This foam was produced through the rapid combination of two chemicals that expanded upon contact to 30 times their original volume, solidifying almost instantly. Multiple layers of sprayed foam created a structurally sound shell within hours, approximately five to six inches thick. After the fully cured foam, the plastic balloon form was removed for reuse.

Subsequent domes were constructed following the same process, with adjoining sections connected by wire mesh and sprayed with foam to create seamless hallways and galleries. Openings for windows, skylights, and doors were cut into the structure, and their frames were secured with additional foam. The interior walls and ceilings were coated with a ¾-inch fireproof layer, providing safety and a smooth, easy-to-clean finish. Finally, the exterior was coated with a layer of white elastomeric paint, serving as a protective and aesthetic finishing touch.

Interior and Technology

The Kissimmee Xanadu House was designed with ergonomics and future occupants in mind, incorporating innovative architectural and technological elements. Its curved walls, open floor plan, and light color palette—featuring cool tones—created a modern, fluid living space. Unlike traditional homes, Xanadu utilized painted concrete floors instead of carpets, and rooms were interconnected without doors, enhancing accessibility and openness. The house featured at least two entrances and large, porthole-style windows. While some accounts described its interior as cave-like with low ceilings and compact rooms, others referenced the presence of a grand thirty-foot dome. The interior color scheme consisted of cream-colored walls and pale green floors.

The house integrated an advanced home automation system controlled by Commodore microcomputers. Spanning fifteen rooms, the home heavily incorporated technology in key areas, including the kitchen, party room, health spa, and bedrooms. The automation concepts used in Xanadu were based on original ideas conceived in the 1950s, but the house brought these futuristic concepts to life functionally and interactively. Visitors were guided through the home by an electronic tour system, while the family room showcased dynamic, computer-generated artwork displayed on video screens. In addition to fire and security systems, the master bathroom featured an adjustable climate control system and a solar-heated steam bath.

At the heart of the home was the “Great Room,” the largest space in the house. A prominent artificial tree served as a structural support for the domed ceiling and as part of the home’s heating system. The room also featured a fountain, a small television set, and a video projector. Adjacent to the Great Room, the dining area included a glass table encircled by curved seating, set against a floor-to-ceiling window that spanned the entire wall. The family room, described as an “electronic hearth” by the home’s designers, featured walls lined with television monitors and various electronic devices, serving as a modern gathering space akin to a traditional fireplace.

The kitchen was fully automated, utilizing an “AutoChef” system that functioned as an electronic dietitian, capable of planning well-balanced meals. Pre-programmed meals could be cooked automatically at designated times. If additional groceries were needed, they could be acquired via tele-shopping through the home’s computer network or sourced from Xanadu’s built-in greenhouse. The kitchen terminal also managed household functions such as scheduling, record-keeping, and bookkeeping.

Xanadu also envisioned a future where working from home was seamless, integrating a dedicated office space equipped with computers for electronic mail, stock and commodities trading, and real-time news updates.

The master bedroom was outfitted with computers controlling various aspects of the house, eliminating the need to manually perform tasks such as turning off appliances before bed. The children’s bedroom featured state-of-the-art educational microcomputers and “video texture” windows, which could instantly display realistic scenes of locations around the world or entirely imaginary landscapes. Space-saving beds retracted into the walls, while study areas provided cozy nooks for reading or using pocket computer games.

In the spa area, residents could unwind in a whirlpool, sun sauna, or environmentally controlled habitat, while exercise equipment was enhanced with interactive monitors for guided workouts. The home’s security system incorporated an AI-driven voice, reminiscent of HAL 9000, which would speak when someone entered, creating the illusion that the house was occupied to deter intruders.

Decline

At its peak in the 1980s, under Wolter’s management, the attraction drew more than 1,000 visitors daily. A third Xanadu House was later built in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As the Xanadu Houses gained popularity, tourism companies began promoting them as the “home of the future” in brochures, encouraging visitors to experience these visionary dwellings firsthand.

Architects and designers considered the Xanadu houses a failed experiment. They saw Xanadu as an unprofessional and amateurish project due to the materials used and the odd use of colors and shapes inside the home. Many others disliked the house for its low ceilings, curved walls, and cramped rooms.

By the early 1990s, the Xanadu Houses began to decline in popularity as their once cutting-edge technology quickly became outdated. As a result, the homes in Wisconsin and Tennessee were demolished, while the Kissimmee Xanadu House remained open as a visitor attraction until its closure in 1996.

In 1997, the Kissimmee house was put up for sale and later repurposed for office and storage use. However, by 2001, years of neglect had led to severe mold and mildew damage throughout the interior. It was listed for sale again with an asking price of $2 million. After years of abandonment and use by the homeless, the last remaining Xanadu House was demolished in October 2005, marking the end of the visionary experiment.

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