cptquinlan

The "Mushroom House" was built by Al Quinlan. The inside temperature was to replicate that of a cave - 49 to 42 degrees on average in Wisconsin. It is not in Fish Creek south of Jacksonport and just about 16 miles north of Sturgeon Bay. The front of the house is the shape of a "nun's hat" - think of the the TV show "The Flying Nun." I am not certain if he was influenced by Herb Greene. The fireplaces, and the central heating was a boiler from a ship, I believe bought from salvage in Sturgeon Bay from one of the shipping companies. It was huge and could fit the largest logs imaginable. The front of the house was to be all glass, for an atrium affect. The house was designed, in the simplest description - framed, wrapped with the heaviest chicken wire (I remember this being a stumbling block, as the original wire was not strong enough), then sprayed with concrete. When that was complete, the sand and dirt removed from the land, was placed on top of the structure. Ultimately for it to "blend" into the land, and keep insulated, again, for the replicating a cave. There were two floors. One cause for concern of the shape was there are no corners/straight walls, so all furniture would have to be custom made to fit in curved space. Many green aspects were ahead of their time.