OUROBOROS SOUTH & OUROBOROS EAST

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During the winter, a thick layer of snow drifts onto the earthen top of this unusual dwelling and the sod plus its white covering add up to inches and inches of excellent insulation. Throw in the warmth collected by the solar panels and electricity from a nearby wind-driven generator . . . and you have a home which is well on its way toward energy self-sufficiency.

While Ouroboros South was being designed, Professor Holloway decided that an even more important demonstration of the use of solar power and energy conservation could be made right in downtown Minneapolis or neighboring St. Paul. "If any place is going to be affected by shortages of fuel," Dennis says, "it will be the large central city. So we thought it might be a good idea to convert an older home—an inner city structure which was highly visible to the people with the lowest incomes—into an energy-conserving building."

Holloway soon discussed his idea with Thomas J. Kelley (currently the St. Paul city administrator), who was then president of Urban Laboratory, Inc .... a small firm which tries to improve city neighborhoods by the enlightened application of new technologies. Kelley immediately became excited about retrofitting an existing house with solar and energysaving devices, and suggested that the federal Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD) might help Dennis and his class acquire a property for its experiment. After several meetings with HUD officials, the Laurel Avenue residence was chosen, and the students purchased the building—from HUD— for $1.00. Thus was Ouroboros East born.

The house now being retrofitted was selected—in part—because of its south-facing back roof . . . so that solar collectors could be installed without noticeably changing the building's appearance from the street. Holloway, Kelley, and others further eased their new architectural ideas into the neighborhood by explaining—in a number of discussions with community leaders and groups—the purpose of the project. Kelley also helped by obtaining a special ordinance change in the St. Paul building codes to make the solar collector and other unique features planned for the house "legal".

During the winter and spring of 1974, Professor Holloway assigned two architectural classes—one working with energy and the other with environmental design—plus 20 mechanical engineering seniors to develop plans for conversion of the Laurel Avenue residence.

"It was an exciting consortium," Dennis now says, "involving over 200 people. The design students coordinated teams which produced both overall plans for the house and specific specific designs for the retrofitting of solar energy systems, for the retrofitting of solar energy systems, greenhouses for food production, new insulating materials and techniques, and improved household waste control systems to reduce the use of water."

Next, while the students wrote a 220-page book about their planned renovation of the old home, Holloway and Kelley rustled up funds for the work. The going was slow in the beginning but—eventually—the university, Kelley's company, and the Minnesota Museum of Science in St. Paul struck a bargain: university students are committed to supply all necessary labor while the other two organizations provide whatever finances are needed. Still, funds have been a problem, and grants—such as $1,000 from the Minnesota Bicentennial Commission—have helped keep the project afloat from time To time. For instance, Ned Hoffman—an industrial arts instructor who is overseeing construction and teaching his helpers the fire points of craftsmanship—has been paid by the federal Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) under the auspices of the St. Paul city council (which, it should be noted, has contributed an additional $5,000 to Ouroboros East).

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