Update on Michael Reynolds

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Of course, as is the case with most new designs, the windome does still have some kinks in it. For one thing, the complexity of its operation is such that few people besides Mike could run the house . . . nevertheless, he's justifiably proud of his prototype "wind shelter".

DIGGING IN

Reynolds now wants to provide his wife with her own private place . . . so he's in the process of building a one-big-room-and-bath "Pit House". The 14' X 28' rectangle is dug six feet into the earth, but the south wall is just three feet high and forms bancos (benches) that will become part of the room's furniture. The upper portion of the wall consists of 4' X 6' glass panels that make up a solar collector area and also offer a view. The earthen floors and walls will provide thermal mass, of course, but there's a woodstove, too . . . just in case.

Mike's estimated final cost for the Pit House is about $8,000 . . . but much of that will have gone to pay hired help. Reynolds figures that a couple of hardworking amateurs could complete a similar structure, in about two months' time, for around $3,500 (not including the plumbing).

WHAT'S NEXT

As soon as he completes the Pit, Michael hopes to get back to work on his latest invention . . . called the "Dynosphere". It's a rotating wind turbine . . . which — when it revolves in a high wind atop its 40-foot supports — looks spherical.

On the whole, Michael Reynolds seems to be living his own vision of how an individual should exist. He's doing exactly what he wants to do with his time . . . that is, he's experimenting with natural forces and man-made litter to discover increasingly energy-self-sufficient dwelling designs. And that's certainly not a bad life's work in anybody's book!

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