I’m working around the clock on something this week, so Etsomnia™ is taking the week off. Instead, I’m bringing you a remarkable, kooky piece of residential architecture. Located in Wilton, Connecticut, the Round House may look like just another unusual-shaped residence, but its quirks go much deeper than just its appearance. Not content to design a circular house that looks like a space ship* perched on a tiny pedestal, architect Richard Foster decided the structure should also rotate to be able to take advantage of the different views of the surrounding area. It’s true; the darned thing moves. At its fastest speed, the house takes 45 minutes to complete a full circle, either clockwise or counterclockwise.
*Perhaps it’s because I’m dieting, but all I can see is a Chipwich.
Foster built the house in 1968 to serve as his family’s main residence. They lived there until his death in 2002, when the family sold it. Foster’s wacky design had more to do with preserving the land’s integrity than it did fashion.
“It achieves the intended purpose of allowing the landscape to flow gently under and around the house with a minimal disturbance of nature. The land was a grazing meadow before we built, and that is the way it is today.”
– Richard Foster
In 2010, the house returned to the real estate market, in much worse condition than the interim owners had purchased it. The new owners hired architects Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam to restore the exterior, upgrade the infrastructure, and improve the flow of the interior spaces. The finished project is a true stunner, and is once again being lived in as intended.
You can see more of the Round House on the project’s website and on Instagram.
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My OBT 
February 20, 2020 at 8:19 am
I don’t hate it at all..👍
Usually I have a really hard time with rounds and igloos. Gotta imagine they go through a lot of WD-40 to keep that thing spinnin’..HAHA!!
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February 20, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Great point. I hadn’t even thought about the lubrication necessary to keep it moving.
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February 20, 2020 at 2:12 pm
My husband’s an engineer, it’s worn off on me..HAHA!! I also wondered if it made noise..🤔
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February 20, 2020 at 10:24 pm
I wondered that, too. I would kind of hope it makes a noise. It’s not like you want it to sneak up on you.
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February 20, 2020 at 8:28 am
I guess you could wake up in a different place every morning.
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February 20, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Take a chance! Spin the wheel!
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February 20, 2020 at 10:02 am
Very cool house, but trying to get furniture up that spiral staircase would be a nightmare. Can’t imagine what you’d do if you broke your leg. What can I say…I’m both a highly practical person AND a lover of art…sometimes those two things are hard to mesh together. 😉
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February 20, 2020 at 12:03 pm
A happy life is one with practicality and creativity in equal measure…
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February 20, 2020 at 10:38 am
I would be happy to live in it and wake up to a different view each morning. As far as getting up the steps to the actually house might be a problem for us senior citizens. I can’t remember where but there is or was a restaurant that rotated. Hal
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February 20, 2020 at 12:04 pm
There have been a few. I’ve been to some of them. Fun as novelties go, but in a city, at least half of your view is going to be ugly. Not here, though!
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February 20, 2020 at 1:54 pm
I love the idea of my view changing without me having to shift my arse and actually move. Ha ha! I also like the UFO connotations of this building. As others have commented, I expect there are logistical challenges to living in such a unique space but maybe that is not a big concern if you can afford to just have others solve the problem for you.
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February 20, 2020 at 10:23 pm
That’s a great way to look at it!
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