Gigantic home (72,000 sq ft) being built in woody hills south of Ozark

[Seedersandleechers]

Highlandville -- At 72,000 square feet, a gigantic private residence being built south of Ozark is stirring plenty of talk -- at home and far way.

Todd Wiesehan, planning and zoning administrator for Christian County, is fielding calls from all over the U.S. about the massive home.

"It's got to the point where it's capturing national attention," he said.

The residence -- called Pensmore -- is being built by Steven Huff, chairman of Wisconsin-based TF Concrete Forming Systems. Huff has family ties in Missouri, Wiesehan said.




http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110717/NEWS01/107170363/-1/7daysarchives/Gigantic-home-being-built-woody-hills-south-Ozark?odyssey=mod|dnmiss|umbrella|1

[MadHound]

1. Ah yes, over the top, ostentatious, tacky dwellings,

A signature of Springfield. I'm glad it's being built down there, best to keep as many of the assholes in one places as possible.

[Tabasco_Dave]

2. The new aristocracy need their castles and manors

instead of titles like sir or lord, we have CEO and president. If people think America doesn't have a class system, their in for a rude awakening.

[RayOfHope]

3. Supposedly they are using green technology and its going to be self sustainable

http://www.pensmore.com/


"At a time when traditional energy sources have become increasingly expensive and unreliable, Pensmore seeks to implement and showcase a variety of cost-effective, cutting-edge, green building technologies with immediate practical application in the real world. Some of its features include:

Very low, near net-zero energy consumption
Extreme disaster resistance to tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, fire, flood, insect damage, etc.
Low maintenance requirements
Durability measured in centuries, not years
Scalability across a multitude of applications from small residential structures to commercial buildings"



If they actually follow through, some of the stuff they are doing sounds pretty impressive, but does it have to be that HUGE??

[formercia]

6. How much Energy will go into building it?

Every speck of it required resources and energy to produce it. So what that it's energy efficient? It will have already used more energy than several families use in their lifetime.

I call Bullshit.

[IndyPragmatist]

8. What if it is efficient enough to make up for that?

TransForm™: super-insulated energy-storing concrete forming system
Solar thermal heat collectors
Geo-thermal
Radiant heating and cooling
Advanced climate control software
Rainwater collection
Helix steel fibers

Pensmore is built to protect its inhabitants even in the midst of an
F-5 tornado.

The website shows that this home has "partners", so this home is probably being built as a showcase for how to build large sustainable homes. I like it.

[ThomWV]

7. So the King will be safe in his castle, insulated from the turmoil of the outside world.

[Marrah_G]

15. Perhaps its more then just a house for one family.

That is an enormous amount of space. I would love to find out more details about it. Especially if they are using green technology.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. The cement industry generates 3% of the CO2.

I don't think it's ugly, but this is a greenwash.

[rucky]

23. Looks like it's mostly made of concrete & steel

with a bit of polymers thrown in.

It certainly ain't the building materials making it "green"

and there's no f-ing way running that home could make it carbon neutral. maybe after 20 years or so it could offset the building of it.

not bad, but considering all the hype, they could do better.

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Penismore He forgot the 'i' when he named the place

Or maybe not.

[Ikonoklast]

5. Oh my.

That's what it will be called, bet on it.


:rofl:

[greytdemocrat]

9. Yes

And if say VP Al Gore was building it all people would be saying
is how great it is and he deserves it since it's his money.

:eyes:

[hedgehog]

10. The hill top location is nice, but those windows make it hard to defend.

Also, what kind of water supply does it have in order to withstand an extended siege?

[hobbit709]

12. That's why they built these to take on castles

[hedgehog]

11. The question is , who is paying for this. The claims that it demonstrates

how to use this or that product suggest that someone is angling for a tax write-off.

[Frustratedlady]

18. My thoughts, precisely. And, I might add, it's ugly!EOM

[shanti]

28. your tax dollars at work n/t

[AngryAmish]

13. What does he know about the pending zombie apocalypse that we don't?

[Marrah_G]

16. I was thinking the same thing !!!!!!

:giggle:

[Botany]

14. Well it is being done w/ good taste

But he is hiring and employing people to work on that beast since 2007.

[ellenfl]

27. he's gonna have a big lighting bill with so few windows. 2 dark 4 me. eom

[MrScorpio]

31. One of the article commenters called it "The World's Biggest White Castle"

Time to cue Kumar and Harold

[Fokker Trip]

17. What a target for other survivalists.

This is going to be a huge target for surviavlists if things really go badly in the next few decades/years. Advertising its sustainability only makes it more so.

Are these rich folk so blind that they do not fear what's coming? The extreme wealth disparity in the US is going to cause more and more friction as the years go by. No amount security in the world will be able to defend places like this in the case of a real societal breakdown.

I do applaud the use of sustainable technologies but I'd actually be impressed if he was also/only building a community of much smaller houses that use the same technology as a pilot project for regular people. Its really not that impressive that a rich person is able to do this. Richard Branson has built an orbital vehicle. As long as the tech exists, with enough money one can build/have built almost anything.

[myrna minx]

19. See you 28 days later. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

21. See you for...Lunch.

Arrrrrgghghghhgg!!

[WatsonT]

33. Nah, you have to wait like 28 weeks for them all to starve to death

[MilesColtrane]

20. The master bedroom will be 1 and 1/2 times the size of the house I live in.

[Daggoo]

24. OK, but...

"Todd Wiesehan, planning and zoning administrator for Christian County..."

OK, as long as he remembers to put the ancient Christian saying above the door:
"Someday I will have to leave this" (placed by an ancient Roman Christian above
the door of his mansion).

"Nice hotel room you got, while you're visiting earth..."

[NashVegas]

25. How Many Wives?

Is this guy planning to have?

[Evasporque]

26. interesting...no doubt will use as showcase for building techniques....

actually at estimated 6.9 million construction cost the amount of PR the technology is getting will probably pay for the project.

excessive....yes...why not a smaller cheaper super efficient concrete formed home...

[TicketyBoo]

29. I can't imagine why

anybody would need (or want) a house that size.

[Maru Kitteh]

34. The only thing I can figure is they may want to house multiple generations together?

I'd be curious to know how many kitchens it has.

[Ezlivin]

30. And it only has 1-and-a-half baths

That's what makes it truly green.

[Desertrose]

32. Hmmm...seems the owner is also a defense contractor.

Defense and private intelligence satellite imaging.


More here...

Records indicate it's Steven T. Huff, the founder of what is now Overwatch Systems. The company, with main offices in Texas and Virginia, specializes in defense and private intelligence satellite imaging.