When John and Amanda (Mandy) Ylvisaker built their unique house on Meadowbrook Blvd. (on Meadowbrook Lake) back in 1979, they were determined to make it energy efficient. The first floor was earth-sheltered, and the second story was arrayed with solar panels. They dispensed with such energy wasters as showers, toaster, clothes dryer, and oven, opting for a woodburning stove, fans, etc. The family grew its own vegetables on the roof of the house, and dried their clothes on clotheslines. This house was sometimes referred to as “the sustainable house.”
John Ylvisaker was a musician, and invented many of the energy-saving devices in the house.
The home is no longer in the family.