We discovered the amazing Ensculptic foam house in Minnetrista on a beautiful weekend a couple weeks ago when we wanted to get outside and I wanted to discover a new mid-century/modern site that I didn’t know about before. So… I checked the Minnesota Modern Sites Registry and found this amazing foam home that made me smile and think of the futuristic foam Xanadu house we visited on a family vacation at Wisconsin Dells in the 1980s. Everyone thought it was cool, but didn’t expect to see one in real life. Think again… I should have guessed that Minnesota would have a one-of-a-kind foam house. We did a drive-by to see if Ensculptic is truly still standing at 670 North Branch Road in Minnetrista… it is! The photo above is what we saw from the road as we drove by.
The history behind it is fascinating…
- built in 1969 by Winslow Wedin, a local architect who brought seven architecture students from Texas to camp out all summer while they built the house
- it was constructed with nylon cables strung in a spider-web pattern, then layered with custom-cut burlap panels and finally sprayed with polyurethane foam, which dried into a durable hard material
- its approximate 4,000 nonsquare feet of living space includes two bedrooms, three bathrooms and a walkout lower level
- skylights carved into the ceiling of almost every room draw in lot of daylight
- its multiple levels have a groovy ’60s futuristic vibe, with free-flowing dips and swoops surrounded by curved gallery-white walls
- the interior is “light and airy and wonderfully unpredictable,” from a 1970 Life magazine photo feature

An article from The Seattle Times in 2013 included the photos above, and gave interesting insights into the house and its new owners who rescued it in 2011. Public tours were supposedly held there in the 1970s. Until it is open again, enjoy the links below to more photos and stories about this house that is the only one of its kind in the world.
- Ensculptic, Inc. – over 50 photos, including the building process
- Flowing Space That’s Sprayed on Burlap – Life magazine photo essay March 13, 1970, pages 64-67
- THE ENSCULPTIC STORY, as written by Winslow Wedin – a couple Christmas cards designed by the architect, followed by the story of Ensculptic, in his own words
- There’s No House in the World Like this one in Minnesota – photos and info, from ‘Only in Your State’
- Ensculptic House – The Home That Looks Like A Mushroom – story and photos from ‘House and History’