Leno may have had the physics slightly wrong. But no, he wasn’t making this up. For years, Feuchs, a Boca Raton, Fla., entrepreneur, has been touting a polystyrene (better known as Styrofoam) house that is cheap, withstands hurricane-force winds and stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Until recently, he couldn’t get arrested for his idea-let alone a mention on “The Tonight Show.” Then, two weeks ago, news surfaced that the University of Florida had obtained a $50,000 Knight Foundation grant to evaluate the idea. Now the man who was once dismissed as a dreamer has finally found some respect. “The first time I talked to him I thought he was an articulate kook,” admits A. Richardson Love Jr., an officer with the foundation. “But if what Walter claims is correct, he has synthesized information that could represent a major contribution to the development of affordable housing.”
Feuchs’s basic one-room, 300-square-foot prefabricated stucco “World House” sells for $2,500, excluding land and site-preparation costs. Its foam is sandwiched between compressed wood-chip panels. A more luxurious two-bedroom version includes such niceties as carpeting, air conditioning and a disposal-for $24,000. Self-contained plumbing and electrical units are simply snapped into the walls. “The energy savings for many parts of the United States exceed the monthly mortgage payments for the house,” says Feuchs, who has studied geophysics, yacht-making and the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Could Feuchs’s idea helps solve the homelessness problem? The visionary builder believes the World House would be useful both in Third World countries and poor areas of the United States. The basic model could be constructed in 10 minutes for $8.50 per square foot, he maintains. To verify those claims, as well as confirm the structure’s durability and energy efficiency, the University of Florida is erecting a prototype in Gainesville, Fla. If the house measures up, it may be Walter Feuchs, not Jay Leno, who has the last laugh.
