History

1966

Sometime around 1966 Richard Foster was driving on Olmstead Hill, Road near Wilton, Connecticut and came upon a green dip in the landscape which he referred to as “a perfect amphitheater”.  Shortly thereafter this four acre plot would become the site of his “Circambulant House” or as it is also known – The Round House.

1967

Construction Begins on the Round House site.

Core Houses Motor —Photograph taken two summers ago shows Mr. and Mrs. Foster watching workmen and two of their sons complete construction on the core which houses the motor which turns the 70 foot in diameter upper structure. Photo: Post Photos Schulze

1968

The home is featured in Architectural Record

Richard Foster House (Spaceship House), Location: Wilton CT, Architect: Richard Foster, © Ezra Stoller / Esto

1993

Richard Foster writes “The Circambulant House, 25 years later” – a reflection on raising a family and living in the Round House.

Just on push of the button and the ten-room Foster house is on its way. Richard Foster, architect, demonstrates how his .72-foot wide house is controlled by the mechanisms contained in what looks like a metal shoe box beside the stairwell. photo: Crickett Bardwell

2002

Architect Richard Foster dies.  The home is eventually passes out of the family’s hands and arrives into new ownership.

The Round House, designed and built by Richard T. Foster in 1968, is for sale. Photo: Alex von Kleydorff

2012

The Round House undergoes a deep reconditioning. Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects re-envisioned the interior of the space along with a renovation of the exterior garage and driveway. Home systems that were cutting edge in the late sixties were upgraded for the day and the exterior of the house was restored very much to its original finish.

See more about Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects here: http://msmearch.com/

Merrill Elam and Mack Scogin

2014

Darrel Morrison, FASLA, is an ecologically-based landscape designer, Renowned for his use of native plants, native plant communities and natural processes in the design of landscapes, is commissioned to re-develop the Round House landscape.

2017

Forty-nine years later the home is again featured in Architectural Record, with a special profile on the renovation by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects.

Summer (Upper Terrace) – Photo: © Iwan Baan 2016