| Fur-Covered Housing (The Insulated Building Structure) |
 |
 |
 |
|
First discussed for the Administration Building at the University of Michigan (1964), the fuzzy siding was meant to be self-cleaning and useable for cooling as well as heating. Discussion and research went into what type of fur had the best properties to withstand changes in temperature and differing degrees of humidity, moisture and mildew. Animals replace their coats, but Alden Dow, to his great regret, could not find a way to make a building replace its “coat”. Although he was granted patents in Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland, the siding was not successful, nor ever manufactured. But the level of research that went into the project proved Dow’s belief that when you have a good idea, you exhaust every possible avenue to prove it could work or to come to the conclusion that you needed to start a new. Below is a list of just a few of the innovative products and ideas that you are able to research in the Alden B. Dow Archives:
|
Amid the energy crisis of the late 1970’s and relatively late in his career, Alden Dow became concerned about the high cost of energy and people’s ability to afford it. He wanted to develop a siding that had superior insulating qualities, thus reducing the amount of energy structures demanded. With great tenacity, Dow tackled this problem with limitless zeal. When questioning the best insulation he knew of to date, he turned to fur. With a great amount of interaction with senior research scientists at The Dow Chemical Company, he began working on a fur siding.
