Okay, great book. The living room on the left was cold and stayed too cold for most of the family. So here’s the fixes I think would allow a big, 15 foot ceiling, glass wall-having living room to be warm even in the dead of winter like on this picture.
Triple pane glass seems obvious. It is still simple pane I believe, which is ludicrous in Iowa. The thing is it’s probably super expensive considering the surface to cover. And a lot of details to solve (door hinges?) That would do a whole lot in terms of insulation though.
Green roof! Green roofs are fantastic at insulating and are very resilient to snow so heat would stay inside a lot better (heat goes up, don’t forget) rather than hit the cold concrete ceiling and die. The major problem here, is the structure: to have an efficient 127 foot/40 meters green roof in that weather, you would need a thick one, which means a thicker concrete slab, which means considerable weight added thus, structural questions. I don’t think the current structure would allow it and a thin green roof would probably not be enough change and too much work for it. Still, if the possibility to adjust the structure for it—without changing anything aesthetically— existed, a green roof would be a wonderful addition, allowing residents to sit on top of their house, watching the sun set.
Radiant heat and hardwood floors in the living room. There’s already radiant heat but I’m thinking making it up to date and probably electric instead of water pipes (maintenance gains). I would also make it independent from the other floors so not to make the other rooms extra crispy! Hardwood floors because they are definitely easier to keep at a warm temperature than stones. Also aesthetically I believe they would make the entrance in the living room from the very cave-y stairs going down, even more dramatic. They’re also quite easy to “separate” from the structure so that thermal bridges on the floor would be limited.
Anyway, this unique house will probably deteriorate until someone up the family tree sells the property, fed up by the questions about the Frank Lloyd Wright creation. I hope not.