{"id":14354,"date":"2026-08-20T05:04:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T05:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=14354"},"modified":"2026-08-20T05:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T05:04:06","slug":"a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-into-the-hillside-more-than-50-years-later-his-son-is-restoring-it-room-by-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=14354","title":{"rendered":"A Missouri engineer bought remote Ozarks land in 1970 and slowly built a reinforced-concrete home into the hillside; more than 50 years later, his son is restoring it room by room"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133354583,imgsize-260685,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-into-the-hillside-more-than-50-years-later-his-son-is-restoring-it-room-by-room.jpg\" alt=\"A Missouri engineer bought remote Ozarks land in 1970 and slowly built a reinforced-concrete home into the hillside; more than 50 years later, his son is restoring it room by room\" title=\"Built into nature: The underground home was designed to blend seamlessly into the Missouri Ozarks hillside.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Built into nature: The underground home was designed to blend seamlessly into the Missouri Ozarks hillside.\">Built into nature: The underground home was designed to blend seamlessly into the Missouri Ozarks hillside.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>An extraordinary underground home in Missouri\u2019s Ozarks is offering viewers a rare glimpse into an unconventional experiment in architecture, engineering and sustainable living.<!-- --> Built by engineer Conway over several years, the house was carved into a hillside without an architect and with little outside assistance. Nearly five decades after construction began, the unusual residence reportedly remains leak-free.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>A home built into the Ozarks hillside<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The underground house sits on a 225-acre property in the St. Francois Mountains of southeast Missouri. Conway bought the land in 1970 and began developing the property a few years later, gradually transforming the hillside into a home that was designed to blend into its natural surroundings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>Conway\u2019s son, Zane, recently gave unconventional homes expert Kirsten Dirksen a tour of the property in a YouTube video, explaining how his father spent years designing and constructing the house largely by himself.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>The project reflected Conway\u2019s philosophy of building everything himself rather than purchasing conventional solutions. Zane recalled that his father believed that if he could not afford something, he would simply build it.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>\u201cEverything fitting into nature, not overwhelming nature, but living in a symbiotic relation with nature,\u201d Zane explained while describing his father\u2019s vision for the property.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Designed to look like a natural cave<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A cave-inspired entrance: A huge glass wall allows natural light into the home while creating the feel of a cave opening.\" msid=\"133354655\" width=\"\" title=\"A cave-inspired entrance: A huge glass wall allows natural light into the home while creating the feel of a cave opening.\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133354655\/a-cave-inspired-entrance-a-huge-glass-wall-allows-natural-light-into-the-home-while-creating-the-feel-of-a-cave-opening.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A cave-inspired entrance: A huge glass wall allows natural light into the home while creating the feel of a cave opening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Rather than constructing a conventional house and covering it with earth, Conway excavated deep into the hillside and built the structure into the natural grade. The home is protected by roughly a foot of steel-reinforced concrete, with several feet of earth above it.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>The entrance was deliberately designed to resemble the mouth of a cave. A huge glass wall allows natural light to enter the otherwise underground structure, while heavy oak beams and concrete columns create an interior that resembles a mine shaft.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>During the tour, Dirksen observed that the house feels like entering a mining shaft.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>That aesthetic was closely connected to Conway\u2019s professional life. He worked in Missouri\u2019s lead-mining industry and spent years developing his engineering skills in heavy industrial environments. <!-- -->His fascination with mining and railroads eventually became a defining part of the house\u2019s design.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>The underground home has its own natural ventilation system<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Engineering underground: The house uses steel-reinforced concrete and an earth-based ventilation system to moderate temperatures.\" msid=\"133354676\" width=\"\" title=\"Engineering underground: The house uses steel-reinforced concrete and an earth-based ventilation system to moderate temperatures.\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133354676\/engineering-underground-the-house-uses-steel-reinforced-concrete-and-an-earth-based-ventilation-system-to-moderate-temperatures.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Engineering underground: The house uses steel-reinforced concrete and an earth-based ventilation system to moderate temperatures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>One of the most striking aspects of the property is its ventilation system, which was incorporated into the design from the beginning.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>Air enters through a shaft located several feet away from the house and travels through the surrounding earth before reaching the interior. According to Zane, the system was designed to moderate the temperature of incoming air, helping cool it during summer and warm it during winter.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>The underground location also provides protection from extreme temperature fluctuations. The surrounding earth acts as a temperature moderator, allowing the interior to remain more stable than the outside environment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/>Each room has fresh-air vents, while exhaust fans in the bathroom and shower areas remove humid air from the house.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>The design demonstrates how passive strategies such as earth sheltering, natural ventilation, shading and thermal mass can reduce reliance on conventional heating and cooling systems.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>From an Air Force missile silo to an underground home<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>There may also have been another influence on Conway\u2019s comfort with underground living.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>Before building the Missouri house, Conway served in the US Air Force and was part of a four-man crew working in Titan II missile silos. Zane said he has wondered whether his father\u2019s experience living deep underground influenced the design, although Conway never confirmed that connection.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>The engineer\u2019s approach to construction was consistent throughout his life: if he wanted something that did not already exist, he built it himself.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>Before the underground house, he had constructed a camper after returning from military service. He later built a large Quonset-style structure on the property before beginning the hillside home.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>A 58,000-pound railroad caboose sits on the property<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A 58,000-pound relic: A vintage railroad caboose sits on the property after being transported and lifted into place with cranes.\" msid=\"133354709\" width=\"\" title=\"A 58,000-pound relic: A vintage railroad caboose sits on the property after being transported and lifted into place with cranes.\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133354709\/a-58000-pound-relic-a-vintage-railroad-caboose-sits-on-the-property-after-being-transported-and-lifted-into-place-with-cranes.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A 58,000-pound relic: A vintage railroad caboose sits on the property after being transported and lifted into place with cranes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/>The underground house is not the only unusual structure on the 225-acre property.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>Visitors are greeted by a vintage railroad caboose weighing approximately 58,000 pounds. Conway, who was an avid railroad enthusiast, acquired the decommissioned caboose in 1991 and had it transported to the property using cranes after separating its frame from the wheel trucks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/>The caboose remains largely in its original condition, with old railroad equipment, lanterns, paperwork and other details preserved inside. Conway had planned to eventually turn it into a guest home, although he never completed that project.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"64\"\/>His passion for railroads is also visible throughout the underground house, where kerosene railroad lanterns and mine-inspired details contribute to its distinctive character.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Conway also built a homemade airboat<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A homemade airboat powered by an aircraft engine\" msid=\"133354766\" width=\"\" title=\"A homemade airboat powered by an aircraft engine\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133354766\/a-homemade-airboat-powered-by-an-aircraft-engine.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A homemade airboat powered by an aircraft engine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"70\"\/>Another unusual creation on the property is a homemade airboat powered by a Cessna aircraft engine.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"72\"\/>According to Zane, his parents built the fiberglass boat themselves. The project was another example of Conway\u2019s tendency to create rather than buy, with the aircraft engine chosen for its ability to produce high torque at relatively low RPM.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"75\"\/>The property therefore became a collection of Conway\u2019s engineering experiments, from the underground home and Quonset structure to the railroad caboose and homemade airboat.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"78\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><keyword id=\"38485613\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"Zane-Conway\" source=\"Orion\">Zane Conway<\/keyword> takes up the task of preserving his father\u2019s unusual creation<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Conway died in 2018, and his son Zane has since taken on the task of maintaining and restoring the property and underground house, working on it room by room.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"81\"\/>For Zane, the house is more than an architectural curiosity. He grew up on the property and helped his father with the construction. One of the smaller bedrooms was his room as a teenager, and he still stays there when he visits.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"83\"\/>\u201cThis is my home,\u201d Zane said during the tour, describing his emotional connection to the place.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-into-the-hillside-more-than-50-years-later-his-son-is-restoring-it-room-by-room\/articleshow\/133354448.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Built into nature: The underground home was designed to blend seamlessly into the Missouri Ozarks hillside. An extraordinary underground home in Missouri\u2019s Ozarks is offering viewers a rare glimpse into an unconventional experiment in architecture, engineering and sustainable living. Built by engineer Conway over several years, the house was carved into a hillside without an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Built into nature: The underground home was designed to blend seamlessly into the Missouri Ozarks hillside. An extraordinary underground home in Missouri\u2019s Ozarks is offering viewers a rare glimpse into an unconventional experiment in architecture, engineering and sustainable living. Built by engineer Conway over several years, the house was carved into a hillside without an [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":6,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-missouri-engineer-bought-remote-ozarks-land-in-1970-and-slowly-built-a-reinforced-concrete-home-in-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}