We congratulate the ant for his industry, toughness and organization; we also fear him, since he seems ready to take over the world whenever we decide to abdicate. A band of cultural guerrillas who call themselves the Ant Farm--they include philosophers, inventors and film makers--resemble their namesake in those attributes. This retreat of reinforced cement, on a private lake in Texas, is the creation of Ant Farmers Richard Jost, Chip Lord and Doug Michels--architects all. "The House of the Century 1972--2072" is its title, and it has a quality all its own, thanks to the unpredictably curvilinear design (which recalls the fantastic churches, parks and houses built by the Spanish surrealist Antoni Gaudí). The furniture is formed by the convolutions of the inner shell, which is molded of Plexiglas and laminated wood, handcrafted, brilliantly colored and arranged around a central staircase. The functions of the house are concentrated in the tower; the work and play areas, in the two bulbous wings, sport a futuristic array of gadgets (a TV, for instance, is set right into the kitchen sink). A small moat, with algae and some baby crocodiles, encircles the interior. Entrance to The House of the Century is through a tube of steel and no-glare Plexiglas, illuminated from below. If that all sounds like it was conceived while somebody was on a trip--well, that's how the dropout architects say they got their inspiration. But these guys know what they're doing; Jost, Lord and Michels not only designed the place, they did most of the labor themselves. As one guest observed, "It just goes to show what architects can do when they have no hang-ups about form." Or anything else.
