People/Products

In a leafy, upscale neighborhood of Northridge Estates in Joplin, Missouri—which was spared the destructive wrath of the tornado that tore through much of the town last year—most of the houses are faux-Georgian McMansions. But one stands out. People driving by Bill Perry's aptly named Heavy Metal House frequently stop to admire the 5,000-square-foot, one-story structure that sprawls across its 8-acre wooded site. From the road, observers can readily see the exterior of large glazed openings and perforated rusting steel panels. What they can't see is the man behind the facade, a self-styled collector and fabricator of art and architectural forms, whose home exists both as a laboratory for and testament to his creative spirit.