A-frame

By Chad Randl

"A" was the architectural letterform of leisure building in postwar America. Eager to stake out mountain and lakeside retreats, an entire generation of high-end homebuilders and weekend handymen found the A-frame an easy and affordable home to construct; its steeply sloping triangular roof distinctive and easy to maintain )almost no exterior walls to paint ). Fueled by A-frame plans and kits, the style became something of a national craze, with tens of thousands of houses built.
Indeed, the A-frame was an icon for recreation, and acceptable form of modernism (although its origins go back thousands of years), and a convenient tool for marketing a wide range of products, including gas-powered toilets, motorcycles, and canned vegetables; Fisher-Price even made one for children. So popular on the domestic front, the A-frame was eventually adapted to other building types, from roadside restaurants to churches.
In a fascinating look at this architectural phenomenon, Chad Randl tells the story of the "triangle" house from prehistoric Japan to its lifestyle-changing heyday in the 1960s. Part architectural history and part cultural exploration, A-Frame documents every aspect of A-frame living using cartoons, ads, high-style and do-it-yourself examples, family snapshots, and even an appendix with a complete set of blueprints in case you want to build your own

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568984103
• ISBN13: 9781568984100
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.5" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A-Frame is Clever and Compact: A Review by Michael Hawker

A wonderful survey of the A-frame, including many photos and plans of architect-designed versions. Included are interesting designs from those many Modern lovers will know. Rudolph Schindler was the first to have designed one, back in the 1920's. There is also a refreshing and very modern design by Campbell & Wong, and the one by Robert Broward in Florida from 1960 whose front end cantilevers over the sandy beach is exceptional. The rendering portrays its drama. Broward's design was one of the few structures along the Ponte Verde beach to survive Hurricane Dora in 1964. But Mr. Randl does not stop at architect-designed A-frames. He carefully traces the historical development of the A-frame and how it became an icon in post-war America, weaving it with plenty of photographs, construction drawings, ideas on variations, and vintage advertisements from magazines to demonstrate its high popularity between the 1950's and 1970's. The author does well to support the premise that the A-frame became an American icon, making its way from vacation homes to restaurants and motel designs as well as religious buildings. He cites its influence upon Googie's (Lautner) and the Unitarian Meeting House in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin (Wright). Even the now popular Lindal Cedar Homes of today grew out of Mr. Lindal's first design: an A-frame. If I had a critical wish for this book, it would be a much larger size, an oversize that perhaps presented many more architect-designed A-frames. I am sure more modern and organic architects have done them and it would be interesting to see those designs. Randl has in fact inspired me to consider one for a country retreat in my own home state. With this book's small size as the only demerit, I give Chad Randl's A-Frame an "A".

A Ripping Good Read

In this book, Chad Randl announces himself as one of the bright lights in the genere of architectural history. This book is authoritative, yet compelling. Randl makes mid-century architecture come alive in this beautifully composed book. Bravo!

The A-frame book I always hoped someone would write

I've always thought someone should do a retro coffee table book on A-frames. Someone did. It's perfect. The book has a great cover in cool 60s colors. Inside is a detailed history with pictures, illustrations and everything one would ever want to know about A-frames. Thank you Chad Randl!

Great coffee table book

Love the retro look of this book. I've looked through all of it and read (with interest) most of it. Love to just pick it up and look again. The pictures and illustrations are eye-catching and help tell the story. Find myself constantly on the look-out for a-frames as I travel through Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Good fun!

"A" for A-frame

Randl's summation of the A-frame is wonderful. The book contains vibrant photos of the structures from around the country, cartoons, advertisements, and a multitude of other media. The writing was clear and easy to read. This hardcover edition, at first glance, reminds me of a 1960's textbook which is a treat given the era that the book covers. The blue prints included practically inspire me to build my own A-frame. Bravo.