No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace NeffImagine a house constructed in less than forty-eight hours, without using lumber or nails, that is more resistant to fire, earthquakes, and hurricanes than any traditionally built structure. This may sound like the latest development in prefab housing or green architecture, but the design dates back to 1941 when architect Wallace Neff (1895 1982) developed Airform construction as a solution to the global housing crisis. Best known for his elegant Spanish Colonial revival estates in Southern California, Neff had a private passion for his dome-shaped "bubble houses" made of reinforced concrete cast in position over an inflatable balloon. No Nails, No Lumber shows the beauty and versatility of Neff 's design in new and vintage photography, previously unpublished illustrations, and archival material and ephemera. |
Contents
Foreword | 8 |
Introduction | 13 |
Falls ChurchVirginia | 34 |
Litchfield Park Arizona | 42 |
Loyola University California | 52 |
Pacific Linen Supply Co | 54 |
Andrew Neff House | 60 |
South Pasadena California | 68 |
Africa | 114 |
Asia | 122 |
Former Bubble House Residents | 127 |
Patents of Wallace Ne | 137 |
Selected Unbuilt AirformProjects 194458 | 146 |
Afterword | 158 |
Acknowledgments | 160 |
Notes | 162 |
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Common terms and phrases
AICC Airform balloon Airform Construction folder Airform houses AIRFORM INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION Airform residence Airform structures approximateiy Architect Architectural Record baiioon bathroom bedrooms bubbie bubble houses bui|t buiid buiit California CASA BALÃO Christian Science Monitor Company completed Airform concrete cost Dakar developed dome door double-bubble houses Douglas Fairbanks Jr Engineering News Record fabric Falls Church fireplace first five floor Goodyear grain storage bins Hobe Sound Huntington Library Igloo inflated interior INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION January January 25 Karachi kitchen layer of gunite left Fig Litchfield Park living room Loyola Marymount University MARY Mexico Neff referred Neff's Neff’s Nett Noyes opposite bottom Fig opposite Fig opposite top Fig painted Pasadena pianned pneumatic form projects Reachi right Fig rubber š š San Marino severai single-bubble South Pasadena square feet Tanzmann Virginia waiis Wallace Neff Collection walls Waterval Wellington Sears WEST 57 STREET Wigwam wire mesh