Author(s): Chad Randl

Architecture/Interiors

In "feel" and in format, similar to Paint by Number, A-frame examines the leisure building/do-it-yourself phenomenon that hit the middle class during the 1950s and 1960s. For those wanting a place that was unusual and exciting, modern yet warm, cheap and easy to build by developer and weekend handyman alike, a place wholly suited to the informal leisure lifestyle, the A-frame was an appealing alternative to buying a high-priced beach/country house. And so successful was the A-frame that it was quickly appropriated for roadside commercial and religious architecture. The book explores the variety of A-frames that came out of the period, from the basic do-it-yourself cabins to elaborate, even ostentatious, designs by well-known architects. It explains why the A-frame served as an icon for relaxation, an acceptable form of modernism and a convenient tool for marketing a wide range of products including gas powered toilets, motorcycles and canned vegetables.