Prefabricated House For Defense Needs (Aug, 1941)
Prefabricated House For Defense Needs
THIS radical-looking prefabricated house is one of the many types which have’ been submitted to the Division of Defense Housing Coordination as a quick, cheap method of housing defense workers. The house weighs only a ton, and can be constructed in six days by one man. At the right is an interior view of the novel “defense” house.





Looks suspiciously like a yurt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt … radical 1000+ year old Mongol technology
Comment by Reed — January 28, 2009 @ 2:44 am
Also makes an excellent back-yard “in-law” house.
Comment by Randy — January 28, 2009 @ 10:02 am
While similar to a yurt in appearance that is actually one of Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Deployment Units. Here is a page with more info: http://www.infoage.org/ddu.htm
Comment by Howie — January 28, 2009 @ 11:41 am
That’s a grain silo! Nothing more. Every other farm has one or several.
Comment by Ernest — January 28, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
Hah, maybe FEMA should take a look at these. They can be erected in only 6 days, whereas a FEMA trailer takes over 9 days.
Comment by Mark — January 28, 2009 @ 12:18 pm
That’s about 350 “square” feet and with a door or window every 8 feet or so. Where do you sleep?
Comment by Toronto — January 28, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
This sort of design could also deal with housing for the homeless. An inexpensive dwelling with security and privacy beats living in a shelter any day, and these could be set up or moved quickly as the needs change.
Comment by Eliyahu — January 28, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
I’m thinking that it warms up like an oven.
Comment by Michael Patrick — January 28, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
In reply to Michael Patrick’s observation “I’m thinking that it warms up like an oven” Fuller’s designs for such structures used natural airconditioning where as the structure heats up, the rising thermals draw out air from the lower part of the structure which draws in the column of cool air in the centre of those thermals into the fixture at the top of the structure.
Comment by Steven Hall — February 1, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
While these do look fairly inexpensive, these days we have nice rectangular shipping containers that can be converted to shippable housing much more easily than 24′ culvert pipe can – and the interior space would be more efficiently used.
Comment by Toronto — February 1, 2009 @ 10:54 pm