A-Frame

by Chad Randl

The heyday of the national A-frame craze saw tens of thousands of these easy and affordable structures built as vacation homes, roadside restaurants, churches, and even pet stores. A-frame chronicles America's love affair with the A-frame, from postwar getaway to its recent revival among designers and DIYers. In a fascinating look at this architectural phenomenon, Chad Randl tells the story of the triangle house, from prehistoric Japan to its lifestyle-changing prime in the 1960s as a symbol of play, leisure, and outdoor living. Part architectural history and part cultural exploration, the book documents every aspect of A-frame living with cartoons, ads, high-style and do-it-yourself examples, family snapshots, and an appendix with a complete set of blueprints in case you want to build your own.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 2020

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A-frame cabins were ubiquitous in my childhood in Southern California. Every mountain community and resort had them. My first time seeing snow was during a stay at such a resort in Idyllwild. I'm pretty sure the one I stayed at is long gone, but A frames are still part of the culture there.

Randl's history is thorough, to the point of being repetitive sometimes. There's a lot packed into this book and it took me numerous passes through some chapters to take it all in. What this book needs is more illustrations to go with the text. There are illustrations but I want more.

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