A-Frame house
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An A-frame is a style of house with steeply angled sides that meet at the top in the shape of the letter A. Although the triangle shape of the A-frame has been present throughout history, it saw a surge in its popularity in America and around the world in the post World War II era, roughly from the mid 1950s through the 1970s. It is during this time that the A-frame acquired its most defining characteristics that we accredit to it today.
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[edit] Characteristics of a Typical A-frame
A typical A-frame may have one or more of these features:
- A triangular shape
- A steeply sloping roof that extends to the ground on two sides
- Front and rear gables
- Deep-set eaves
- 1½ or 2½ stories
- Many large windows on front and rear façades
- Small living space
- Few vertical wall surfaces
[edit] About the A-frame Style
Triangular and tee-pee shaped homes date back to the dawn of time, but architect Andrew Michael Geller turned an old idea into a revolutionary concept in 1955 when he built an A-frame house on the beach in Long Island, New York known as the Reese House. Named for the distinctive shape of its roofline, Geller's design won international attention when it was featured in the New York Times on May 5, 1957. It didn't take long for the style to catch on. Before long thousands of A-frame homes were being built around the world.
A documentary titled Call Me Andy due out sometime during the winter of 2006/2007 will chronicle Geller's life along with the design of the first A-frame. Geller's other inventive architectural designs will be discussed as well. A broadcast of the documentary is anticipated for early 2007 on PBS.
[edit] The Rise of the A-frame
The post World War II popularity of the A-frame has been attributed to a combination of factors including Americans' extra disposable income, the inexpensiveness of building an A-frame structure, and a new interest in acquiring a second home for vacationing. Another contributing factor to the rise of the A-frame includes the adaptability of the structure itself which enabled architects to experiment with more and more modern designs. A-frames served a perfect medium for architects to explore their creative side because of the cheapness of the building along with the fact that many people were more open to the idea of a modern styled vacation home rather than a modern styled primary home.
After the rise of the archetypal A-frame, architects soon began experimenting with new designs leading to what became known as the modified A-frame.
[edit] Design Concepts
The steep slope of the A-frame roof is designed to help heavy snow to slide to the ground, instead of remaining on top of the house and weighing it down. At the same time, the sloped roof provides two other benefits. It creates a half floor at the top of the house which can be used for lofts or storage space, and, since the roof extends down to the ground and doesn't need to be painted, it minimizes the amount of exterior maintenance required on the house. On the other hand, the sloped roof creates a triangular "dead space" at the base of the walls on each floor. A-frames have limited living space and are usually built as vacation cottages for the mountains or beach.
