Subtitled Metal Living for a Modern Age, this charming Quonset hut history edited by Julie Decker and Chris Chiei belongs in every Quonset lover’s library.
A series of individual essays, the book focuses on various aspects of the creation of the Quonset hut during the World War II era, and its subsequent adoption by American culture after the war. Each essay is profusely illustrated with archival photos, advertisements, drawings, and even some humorous New Yorker-style cartoons.
The book also touches on one of the things I love about Quonsets, namely the place they occupy in between high and low culture. In addition to advertisements touting use of Quonset huts for everyday commercial uses like car dealerships and supermarkets, they are also discussed as objects of high design by great architects. Several projects by architect Bruce Goff (whose mentor was Frank Lloyd Wright) are featured, as well as French modernist Pierre Chareau’s 1946 house for artist Robert Motherwell on Long Island, New York.
Though its focus is on the historical version of the hut, Quonset Hut: Metal Living for a Modern Age is great inspiration that fans of either historical huts or today’s frameless sheet metal shells will enjoy. You can order a copy from Amazon here. (affiliate link).
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I need a book. A book that covers all the pit falls and or steps to construct quonset hut home. Any suggestions?
Hey Ben, I’m working on one! I am so inundated with clients these days it has been hard to work on it but I do hope to make substantial progress on it this year. It is definitely needed IMO. Thanks for the comment.
I’ve been watching your YouTube channel. I have a question regarding windows. Is there any reason why a person could not raise them higher on the arch? I want to use them as sky lights.
I’m not sure as to the limitations with that, to be honest. I would reach out to SteelMaster and ask one of their specialists, I would probably ask for William Swafford.
You might be able to do exactly that and order a custom sized skylight from Velux or one of the other skylight manufacturers. I just don’t know what they can and can’t do, engineering-wise.