Customer Reviews

A-frame

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Randl's summation of the A-frame is wonderful. The book contains vibrant photos of the structures from around the country, cartoons, advertisements, and a multitude of other media. The writing was clear and easy to read. This hardcover edition, at first glance, reminds me of a 1960's textbook which is a treat given the era that the book covers. The blue prints included practically inspire me to build my own A-frame. Bravo.

Love the retro look of this book. I've looked through all of it and read (with interest) most of it. Love to just pick it up and look again. The pictures and illustrations are eye-catching and help tell the story. Find myself constantly on the look-out for a-frames as I travel through Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Good fun!

As a kid I remember these things going up. I remember helping others build their vacation home but never got the opportunity to help build an A-frame. When I saw this book, it became the next best experience to building and/or living in one.

The author does a good job capturing the history of A-frames. Of interesting note is R.M. Schindler's A-frame house of 1922. Schindler worked on Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House. You can see the FLW influence in the elevations.

The author also does a good job of explaining the decline of A-frames: The evolution of American lifestyles to make the jump from a "second home" to the consolidation of the permanent home with the vacation home.

The biggest complaint I have is the size of this book. If you buy this book, make sure your bi-focal prescription is current. I found myself having a difficult time reading the tiny little words from this little book.

I just about never bought this book, being that the cover makes the book look like it was printed back in the 60's, which you will discover was a popular era for A-Frame building. I'm glad I bought it though. It's an easy to read book that gives you, the reader, a good history with lots of photos and illustrations of the A-Frame from ancient to modern times. As far as I can tell it is the only book of it's kind out there. I would have given this book 5-Stars if it was made more like a coffee-table book; a bit larger, lots of glossy photo's and more interior photos of modern A-Frames. If your the least bit interested in the A-Frame, I'd recommend buying it.

big beautiful book, lots of pictures, an easy read, lots of interesting history. I was hoping for something a little more technical, with details for a do-it-yourselfer to actualy build one but its not here. A fun book if you're interested in a-frames.

A wonderful survey of the A-frame, including many photos and plans of architect-designed versions. Included are interesting designs from those many Modern lovers will know. Rudolph Schindler was the first to have designed one, back in the 1920's. There is also a refreshing and very modern design by Campbell & Wong, and the one by Robert Broward in Florida from 1960 whose front end cantilevers over the sandy beach is exceptional. The rendering portrays its drama. Broward's design was one of the few structures along the Ponte Verde beach to survive Hurricane Dora in 1964.

But Mr. Randl does not stop at architect-designed A-frames. He carefully traces the historical development of the A-frame and how it became an icon in post-war America, weaving it with plenty of photographs, construction drawings, ideas on variations, and vintage advertisements from magazines to demonstrate its high popularity between the 1950's and 1970's.

The author does well to support the premise that the A-frame became an American icon, making its way from vacation homes to restaurants and motel designs as well as religious buildings. He cites its influence upon Googie's (Lautner) and the Unitarian Meeting House in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin (Wright). Even the now popular Lindal Cedar Homes of today grew out of Mr. Lindal's first design: an A-frame.

If I had a critical wish for this book, it would be a much larger size, an oversize that perhaps presented many more architect-designed A-frames. I am sure more modern and organic architects have done them and it would be interesting to see those designs. Randl has in fact inspired me to consider one for a country retreat in my own home state. With this book's small size as the only demerit, I give Chad Randl's A-Frame an "A".

I've always thought someone should do a retro coffee table book on A-frames. Someone did. It's perfect. The book has a great cover in cool 60s colors. Inside is a detailed history with pictures, illustrations and everything one would ever want to know about A-frames. Thank you Chad Randl!

I live in an A-Frame so this book has much meaning for me. I loved reading about the history and seeing many A-Frames from around the world. I certainly would have let the author come to my house. It's a bit larger than most in the book - 2,800 sq. ft. I highly recommend the book to anyone with interest in the subject.

The definitive, perhaps only, book on A-frame history and one of my favourite books on architecture along with Lloyd Kahn's "Shelter" Shelter.

The book is full of archive material from the fifties, sixties and seventies.

The author Chad Randl also set-up a website called A-frame History.

I love A-Frames and this book is OK except I find the print to be a bit light. It is printed in CHINA where the wurld is made.