io9
"Plastics" may have been a famous punchline in The Graduate (1967), but plastic was serious stuff to French architect/artist/theorist Jean Maneval. In 1964, he designed a Bubble House ("Bulle a Six Coques") constructed of six interlocking reinforced polyester shells that could be easily transported to and set up at the chosen home site.
Available commercially in 1968, Maneval's houses came in white, green, and brown—colors that would blend easily into the landscape. Only thirty were ever produced, several of which were used to house visitors to a vacation spot in the Pyrenees. From the outside, the Bubble House looked like nothing so much as a downscale version of Monsanto's House of the Future, which was on display at Disneyland from 1957-1967; indeed, its petite size may have been drawback. Of course, when I imagine a plastic house, all I can think of is the delightful atmosphere inside a porta-potty. Look at more pictures here and here.
Comments
Theoretically a good idea.
They are probably still outgassing too.
modular homes that look like porta-poties = old & busted!
rustic mobile cabins = new hotness. [www.tumbleweedhouses.com]
Was The Graduate riffing on 1946's It's A Wonderful Life, where Sam Wainwright told George Bailey the future was in plastics?
@strider_mt2k: I'm wondering if that is the reason they went out of production. It's mind-boggling why good ideas like this, and the Geodesic Dome, don't take off (read: trailer parks).
I literally stumbled across a geo-dome "kit" complete, 2 bed / 1 bath for $5K. Cheap homes that are eco-safe are a good idea.
@CSX321: Haven't heard that before, but if so, love it!
Plastic was riffing on the movies by being the future. ;)
The middle one looks like an old Compaq PIII Presario minitower. Not even good enough for running Linux now.
Here's the scene from It's A Wonderful Life. (Is everything on Youtube?!?) Not quite the way I remembered it, but ahead of it's time, talking about making plastics from soy.
+ Watch video
@CSX321: "The biggest thing since radio!" I've seen It's A Wonderful Life many times but somehow never picked up on this. Thanks for posting!
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