Prefabrication experiments - 170 - Geometries - 01 - Kugelhaus (the globe house)

The upcoming series of prefabrication experiments “geometries” will look at ten experiments that linked architecture’s mass production with simple geometric shapes and volumes. This type of unitary construction imagined architecture’s deployment from basic cellular entities clustered into variable and adaptable patterns for horizontal or vertical urbanities. Spheres, cubes, and various polyhedra have been used to interpret factory-made architectures as building blocks for dwellings and cities.

Photographed next to a Volkswagen beetle for Modern Mechanix’s January 1961 issue, the prototype Kugelhaus shared a similar dream of mass production for the common man/woman. Commanded by the Belgian government for emergency shelter situations, the «Kugel» (ball in German) employed the basic geometric principle of the greatest volume for the least surface area. The Kugelhaus combined the geometric principles of the sphere with thin shell construction to reduce weight and optimize interior space.  

A type of integrated capsule architecture inspired by both space age technology and imagery, the “haus” designed or invented by engineer John William Ludowici was geared for transportation by ship, air or ground and required only a straightforward central connection for its central service mast. Analogous to Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Deployment Unit, the circular plan was organised around a central service hub. The small hollow globe would, according to Ludowici, be produced at a fraction of the cost of the era’s comparable dwelling systems and offered an alternative to site intensive construction both in matters of labour and site disturbance.

The sphere’s 12 foot 4 inch diameter made it small enough for shipping and its thin shell construction, a relatively unbelievable 1-inch of concrete made it buoyant enough to be floated into its final position. Site work was limited to levelling and compressing a curved depression; the kugelhaus required no foundations. Divided in two zones, the Kugelhaus’s kitchen, bath, bed and living functions were unified by a uniquely multifunctional area. The Kugelhaus spoke to an increasing interest for architecture to come out of the dark ages and deploy similar production techniques that had made possible the mass production of any day-to-day commodity. Like many other experiments in capsule architecture its complete diversion from local building traditions and cultures rendered it marginally acceptable and it never attained production beyond its development as a prototype.

Kugelhuas - Modern Mechanix issue January 1961