62Bricks Posted November 17, 2016 (edited) Lustron was a short-lived company started in the late 1940s by the Swedish inventor Carl Strandlund. His idea was to address the post-war housing shortage in the United States by creating an inexpensive system of building pre-fabricated houses out of steel. He secured government loans and converted a former aircraft plant into a factory, where these all-steel houses were built in segments to be shipped all over the country and assembled on site. The company faced some challenges and only a few thousand houses were actually sold and built. You can find them throughout the American Midwest. There are four of them within a half-hour drive of my home in a small town in Iowa. The remarkable thing about Lustron houses is that they are constructed almost entirely of steel. The wall frames were built in sections and fastened together on site. The roof trusses were also steel. Finally, the entire exterior and the roof were covered with small porcelain-enameled steel panels, giving the houses a distinctive appearance. The panels could be ordered in a range of colors. The interior walls were also covered with enameled steel panels - to hang things on the walls, you used magnetic hooks. Cabinets and bookcases were built in. Interior doors were sliding pocket doors to save space. The houses came with a 500-page instruction book. In my design, I have tried to replicate the pre-fab building experience. Wall panels are built in sections, then assembled and locked together into the completed house. More photos and info at my Flickr album I have posted a version of the model at Mecabricks I am currently gathering support for the project at LEGO Ideas Edited November 17, 2016 by 62Bricks Typos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dutchlegofan50 Posted November 18, 2016 A very thoughtful design! You captured the essence of Lustron houses very well and your presentation is flawless. Great work and I can't wait to build it myself. Any chance of putting instructions online (or made available upon request)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Willworkfortoys Posted November 18, 2016 This is terrific! I love the process of your design. If I had one suggestion it would be to add a vertical linear element at the front eave corner of the house. From the photos is appears to be a strong architectural element and likely structurally necessary as well to hold the bearing of the gable end truss. Great build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
62Bricks Posted November 18, 2016 4 hours ago, Willworkfortoys said: This is terrific! I love the process of your design. If I had one suggestion it would be to add a vertical linear element at the front eave corner of the house. From the photos is appears to be a strong architectural element and likely structurally necessary as well to hold the bearing of the gable end truss. Great build! I agonized over that pole. I tried several options and just could not get something that looked right to me. Part of the problem is that I squeezed down the proportions of the model from the initial plan, which was to scale, in order to fit it on a standard baseplate. The overhang is thus smaller in proportion, and the corner pole was overpowering. I haven't given up, though. Thanks for the feedback. 14 hours ago, dutchlegofan50 said: A very thoughtful design! You captured the essence of Lustron houses very well and your presentation is flawless. Great work and I can't wait to build it myself. Any chance of putting instructions online (or made available upon request)? Thank you! Yes, I'll put instructions up. In the meantime, you can open it up and take it apart in Mecabricks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kristel Posted November 19, 2016 This is really neat! Captured the design concept perfectly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
62Bricks Posted November 23, 2016 New render with the house in gray and white, one of the more common color combinations: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
