Shelter by Lloyd Kahn

Shelter by Lloyd Kahn

Read the definitive, complete guide to shelters--more than 300,000 copies sold!

Shelter is so amazing, so revolutionary, that the best way to describe it is with one word: everything! It's a history of architecture, a do-it-yourself (DIY) guide, a scrapbook, and a collection of essays and stories. If you've ever wondered about any aspect of houses, homes, or other simple structures in which people have lived, this is the book for you.

First published in 1973, Shelter remains a source of inspiration and invention. Including the nuts-and-bolts aspects of building, the book covers such topics as dwellings, from Iron Age huts to Bedouin tents to Togo's tin-and-thatch houses; nomadic shelters, from tipis to "housecars;" and domes; dome cities; sod iglus; and even treehouses.

Authors Lloyd Kahn and Bob Easton recount personal stories about alternative dwellings that demonstrate sensible solutions to problems associated with using materials found in the environment--with fascinating, often surprising results.

Shelter is many things:

• a visually dynamic, oversized compendium of organic architecture, past and present;
• a how-to book that includes more than 1,250 illustrations; and
• a Whole Earth Catalog-type of sourcebook for living in harmony with the earth by using every conceivable material.

I began building about 50 years ago and have lived in a home that I constructed myself ever since. I might not have started building if I had been able to find a great historic house with a good vibe. Yet it was always cheaper to create than to buy, and by doing so, I was able to design exactly what I desired and utilize the materials I wanted. In 1960, I embarked on a journey to study the craft of construction. The entire procedure was quite enjoyable for me.

Nail hammering Delineating space is what framing is all about. The sub-floor and roof decking are nailed down. When you first tread on the floor you've just made, it's a rush.

I wish I could have spent more time learning the basics from a master carpenter, but there was never enough time. I learnt from friends and literature, as well as by blundering my way into a procedure that required some expertise. My viewpoint was that of a beginner, a homeowner, rather than a professional. As I gained experience, I began to believe that I could teach people how to construct, or at the very least get them started on the road to building their own homes.

I've gone from post and beam to geodesic domes to stud frame building throughout the years. It's been a never-ending learning process, and it's lead me to investigate a variety of construction approaches, all of which I'm interested in. I created geodesic domes for five years, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Domebook One and Domebook 2 were my first two books as a publisher, released in 1970 and 1971, respectively.

In 1973, I abandoned domes (as dwellings) and released our namesake Shelter. Over the years, we've released books on a wide range of topics, including Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter in 2004, Builders of the Pacific Coast and The Barefoot Architect in 2008, and Small Houses in 2012. My favorite subject is construction. Even in today's world, building a house with your own hands may save you a lot of money (I've never had a mortgage) and allow you to have exactly what you want in a home if you follow through.

Lloyd Kahn is a well-known architect.