Making the Tool to Make the Thing: The Production of the R.G. Le Tourneau's Prefabricated Concrete Homes

R.G. LeTourneau is best known for his heavy earth-moving equipment developedin the early twentieth century. Less known is the system he developedfor casting a concrete “house-a-day”. The patented Tournalayer evolved from1945 until the 1960s. The early home designs grew more multifaceted witheach reiteration. The prefabricated system took the factory to the site wheremultiple steel forms were used in unison to form communities. The focus ofthe craftsman shifted from direct construction to making the tool that madethe home. While manufacturing processes may not allude to poetics, the potentialexists for a meaningful dialog between the machine and the craftsman.

Volume Editors
John Quale, Rashida Ng & Ryan E. Smith

ISBN
978-0-935502-85-5