No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace Neff

A new book about a dome pioneer!

No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace Neff is a delightful new book, authored by Jeffrey Head, that presents the airformed concrete homes designed by Architect Wallace Neff (1895-1982).

Beginning in 1941, Neff developed his designs as a solution to the global housing crisis. Using a construction process that is similar to the one used today by Monolithic, Neff oversaw the construction of approximately 2,500 domes in Cuba as well as other parts of the globe.

The book includes vintage photos, previously unpublished illustrations, and archival material and ephemera.

David regrets never meeting Wallace Neff

David South, president of Monolithic, said, "I did not know Neff existed until after I had built several domes. But when I heard about him, I tried to track him down. Unfortunately, by then he was in a rest home in California and no longer able to make conversation.

“I thought he had made most of his domes as military storages,” David continued. “The book shows that he had done much more than that. I was surprised to find that out. I was also surprised that so many had been torn down as too small, wrong place, etc.”