Experimental House

Not realized

Experimental House was the attempt to design a prefabricated, modular, expandable house. This was the central project in Nelson's architecture, although it never got beyond the status of a model.

1951–57

Gordon Chadwick, Ronald Beckman, William Katavolos,
associates at George Nelson's office

The final model of the Experimental House, ca. 1957.

Early drawing of the Experimental House, which was obviously to be built on significantly higher stilts than in the final model.

The diagram illustrates the installation of the Experimental House in four steps. Excavations were not necessary.

Interior of the Experimental House. To demonstrate a possible interior decoration, a large-scale interior model was built in the Nelson office. The interior view shows how the support system of the pavilion's wall panels was also to be used in the interior as a mounting for the furniture.

An initial model of the Experimental House, ca. 1956.