Flintstones House, Malibu, CA (1976)
Architect William Nicholson’s three-story design is resembles something from the popular Flintstones cartoon show. While the home looks like it was carved out of a boulder, its architecture is much more complicated. American houses had been using balloon frame designs for housing for over a century, framed with extended studs that run from ground level to the rafters. But the Flintstones House took ‘balloon framing’ quite literally, using monolithic dome construction. A wire mesh frame reinforced with steel rebar is constructed over balloons. The balloons are inflated. The frame, supported by the balloon, was then sprayed with a concreted, called gunite. When the concrete hardens, the balloons are deflated and what was left was a sturdy, bulbous structure with rounded walls. While the neighbors aren’t fond of the design, and the building has suffered from cracking due to water runoff, it continues its life as a single family, private home.
