A 1955 National Homes Corporation prefab-home. Architect Charles M. Goodman

The house shown here is an example of American assembly- line wizardry. It is also an example of good architectural design and careful relationship of house to site; it looks as if it had been custom designed to fit this particular plot with the big white oak tree. It is one of the more than a hundred prefabricated houses produced by National Homes Corporation every day in the week. It can be bought, complete with concrete-paved terrace, patio-carport, fencing, air conditioning, fireplace, laundry equipment and kitchen cabinets, for $15,675 at Lafayette, Indiana.

While the house itself is a compact, 1,200 square foot rectangle, architect Charles M. Goodman planned the over- all design of house, roofed patio and carport to spread out in a generous close-to-the-ground U shape. The terrace adds 2,754 square feet of outdoor living space, some of it under roof so it can be used rain or shine. Fencing screens the terrace from the street, serves as a windbreak, and draws the eye out toward the property borders. Inside, the floor plan is divided into two L-shaped areas: in one are three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a lavatory; in the other are the living-dining room and kitchen, with pass-through snack-bar between. There are two entrances, both on the terrace side of the house: the main entrance is at the dining end of the living room; the other door opens to the hall between kitchen and bedrooms, so children can go in and out, to their own rooms, lavatory, and kitchen without disturbing the rest of the house.

The behind-the-scenes story of this house, like that of others made by National Homes Corporation (more than 30 different floor plans, nearly 200 different exterior de- signs), takes place in a factory. There, out of the weather and under controlled conditions, about 40 per cent of the building job is done. The other 60 per cent of the job, including site planning, is done by one of the 550 authorized builder-dealers whose trained crews erect the house. It is shipped by trailer-truck if your lot is within 500 miles of a company plant; otherwise by rail freight. It arrives on the site early in the morning, the walls and roof are in place before dark, and three or four weeks later you can move in. You are proud of your packaged house and, like the owners of conventionally built houses, will shortly be out there planting more flowers in front of fence or beside terrace.

 _______________________