Prefab Pioneer Ralph Rapson 1914-2008
photo via DwellArchitect Ralph Rapson was a pioneer of prefab, did a classic case study house, and was still designing 'till the day he died, on March 29.
His son described him to the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal as a "Forrest Gump" of architecture, explaining that his father was born with a birth defect that eventually resulted in the loss of his right arm. However, his disability did not prevent Rapson, who was artistically inclined from a young age, from pursuing a love for drawing. "He was really captivated by post-war ideas of new construction, using new materials, and new building techniques, and rethinking ideas of how space is used were his passions."
"He always joked that he would be carried out on his drafting board," Toby Rapson said, adding that his father was in the office Friday, writing and designing. ::Carissa Wyant, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
modular design, date unknown
Rapson Case Study House, 1960
Rapson Glass Cube, 1974; more in Materialicious
Rapson Greenbelt, 2007; read more in Inhabitat
