The History of SIPS

SIPS, invented by eminent architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Canada, gained much attention in the 1970s, but had been researched as long ago as the 1930s.

Back then, the Wisconsin based US Forest Service, in an attempt to conserve timber resources, began testing a small ‘stressed-skin’ house that was dedicated by the then First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. It survives to this day as a Day Centre, and its success lead to further construction experiments that created stronger load bearing panels, and finally the elimination of a frame altogether.

More recently, SIPS have featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs in many guises including use as roofs, walls, floors, dormers, even bay window components. SIPS are even used in Antarctica to construct expedition bases and monitoring stations!