Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Goa's Daugim Cross
The two 36-inch refracting lenses in the Lick Observatory telescope are among the largest ever built.
James Lick’s Grave
The Lagoda
Human figures at Miculla Petroglyphs
Miculla Petroglyphs
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
about 17 hours ago
Burros Alfa and Beto, seen here with Luis Soriano in 2008, have been helping the teacher deliver books for more than 20 years.
How One Man and His ‘Biblioburro’ Spreads Literacy in Rural Colombia
3 days ago
Price Tower
What Happened to Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper?
4 days ago
Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon in its new location in 2020
The Jeremy Bentham Auto-Icon: Why This Legendary Philosopher Put His Own Body on Display
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Tennessee Oak Ridge B-1 Flat Top in Oak Ridge

B-1 Flat Top in Oak Ridge

One of the Cemestos prefab homes built to secretly house thousands of Manhattan Project workers.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Added By
Edward Denny
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The B-1 Flat Top at the American Museum of Science and Energy.   Edward Denny / Atlas Obscura User
The B-1 Flat Top at the American Museum of Science and Energy.   Edward Denny / Atlas Obscura User
Type B-1 House 1940s Oak Ridge   doe-oakridge/Public domain
Type B-1 House Plans   doe-oakridge/public domain
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The science and engineering of the Manhattan Project was mind-bogglingly complex, but the endeavor was made even more difficult by the logistics of accommodating the tens of thousands of workers needed to produce the world’s first atomic weapons. Part of the solution included building thousands of homes like the B-1 Flat Top in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a secret city that didn’t exist until 1942, and had to remain entirely unknown to the outside world.

Time was of the essence during World War II, and the Manhattan Project facilities needed to be constructed quickly. The Tennessee Valley Authority provided a solution with its Flat Top prefab homes, which could be easily transported and assembled almost like Legos. Each modular configuration was identified by a letter (A-F) and the B-1 design was 576 square feet, featuring two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, and living room. More than 1,600 B-1 homes were built at a cost of $3,500 each. They were made out of Cemestos, a material combining the charm of cement and the salubrious character of asbestos.

The architectural firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (of Sears Tower and Burj Khalifa fame) originally designed these fab prefabs, and were also charged with planning the Oak Ridge development. Of course, being a top secret project, they had to work with precious few details and were reportedly given only four days to submit the plan.  While much of the original Oak Ridge facility has been demolished, including the uranium processing plant that was the largest building in the world at the time, a few Flat Tops are still around, and the American Museum of Science and Energy has displayed a B-1 since 2008.

While the Flat Top inspires nostalgia, a short distance away on the campus of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is an exemplar of high-tech modular home design that may portend the future. Adjacent to the Manhattan Project’s X-10 graphite reactor is a prefab home made entirely by a 3D printer. Companies all over the world are experimenting with 3D-printed homes, and in July, 2018, in Nantes, France, a family became the first to live in one. Reportedly, such homes are significantly cheaper to build, more durable, more efficient, and provide greater flexibility in design than traditional materials.

Related Tags

Nuclear Atom Bombs Manhattan Project Houses Architecture Engineering History War History Museums Weapons World War Ii Homes Military

Know Before You Go

As of August, 2018, the house is not available for viewing while it is being moved from its location on the old American Museum of Science and Energy campus to the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum, which also has a separate exhibit about Cemestos houses. The new AMSE at 115 Main Street East, Oak Ridge, TN, will have its grand opening on October 18, 2018.

Community Contributors

Added By

Edward Denny

Published

August 28, 2018

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.oakridger.com/article/20081110/NEWS/311109986
B-1 Flat Top in Oak Ridge
461 W Outer Dr
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
United States
36.022852, -84.27191
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Oak Ridge "The Secret City"

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

Alexander Inn

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

The Prophet of Oak Ridge's Grave

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge

Tennessee

Places 4
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Oak Ridge "The Secret City"

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

Alexander Inn

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

The Prophet of Oak Ridge's Grave

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge

Tennessee

Places 4
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Majestic white exterior of the House of Wonders

    Zanzibar, Tanzania

    The House of Wonders

    In Zanzibar, a historic 19th-century palace is a reminder of the world's shortest war.

  • The Human Shadow Etched in Stone.

    Hiroshima, Japan

    Human Shadow Etched in Stone

    An eerie reminder to the horrors of World War II.

  • Conference House, Staten Island, New York City.

    Staten Island, New York

    Conference House

    During the American Revolution, this mansion hosted failed peace talks between the British and Americans.

  • Aydon Castle

    Corbridge, England

    Aydon Castle

    This medieval manor house was hastily fortified when it found itself in the middle of the Scottish fight for independence.

  • Huis Doorn

    Doorn, Netherlands

    Huis Doorn

    The elegant manor house where Kaiser Wilhelm II lived in exile after World War I.

  • Warsaw, Poland

    The Canaletto Room

    These 18th-century paintings of Warsaw were used to reconstruct the city after World War II.

  • Building front

    Athens, Greece

    Prosfygika

    This once architecturally advanced housing complex is now a haven for squatters that still bears the scars of war.

  • A piece of the Berlin Wall was installed next to the museum.

    Fulton, Missouri

    National Churchill Museum

    A gem in the small Missouri town where Winston Churchill coined the term "Iron Curtain" and effectively began the Cold War.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.