The Motel Of The Future?

We take for granted that motels today are generally low-rise single buildings of connected self-contained rooms, however back in 1930s the concept of a motel was in its infancy.

I wonder how the motel industry would have developed if the idea of motel guest rooms being offered as detached, self-contained concrete spheres caught on?

"In 1935, an inventor from Indiana devised a new way to build what he believed was the motel of the future. If William E. Urschel had had his way, tourists around the world would all be relaxing in these concrete golf-ball-looking structures by now. It's a good thing he didn't get his way.

Comparing his structures to the igloos of the Inuit people, Urschel's patent for his ball-motel building system described it as an "eskimo house building form." His structures were billed as offering a more efficient use of space, and Urschel claimed that they were also more convenient to build than old-fashioned houses with traditional building methods. And they weren't just for motels. Urschel imagined that these golf-ball designs could be used for gas stations, "tourist refreshment buildings," or even churches."

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