Post #637558 by bigbrotiki on Wed, May 23, 2012 10:08 AM

Not to be a stickler - but I am ! :D - I believe the Montreal Kon-Tiki is actually based on these two Pacific building types:

The round thatched roof and roof finial are New Caledonian:

...and the storyboard painted fronts-piece was inspired by Palau Islands men's houses:

Trader Vic's used that concept in several straight A-frame entrances. But PNG meeting houses definitely were among the inspirations for swooping mid-century A-frames. One curious custom in particular has not revealed itself to me yet:

The ball and chain hanging from this PNG house's gable in the Berlin museum look suspiciously like the classic fishnet float lamp customary in American Tiki culture. What was its function for the traditional PNG men's house?

And while I am asking: WHERE did THESE roofs come from:

...they seem more African to me. :)