In the 1956 book “Aluminum in Modern Architecture,” published by Reynolds, Charles Goodman discussed how he was working on aluminum, rather than wood, to hold his walls of glass. “With glass, the only thing we’re using the surround for is to hold the glass in place. I don’t see any point in using wood for that surround. Why not use aluminum?” You can view Goodman’s work in the flesh in one of his barrel-roof townhomes in River Park in Southwest DC. It is listed for $499K. You can see images here. Goodman was picked to design River Park by Reynolds Metals Company, which developed the co-op in the 1960s to display its aluminum building products. Goodman also designed the Alcoa Care-free Home to highlight the material. Two dozen were built around the country.