The front of the Neutra house. You can see the address, the font is distinct to many of his buildings.
Last weekend it was beautiful out, so we decided to stop by the Neutra VDL Studio & Residence located in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Built in the 1930s by Richard Neutra, it was considered radical for its time. He lived here with his family and also worked here as well.
I think the description on the web site explains the architecture well: “a “modern” two-story house: a markedly horizontal composition with a repetition of identical casement windows running from edge to edge of its box-like form; a simple volume defined by a skin like enclosure and capped by a thin flat roof plane; a façade without the distractions of color or ornament. This house was the embodiment of then current European avant-garde design scarcely known to the people of Los Angeles. Its architect was equally unknown. Yet in years hence his name became famous and his works associated with modern architecture in California. This house was Richard Neutra’s own, his third building in America and the house in which he was to live and work for nearly three decades.”
Following are a few photos from our trip there. It really is an amazing house and certainly worth visiting. For $10 you can get a tour of the house and are then free to wander around and take photos after.
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The rooftop. In the background notice the gravel on the ground. This area was originally filled with a shallow layer of water, creating a moat like feature around the glass room.
Mirrors were used on a number of walls throughout the house. Here, you can see the moat filled with gravel. It wraps around the entire room. There are plans to renovate this feature and fill it with water again.
A low seating area.
The "modern" kitchen. It even has a dishwasher! It is interesting to note how much smaller the spaces in this house are compared to many of the houses today.
A detail from the kitchen.
The hallway leading to the bedrooms. Neutra and his wife each had a separate room. I really like the long horizontal lines in this space.
The open stairs to the roof top.
The back courtyard.
While we were there, actors were practicing a scene for a film that was set to be shot in the house. It was kind of strange, wandering around while this drama was going on!
They must have done this scene four or five times. The first time the actress threw herself to the floor, the actor was concerned and asked, "Are you ok?! Are you hurt?" Her reply..."Oh, its nothing, I used to do roller derby."
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