The Architect - Richard Joseph Neutra
Born: April 8, 1892 Leopoldstadl, Vienna.
Died: April 16,1970 Wuppertal, Germany 1910-1918 Studied with Adolf Loos at Vienna University of Technology 1919 worked with landscape architect Gustav Ammann 1921 served briefly as city architect in Luckenwalde, Germany 1921 worked in the office of Erich Mendelsohn, Berlin, Germany 1923 moved to USA, worked for short time with Frank Lloyd Wright 1924 worked as Landscape Architect on Schindler's Newport Beach House for Philip Lovell 1927-29 designed the Lovell 'Health' House in LA in the International Style |
The Client - Philip Lovell
Phillip Lovell was a health & lifestyle conscious person, he wanted a home where he could fulfill his healthy regime in comfort where the function of the house fits around its form. Lovell wanted a healthy modern family home built into the hillside on the edge of LA.
Neutra interviewed the whole Lovell family, even their chef! to understand & meet the needs of a health-conscious vegetarian family. Neutra with Philip and Leah Lovell on site A young Neutra, 4th from the right, explains his plans -1927
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The Location and Surrounding Area
The area that the house is built on over looks a "romantic landscape". Some of the properties of the land, area and climate, dictate the design of the house such as; the steep hillside it is built on, meaning the house has to be built into the side of the hill and the surrounding gardens which were important to Lovell had to be terraced to create a level form to be usable. |
United States National Park Service
Models of the Lovell house
Images courtesy of Richard and Dion Neutra Papers, 1925-1970 UCLA digital library, photo credits to Julius Shulman.
Original drawings
Plan view of the pool level.
Section detail and construction notes for the swimming pool.
Section detail of the window and its return.
Images courtesy of Richard and Dion Neutra Papers, 1925-1970 UCLA digital library, photo credits to Julius Shulman.
Construction phase photographs
This series of pictures depicts the revolutionary Steel frame during the construction phase. The house was built using techniques at the forefront of technology, see the photo of the construction workers applying the "Gunite" coating. Gunite was an experimental concrete coating that was sprayed onto a mesh screen. The whole process was designed to be fast and the coating to be strong.
Images courtesy of Richard and Dion Neutra Papers, 1925-1970 UCLA digital library, photo credits to Julius Shulman.
The house opens to great acclaim
It is intresting to note the contrast between the automobiles
and the fashions of the day and how "modern" the house looks in comparison. |
Richard Neutra on the balcony.
If you look at the two chairs pictured in this photo, notice that they are the same chairs that have been reproduced by Neutras son Dion. (see Legacy section)
Images courtesy of Richard and Dion Neutra Papers, 1925-1970 UCLA digital library, photo credits to Julius Shulman.
Written Historical and Descriptive Data
I do apologize for uploading a fairly substantial block of text, however it does give an excellent account of the fine detailing of the building.