Neutra VDL Studio and Residences
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences , also Neutra Research House , Van der Leeuw House or Richard and Dion Neutra VDL Research House II is a residential building designed by Richard Neutra and his son Dion Neutra in Los Angeles , California , 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a historic building on May 8, 2009 .
The almost 200 m² house was originally built in 1932 for Neutra and his family. It is named VDL Research House because it was built on a loan from Neutra's early friend Case H. Van der Leeuw, a Dutch industrialist and architecture enthusiast. Neutra and his wife Dione raised their three sons in it. He led his architectural practice from a studio until he opened his offices a few hundred meters away on Glendale Boulevard in the Neutra Office Building , which is also listed in the National Register.
In his design, Neutra sought to show that the innovations he had introduced at the Lovell Health House could also be used in designs for less well-off customers. Through the use of natural lighting, glass walls that opened onto the garden and mirrors, Neutra created a space that did not delimit the nearby Silver Lake, but reflected it. Neutra later wrote about the VDL Research House:
“I believed that high density design could be done in a fully human way, and I saw my new house as a particular pilot project. I wanted to show that people, when brought into close proximity, can be accommodated in very satisfactory conditions, given the valuable amenity that is called privacy. So endowed with my memories and beliefs, and in direct contrast to the hostile demeanor of my childhood environment, I put three families on my usually 60-by-70- foot lot on Silver Lake. And I was able to arrange things in such a way that they embellished our lives with abundant plantings and liberating vistas. You feel a great thought of freedom in the VDL, because everything was carefully planned to avoid interference between the different zones of the house, and there were so many opportunities to be alone. "
Neutra was later proud of the fact that every year many strangers came to his house, some stopped and thought and perhaps wondered why this building in its clarity and composition did not rub off on Los Angeles in general.
When Richard Neutra's house on Silver Lake built reservoir in 1932, he had a budget of 10,000 US dollars available and a small strip of land.
The small rooms of the house are arranged around an open staircase and have built-in furniture in neutral tones. The house was Neutra's third work in the United States and was built four years after the Lovell Health House in Los Feliz. It later became the focal point of a cluster of ten Neutra-designed houses on Argent Place.
The original house was destroyed by fire in March 1963. The fire not only destroyed the house, but also Neutra's collection of drawings, writings and his architectural library. Neutra's son Dion rebuilt the house under his father's supervision. The original look of the house has been preserved, but a number of changes have been made to the design of the reconstruction. A reviewer later wrote that "the original clarity was now gone, but the new house has gained leaps in visual complexity".
Neutra's widow donated the house, which at the time was valued at US $ 207,500 (US $ 548,600 adjusted for inflation), to Cal Poly Pomona for university use.
The building was in a condition that required some repairs and further deterioration was threatened when a fundraiser was held in 2008 to help finance conservation efforts.
The house is open to the public on Saturdays; it is the only house that Neutra designed and can be visited regularly.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lauren Weiss Bricker: National Register of Historic Places Registration: Argabrite House ( English , PDF ; 11.0 MB) National Park Service . May 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2009. (81 pages, with house plans, drawings and 20 photographs)
- ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed May 25, 2016
- ^ A b Larry Gordon: Widow of Famous LA Architect Dione Neutra Gains Renown of Her Own (English) , Los Angeles Times. April 13, 1986.
- ↑ a b c Richard Neutra: Sneak Previews of Forthcoming Books Thoughts on Architecture (excerpts from "Nature Near, the late essays of Richard Neutra" published by Capra Press) (English) , Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1989. " I was convinced that high-density design could succeed in a fully human way, and I saw my new house as a concrete pilot project. I wanted to demonstrate that human beings, brought together in close proximity, can be accommodated in very satisfying circumstances, taking in that precious amenity called privacy. So armed with my memories and convictions, and in direct contrast to the sense-inimical mien of my boyhood surroundings, I planted three families on my ordinary 60-by-70-foot lot, next to Silver Lake. And I was able to arrange things in such a way as to embellish our lives with abundant plantings and bracing vistas. One felt a great sense of freedom in the VDL, as everything was carefully planned to avoid interference between the various zones of the house, and there were many options for getting off by oneself. "
- ^ A b c Diane Kanner and Fred Chriss: Pioneer Architect Neutra to Be Honored , Los Angeles Times. April 5, 1992.
- ↑ a b Nicolai Ouroussoff: Reflecting on Neutra Genius; Commentary: Today's architecture students can learn much from a 1930s experiment by Modernist Richard Neutra. More than a landmark, it is an inspiration , Los Angeles Times. January 30, 1997. " original clarity was now gone, but the new house gained a jumpy visual complexity "
- ^ A b Architect Rebuilding Famed Research House (English) , Los Angeles Times. March 15, 1964.
- ↑ Cal Poly Pomona Given Neutra Research House (English) , Los Angeles Times. March 2, 1980.
- ↑ Architect's Home Given To Cal Poly (English) , Los Angeles Times. May 18, 1980.
- ↑ Stephani L. Miller: Saving Neutra's VDL House (English), Residential Architect ( Memento from February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- Neutra VDL Studio and Residences (English)
Coordinates: 34 ° 5 '54.4 " N , 118 ° 15' 37.6" W.