One of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, Richard Joseph Neutra was an Austrian-American architect, helping define modernism in Southern California and around the world.
Image source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neutra#/media/File:Richard_Neutra.jpg
About his life
Richard Joseph Neutrawasborn April 8, 1892, in Vienna, from a wealthy Jewish-Hungarian industrialist family, allowing him to fully pursue his studies, first at theSophiengymnasium,in Vienna, until1910, and later underMax FabianiandKarl Mayrederat theVienna University of Technology,between1910and1918;notably, he also attended the private architecture school ofAdolf Loos, the uber-mordernist. After serving in WWI, Neutra returned to his hometown to take his final examinations, before moving to Switzerland and Germany to begin working, joining the Berliner firm owned byErich Mendelsohn.After marrying, Neutra would eventually leave Europe in1923, moving to America, where he’d become a fully naturalized citizen by1929.
After a brief stint under architectural pioneerFrank Lloyd Wright, he’d accept an invitation from university companion – and, like Wright, an organic architecture exponent –Rudolf Schindler, who offered him a job as landscape architect, beginning with Schindler’s own beach house (1922–1925), expanding to a pergola and wading pool for Wright and Schindler’s complex forAline BarnsdallonOlive Hill(1925), Hollywood. Schindler and Neutra’s collaborations would not stop here, as they worked together on an entry for theLeague of Nations Competitionof1926–27,before, in the same year, forming a firm, together with the plannerCarol Aronovici, called the Architectural Group for Industry and Commerce (AGIC).
Outside of these activities, Neutra would pursue his own goals, aiming to embody theInternational Stylewith his buildings, with twelve among them even earning the designation of Historic Cultural Monuments (HCM), such as the renownedLovell Health House(1929)
He quickly gained fame throughoutCalifornia, and his rigorously geometric but airy structures became an immediate association with West Coast residences, receiving offers from the likes ofEdgar J. Kaufmann(the same owner ofFallingwater House),Galka Scheyer, andWalter Conrad Arensberg. In the early 1930s, Neutra’s Los Angeles practice trained several young architects who went on to independent success, allowing Neutra to widen his horizons, such as his attempt to transfer to theSoviet Unionto help solve the housing problems plaguing the populace.
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/ad29aa97-e050-4e44-aa90-0b3381b69586byIK’s World Trip
In 1932, Neutra’d be part of the MoMA exhibit on modern architecture, together with the likes ofPhilip JohnsonandHenry-Russel Hitchcock. During his later years, Neutra would form a 10-year partnership withRobert E. Alexander, starting1949, giving him the means to design larger, high-end buildings; one in particular, in1955, theKarachi Embassy, commissioned by the USA Department of State, the first of many Neutra-designed embassies all around the world. In1965, Neutra’d form a new partnership with his sonDion, designing European Villas for the next decade.
mage source:https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94661087/richard-josef-neutra
He died April 16,1970; to this day, his legacy stems from his role as an Austrian-born, American architect introducing theInternational Styleinto American architecture, thus changing its landscape – both metaphorical and literal – forever. His legacy is one of care and attention to his clients’ needs, regardless of the project’s size, refusing, unlike many of his peers, to impose his own artistic vision, blending art, comfort and landscape in his domestic architecture, more often than not with his trademark sense of humor.
He’d stress a “ready-for-anything” plan – pointing at an open, multifunctional plan for living spaces that as the most flexible, adaptable and easily modified solution, for any type of lifestyle or event.
What are his most famous works?
One of Neutra’s most important early works was theLovell House, Los Angeles (1927–29), a home made with glass expanses and cable-suspended balconies, stylistically similar to the works ofLe CorbusierandLudwig Mies van der RoheinEurope. Throughout the 1930s, he designed houses in the International Style, bridging the stylistic gap between America and the old continent.
Shortly afterWorld War II, Neutra created his most memorable works: theKaufmann Desert House, Palm Springs, Calif. (1946–47), and theTremaine House, Santa Barbara, Calif. (1947–48). Elegant and precise, these are considered exceptional examples of the International Style, adapted to the needs of a new market.
Carefully integrated in thelandscape, Neutra’s houses often sported patios and porches, making the outdoors seem part of the house itself. He believed that architecture should be a means of bringing man back into an harmony withnature,being particularly concerned himself that his houses reflect the way of life of the owner.
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What are Neutra’s style main features ?
He was famous for the attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project, in contrast to other architects eager to impose their artistic vision on a client. Neutra sometimes used detailed questionnaires to discover his client’s needs, much to their surprise. His domestic architecture was a blend ofart,landscape, andpractical comfort.
Images source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/a11e7582-f233-4dcc-a9a8-b5476fd9de82byOrange County Archives
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Neutra’s earlywatercolorsanddrawings,其中大部分是他(特别是旅行的地方his trips to the Balkans in WWI) and portrait sketches, showed influence from artists such asGustav Klimt,Egon Schieleetc. Neutra’s sister Josefine, who could draw, is cited as developing Neutra’s inclination towards drawing.
Info sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neutra
