Richard Neutra b. Vienna 1892. In 1911 discovered Frank Lloyd-Wright [Wasmuth Edition]. He graduated in 1917 from the Technische Hochschule, Vienna, where he had been taught by Adolf Loos, and was influenced by Otto Wagner. 1921-1922 worked with Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin.1923 emigrated to the U.S.A. where he worked for Holabird & Roche in Chicago and FLW at Taliesin. In 1926 he settled in Los Angeles working for Schindler on both the Lovell Beach House and the How House. Reached the height of his career with Kaufmann Desert House 1946-7 and the Tremaine House Santa Barbara 1947-8. Both of these houses epitomized the late development of modernism which has been termed the 'Contemporary' style. Neutra created a modern regionalism for Southern California which combined a light metal frame with a stucco finish to create a light effortless appearance. "He specialized in extending architectural space into a carefully arranged landscape. The dramatic images of flat-surfaced, industrialized residential buildings contrasted against nature were popularized by the photography of Julius Shulman." An experienced and outspoken writer and speaker, Neutra worked with a series of successful partners including his wife, Dione, from 1922, his protege, Robert Alexander, from 1949-58 and his son, Dion, from 1965. He adamantly believed that modern architecture must act as an social force in the betterment of mankind. Neutra died in Wuppertal, Germany in 1970

Lovell House 1929

"The Lovell house... had in Los Angeles in 1929 an importance comparable to the early iron or steel and glass exhibition buildings in Europe, and indeed it was through this house that Los Angeles archtiecture first became widely known in Europe. Brilliant as the structure was in conception, it is doubtful whether it could have been executed without Neutra's familiartiy with the methods of contractors and sub-contractors...
"The open-web skeleton, in which standard triple steel casements were integrated, was fabricated in sections and transported by truck to the steep hillside site, and the lightweight bar joists of floors and ceilings were electrically welded in the shop. The shop work was held to a decimal tolerance to avoid the costliness of changes during assembly on the site, and as a result the skeleton was erected in forty hours-too fast to photograph the various stages of construction.
The balconies, usually called cantilevered, are instead suspended by slender steel cables from the roof frame. This use of members in suspension, and also the U-shaped reinforced thin concrete cradle in which the pool was suspended, created a stir in architectural circles.
The walls of the house are of thin concrete, shop from two-hundred-foot-long hoses, against expanded metal, which was backed by insulation panels as forms..."
-Esther McCoy. Richard Neutra. p13-14.

The Creator's Words
"This call for caution and responsibility is heard by voters and shareholders, and by journalists and critics, who are paying more attention than ever before to architectural, city-planning, and environmental issues. They are inclined to pounce on any clear indication that a new building or development, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, may jeopardize the health, safety, or peace of mind of the people using it or living nearby. If it looks as though human vitality is going to be weakened by some short-sighted building or plan, the resulting news and ensuing debate is going to get back to those to whom the client is accountable. This is no different than if some businessman or bureaucrat had callously proposed digging one hole for both a septic tank and a well just because one hole is provably cheaper and faster than digging two."
-Richard Neutra. from William Marlin, ed. Nature Near: late essays of Richard Neutra. p18, 19.

text source Great Buildings Online

Kauffmann Desert House

"The Kaufmann house, Palm Springs, 1946, moved in the direction of the pavilion, which is Neutra's last development in domestic architecture. Horizontal planes resting on horizontal planes hover over transparent walls. The material loses its importance-magnificent as the dry-joint stone walls are in themselves-and the gist of the house is the weightless space enclosed. The victory over the front door is almost complete; it is reached by slow stages, like the Mexican house whose entrance on the street leads through a garden to an unemphasized door."
-Esther McCoy. Richard Neutra. p16-17.

The Creator's Words
"As an architect, my life has been governed by the goal of building environmental harmony, functional efficiency, and human enhancement into the experience of everyday living. These things go together, constituting the cause of architecture, and a life devoted to their realization cannot be an easy one.
"I have been privileged, or perhaps doomed, to eschew simpler, lighter burdens. Shaping man's surroundings entails a lot more than spatial, structural, mechanical, and other technical considerations-certainly a lot more than pontificating about matters of style. Our organic well-being is dependent on a wholesome, salubrious environment. Therefore exacting attention has to be paid to our intricate sensory world."
-Richard Neutra. from William Marlin, ed. Nature Near: late essays of Richard Neutra. p1-2.

Sources on Kaufmann Desert House
Francis D. K. Ching. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1979. ISBN 0-442-21535-5. LC 79-18045. NA2760.C46.
Thomas S.Hines. Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. 1982.
John Julius Norwich, ed. Great Architecture of the World. London: Mitchell Beazley Publishers, 1975. Reprint edition: Da Capo Press, April 1991. ISBN 0-3068-0436-0.
Dennis Sharp. Twentieth Century Architecture: a Visual History. New York: Facts on File, 1990. ISBN 0-8160-2438-3. NA680.S517.

text source Great Buildings Online