Neutra VDL Studio and Residences explores Richard Neutra’s Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece located in Los Angeles. Architect and co-author Sarah Lorenzen is the current Resident Director of this historic house. This unique position enables her to share with the public a living architectural experience of this seminal structure from the inside out.
Richard Joseph Neutra was a giant of modern architecture. Today he is best remembered for the International style houses he built in Southern California between 1925 and 1950. These early houses feature thin white stucco walls, long bands of windows, and stacked prism compositions. During his career Neutra completed close to 300 projects under his own name. In addition to designing houses, Neutra worked on a number of large institutional and multi-family housing projects (most designed during his partnership with Robert Alexander), and published numerous books and essays about modern construction systems and his own architecture theories.
There are many reasons the authors chose to highlight this particular Neutra project: it was Neutra’s own family residence and workplace; it was built in three phases offering insight into the evolution of Neutra’s architectural ideas; and it is today the only Neutra residence regularly open to the public.
The app includes never seen before photography of the house along with photographs of famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman. An interactive timeline, rotating 3D models, plans and sections, are some of the features that make this beautifully designed 258 page app (129 pages, 2 orientations) a must-have for anyone passionate about this fascinating period in architecture.