Richard Neutra

Richard Joseph Neutra was a Jewish Austrian-American architect.
Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892.
He studied under Max Fabiani and Karl Mayreder at the Vienna University of Technology and also attended the private architecture school of Adolf Loos.
After World War I he worked with the landscape architect Gustav Ammann.
Neutra moved to the United States by 1923 and worked briefly for Frank Lloyd Wright before working with his friend Rudolf Schindler in california.

1. Richard Neutra By Kaushik Srinivasan

2. Introduction Richard Joseph Neutra was a Jewish Austrian-American architect. Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt , Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He studied under Max Fabiani  and Karl Mayreder  at the Vienna University of Technology and also attended the private architecture school of Adolf Loos . After World War I he worked with the landscape architect Gustav Ammann . Neutra moved to the United States by 1923 and worked briefly for Frank Lloyd Wright before working with his friend Rudolf Schindler in california .

3. Schindler and Neutra collaborated on an entry for the League of Nations Competition of 1926–27; in the same year they formed a firm with the planner Carol Aronovici called the Architectural Group for Industry and Commerce (AGIC). In California, he became celebrated for rigorously geometric but airy structures that symbolized a West Coast variation on the mid-century modern residence. In the early 1930s, his Los Angeles practice trained several young architects who went on to independent success, including Gregory Ain , Harwell Hamilton Harris, and Raphael Soriano. Richard Joseph Neutra died on April 16, 1970, at the age of 78. 

4. He was famous for the attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project. His domestic architecture was a blend of art, landscape, and practical comfort. Neutra had a sharp sense of irony. Brought out an architectural style that belonged uniquely to southern California landscape, and a way of life, which he called MOERN REGIONALISM. He published WIE BAUT AMERIKA , a book devoted to advanced American structural systems. Neutra designed more than 300 houses in California. Architectural style

5. His design approach is very simple. His designs are pure, clean and straight line organized without any curve or arc and mixed with landscape of the site without any ambiguity or confusion in design. Neutra’s ability to incorporate technology , aesthetics , science and nature in his designs brought him to the forefront of MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE. Plate glass walls, ceilings and deep over hangings connecting indoors and outdoors had become the trade mark of Neutra’s architecture. Design Philosophy

6. He gave great attention to define the real needs of his clients. Used questionnaires to find out what exactly was needed by his clients. Neutra introduced green design concept in connection with building and nature. He termed “ biorealism ” to describe the inherent and inseperable relationship between man and nature. Used natural elements like water, light and concrete throughout his designs. Work style

7. Neutra design the Lovell House for Philip Lovell and his family in Los Angeles, California between 1927-1929. It is a Health house built for dr. Phillip Lovell on a steep hillside. The house is an example to have the principles developed by Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright.   The building appears as a series of floating white trays, abstract and machine – crafted designed in modernist international style.  Lovell house, los Angeles

8. The house is located on a landscaped, steeply terraced hill and has views of Santa Monica mountains, pacific oceans and the city of los Angeles. The building was built in three levels –  Swimming pool, Gymnasium, Play ground at base level Living room, kitchen and maid’s Quarter at mid level Bedrooms and study at the entrance level  In addition, it has sun decks, outdoor exercise areas, outside sleeping porches, water pools and body massage etc. Interior reflects neutra’s interest in cubism, transparency and hygiene.

9. Floor plans Top level plan Mid level plan

10. South elevation East elevation

11. The Kaufmann House is a landmark house built for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. on the edge of a desert town palm springs between 1946-1947. The design of the house is quite simplistic; at the center of the house is the living room and the dining room that is the heart of the house and the family activity. The rest of the house branches out like a pinwheel in each of the cardinal directions.  The most important aspects of the house are oriented east/west while the supporting features are oriented north/south. Kaufmann desert house

12. The building is virtually a glorification of Modernist’s International Style, with its skeletal steel frames and open plan. The surrounding land of the house is landscaped with stones and Cactus plants. The house’s swimming pool is one of the most iconic and recognizable aspects of the Kaufmann House; however, it is not solely a  recreational feature.  The Kaufmann House is now considered to be an architectural landmark and one of the most important houses in the 20th Century.

13. Floor plan

14. Section looking west Section looking north

15. Elevation

16. Axonometric view

17. Thank you