Richard Josef Neutra

Born in Vienna, Austria : April 8 1892

Died in Wuppertal-Germany: April 16 1970
Education: Technical University of Vienna (Graduated 1917. Taught by Adolf Loos)
Architectural Firm: Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture
Awards: 1934 - 1st prize with the Sten House in the House Beautiful Competiton
1934 Gold Medal "Better Homes in America" (Beard Home).
1967 Cross of Federal Republic of Germany.
1968 Gold Ring of the City - Vienna.
1977 - Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects (AIA)-postume
 Architectural Theories
• Decided to become an architect as 8 y.o. after seen the subway station designed by
Otto Wagner in Vienna, complete his graduation with the mark of excellent.

• Neutra believed firmly in creating “a machine in the garden”; a house which was
designed for living in. In his projects he promoted the idea of flowing spaces and
balance between exterior and interior, and was above everything concerned about how
to better combine human intervention with the natural environment.

• “Place Man in relationship to Nature: that’s where he developed and where he feels
more at home”

• "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” Richard Neutra

• “Wie Baut Amerika?” 1927

• “Richard Neutra on building: Mystery and Realities of the Site” 1951
• “Survival Through Design” 1954
• “Life and Shape” 1962
 Influences and Styles

International Modernism : The term International Style appeared for the first time in 1932 in the first
International Exhibition of Modern Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in wich
some of his works have been presented.Alfred Barr, the director of the museum define it as
“peculiar to the 20th.century and fundamentally original as the Greek,Byzantine or Gotic.The
esthetic principles “are based upon the nature of modern materials and structure and upon
modern requirements in planning.
Neutra was influenced considerably by the architect Adolf Loos, particularly his passion for the people
and culture of America and it’s ‘opportunities for innovation’ wich later propelled him there .Later
worked with Mendelshon in Berlin.They work together and show each other mutual respect. A
year after arriving in America he worked briefly with Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924, and by 1925 he
had settled in Los Angeles, moving in with the architect Rudolf Schindler.

• Visiting Bauhaus in 1930 he and Mies v.d.Rhoe discussed ways in wich the Bauhaus system
myght be introduced into th U.S..
• American delegate at CIAM (Congrès-internationaux d’Architecture moderne) in 1930.
• Neutra himself has influenced many generations of designers and architects interested in
modernism and Neutra’s characteristic ‘indoor-outdoor’ design.

• Adolf Loos
• Erich Mendelshon
• (Einstein Tower)
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• (Gugenheim Museum)
Kaufmann House,Palm springs-California
1946
The Kaufmann Desert House

Building type: single family house

Address: 470 West Vista Chino
Location: Palm springs – California – USA
Climate : Hot, dry desert

+
 The Kaufmann Desert House

• Materials used: glass, stone,

 “Architects must have a sharp sense of
individuality”
Neutra was in some respects like many other modernist architects but he often took the principles
further, creating a minimalist house ahead of it’s time that was practical and homely at the same
time.
 Major Works
• Lovell House, 1929, Los Angeles
• Anna Sten House, 1934, California
• Von Sternberg house 1935 San Fernando valley.
• Emerson Junior High School, 1938, West Los Angeles, California
• Kaufmann House, 1946, Palm Springs, California
• Moore House, 1952, Ojai, California (received AIA award)
• Case Study House programs
• US Embassy, 1959, Karachi, Pakistan
• Los Angeles Hall of Records, 1961, Los Angeles, California
• Kuhns House, 1964, Woodland Hills, California
• Silverlake, 1932-33 & 63-64, Los Angeles, California
• Delcourt House, 1968-1969, Croix, Nord, France

Schindler house- Eames house- Hovel health house- Lovell house

 Bibliography

BOOKS:

The Architecture of Richard Neutra-Arthur Drexler and Thomas S.Hines (The Museum of modern Art,New York-1982 Edition)
Richard Neutra and the search for Moden architecture-Thomas S.Hines(Oxford University Press-1982
Richard Neutra – Manfred Sack – Artemis Verlags AG – Zurich 1992
Richard Neutra on building-Misteries and realities of the site - Morgan & Morgan Publishers - 1951
The story of Architecture - Patrick Nuttgens -Phaidon Press Limited - 2nd Edition - 1997 (p 266)

INTERNET:

http://neutra.org/neutra_living2.html
http://www.archinform.net/stich/1647.htm
http://www.archinform.net/quellen
http://www.archinform.net/medien/10000163.htm?ID=RRWmWiXhx8eqhNbQ
http://www.greatbuildings.com
http://www.socialhistory.org/biographies/neutra.htm
http://taschen.com
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richars_Neutra
http://www.flickr.com/??neutra
http://www.soloarquitectura.com/arquitectos/neutrarichard.html

JOURNALS :

Modernism [Vol. 1, No, 3], December 1998. “The Neutra Genius: Innovations and Visions”
Architectural Record [Vol. 187], September 1999. “A Modernist Masterpiece in the Desert is Reborn” p92
Interiors [Vol. 158], October 1999. “Palm Springs Eternal” p70
World of Interiors, March 2001. p182