Richard Neutra

 Richard Joseph Neutra was a

Introduction 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.
 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. 
Architectural style
 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.
Design Philosophy
 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.
Work style
 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.
Lovell house, los Angeles
 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. 
 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.
 Mid level plan

Top level plan

Floor plans
South elevation

East elevation
Kaufmann desert house
• 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.
• 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.
Floor plan
Section looking west

Section looking north

Elevation
Axonometric view
Thank you