Richard Neutra facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Richard Neutra

Born	Richard Joseph Neutra (1892-04-08)April 8, 1892 Leopoldstadt, Vienna
Died	April 16, 1970(1970-04-16) (aged 78) Wuppertal, Germany
Occupation	Architect
Spouse(s)	Dione Niedermann (m. 1922⁠–⁠1970)
Children	Frank L Neutra (1924–2008) Dion Neutra (1926-) Raymond Neutra (1939-)
Awards	Wilhelm Exner Medal (1959) AIA Gold Medal (1977)

Richard Joseph Neutra (April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. He lived and worked for most of his career in Southern California. He is known as one of the most important architects of the modernist style.

About Richard Neutra
Neutra's Architectural Style
Neutra's Legacy
- Notable Buildings and Projects
Images for kids
See also

About Richard Neutra

Richard Neutra was born on April 8, 1892, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. His family was wealthy. His father, Samuel Neutra, owned a metal factory. His mother, Elizabeth Glaser Neutra, was part of a Jewish community. Richard had two brothers who also moved to the United States. His sister, Pepi Weixlgärtner, was an artist. Her work can be seen in The Museum of Modern Art in Sweden.

Early Life and Education

Neutra went to school in Vienna until 1910. He studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology. He also attended a private architecture school run by Adolf Loos. In 1912, he traveled to Italy and the Balkans to study. He went with Ernst Ludwig Freud, who was the son of Sigmund Freud.

His studies were stopped in 1914 when he joined the army. He served as a lieutenant in the artillery during World War I. He took a break in 1917 to finish his final exams.

Starting His Career

After the war, Neutra moved to Switzerland. He worked with a landscape architect named Gustav Ammann. In 1921, he worked briefly as a city architect in Luckenwalde, Germany. Later that year, he joined the office of Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin.

Neutra helped design a new business center for Haifa, Palestine. He also worked on a housing project in Berlin. In 1922, he married Dione Niedermann. She was also the daughter of an architect. They had three sons: Frank L, Dion, and Raymond Richard. Dion later became an architect and worked with his father.

Moving to the United States

Neutra moved to the United States in 1923. He became a U.S. citizen in 1929. In 1932, his work was shown in an important exhibition. This show was about modern architecture at the MoMA.

From 1949 to 1958, Neutra worked with Robert E. Alexander. This partnership allowed him to design larger buildings. These included commercial and public buildings. In 1955, the United States Department of State asked Neutra to design a new embassy in Karachi. This was part of a big plan to have famous architects design embassies.

In 1965, Neutra started a new partnership with his son, Dion Neutra. Between 1960 and 1970, Neutra designed eight homes in Europe. Four were in Switzerland, three in Germany, and one in France. He worked for important clients during this time. Richard Joseph Neutra passed away in Wuppertal, Germany, on April 16, 1970. He was 78 years old.

Neutra's Architectural Style

Richard Neutra was known for how much he listened to his clients. He wanted to understand their exact needs for a project. This was different from some architects who just wanted to build their own artistic ideas. Neutra sometimes used detailed questionnaires to learn what his clients wanted.

His home designs mixed art, the surrounding landscape, and practical comfort. In 1947, he wrote an article called "The Changing House." In it, Neutra talked about a "ready-for-anything" plan. This meant designing open, flexible living spaces. These spaces could easily change for different types of life or events.

Neutra's early drawings and watercolors showed influences from artists like Gustav Klimt. Many of these drawings were of places he visited. His sister Josefine, who was good at drawing, helped him develop his interest in art.

Neutra's Legacy

Neutra's son, Dion, still keeps his father's office open in Los Angeles. It is called "Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture." The Neutra Office Building is a recognized historic place.

In 1980, Neutra's wife gave the Van der Leeuw House to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. This house is used by the university's design students and teachers. In 2011, the Kronish House, designed by Neutra in 1954, sold for $12.8 million.

In 2009, an exhibition showed Neutra's sketches and drawings. It was held at the Los Angeles Central Library. Another exhibition showed his work in Europe from 1960 to 1979.

In the late 1990s, there was a new interest in "mid-century modernism." This made Neutra's work, and that of other architects like John Lautner, popular again. The Kaufmann Desert House was restored in the mid-1990s.

A special typeface, or font, called Neutraface was created. It was designed based on Richard Neutra's architecture and design ideas.

In 1977, he was given the AIA Gold Medal after he passed away. In 2015, he received a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.

Notable Buildings and Projects

Jardinette Apartments, 1928, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Lovell House, 1929, Los Angeles, California
Mosk House, 1933, Hollywood, California
Nathan and Malve Koblick House, 1933, Atherton, California
Universal-International Building, 1933, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Scheyer House, 1934, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
William and Melba Beard House (with Gregory Ain), 1935, Altadena
California Military Academy, 1935, Culver City, California
Corona Avenue Elementary School, 1935, Bell, California
Largent House, 1935, San Francisco (later demolished and ordered to be rebuilt)
Von Sternberg House, 1935, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences, 1932, Los Angeles, California
Sten and Frenke House, 1934, Santa Monica, California
Josef Kun House, 1936, Nichols Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Landfair Apartments, 1937, Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Strathmore Apartments, 1937, Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Aquino Duplex, 1937, San Francisco
Leon Barsha House (with P. Pfisterer), 1937, Pacific Palisades, California
Miller House, 1937, Palm Springs, California
Windshield House, 1938, Fisher's Island, New York
Lewin House, 1938, Santa Monica, Los Angeles
Emerson Junior High School, 1938, West Los Angeles, California
Kelton Apartments, Westwood, Los Angeles
Sidney Kahn House, 1940, Telegraph Hill, San Francisco
Beckstrand House, 1940, Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles County
Bonnet House, 1941, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Neutra/Maxwell House, 1941, Angelino Heights, Los Angeles
Van Cleef Residence, 1942, Westwood, Los Angeles
Channel Heights Housing Projects, 1942, San Pedro, California
John Nesbitt House, 1942, Brentwood, Los Angeles
Kaufmann Desert House, 1946, Palm Springs, California
Stuart Bailey House, 1948, Pacific Palisades, California (Case Study 20A)
Case Study Houses #6, #13, #20A, #21A
Schmidt House, 1948, Linda Vista, Pasadena, California
Joseph Tuta House, 1948, Palos Verdes, California
Holiday House Motel, 1948, Malibu, California
Elkay Apartments, 1948, Westwood, Los Angeles
Gordon Wilkins House, 1949, South Pasadena, California
Alpha Wirin House, 1949, Los Feliz, Los Angeles
Hines House, 1949, Palos Verdes, California
Atwell House, 1950, El Cerrito, California
Nick Helburn House, 1950, Bozeman, Montana
Neutra Office Building — Neutra's design studio from 1950 to 1970
Kester Avenue Elementary School, 1951, Sherman Oaks, California (with Dion Neutra)
Everist House, 1951, Sioux City, Iowa
Moore House, 1952, Ojai, California (received AIA award)
Perkins House, 1952–55, Pasadena, California
Schaarman House, 1953, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Olan G. and Aida T. Hafley House, 1953, Long Beach
Brown House, 1955, Bel Air, Los Angeles
Kronish House, 1955, Beverly Hills, California
Sidney R. Troxell House, 1956, Pacific Palisades, California
Chuey House, 1956, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Clark House, 1957, Pasadena, California
Airman's Memorial Chapel, 1957, Miramar, California
Sorrell's House, 1957, Shoshone, California
Ferro Chemical Company Building, 1957, Cleveland, Ohio
The Lew House, 1958, Los Angeles
Connell House, 1958, Pebble Beach, California
Mellon Hall and Francis Scott Key Auditorium, 1958, St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland
Riviera United Methodist Church, 1958, Redondo Beach
Loring House, 1959, Los Angeles
Singleton House, 1959, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
Oyler House, 1959 Lone Pine, California
Garden Grove Community Church, 1959 (Fellowship Hall and Offices), 1961 (Sanctuary), 1968 (Tower of Hope), Garden Grove, California
Three senior officer's quarters on Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, 1959
Julian Bond House, 1960, San Diego, California
R.J. Neutra Elementary School, 1960, Naval Air Station Lemoore, Lemoore, California (designed in 1929)
Palos Verdes High School, 1961, Palos Verdes, California
Haus Rang, 1961, Königstein im Taunus, Germany
Hans Grelling House/Casa Tuia on Monte Verità, 1961, Ascona, Tessin, Switzerland
Los Angeles County Hall of Records, 1962, Los Angeles, California
Gettysburg Cyclorama, 1962, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania [DEMOLISHED]
Gonzales Gorrondona House, 1962, Caracas, Venezuela
Bewobau Residences, 1963, Quickborn near Hamburg, Germany
Mariners Medical Arts, 1963, Newport Beach, California
Painted Desert Visitor Center, 1963, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
United States Embassy, 1959, Karachi, Pakistan
Swirbul Library, 1963, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York
Kuhns House, 1964, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Rice House, 1964, Richmond, Virginia
VDL II Research House, 1964, Los Angeles, California (rebuilt with son Dion Neutra)
Rentsch House, 1965, Wengen near Berne in Switzerland
Ebelin Bucerius House, 1962-1965, Brione sopra Minusio in Switzerland
Haus Kemper, 1965, Wuppertal, Germany
Sports and Congress Center, 1965, Reno, Nevada
Delcourt House, 1968–69, Croix, Nord, France
Haus Pescher, 1969, Wuppertal, Germany
Haus Jürgen Tillmanns, 1970, Stettfurt, Thurgau, Switzerland