Another Great Los Angeles Landmark: The Neutra VDL House

Richard Neutra was an Austrian-born architect, but he made Southern California the location for his life and career. He is credited for ushering the international modern architecture style into the American (Southern California) lifestyle.

The Neutra VDL House fits right into the landscape of Los Angeles landmarks. The Neutra VDL House is a significant Los Angeles landmark located at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd in Los Angeles.

In 1932, the Neutra VDL House was built. Then in 1963, an electrical fire destroyed the VDL House; in 1964, Neutra and his son Dion rebuilt the house. The National Register of Historic Places inducted the VDL House in 2009. And in 2016, the VDL House was designated as a National Historic Landmark. 

Neutra’s architectural philosophy was to use biological sciences in his architecture. He believed that the senses and nature had to interconnect, and he made sure that happened with his architecture.

Neutra felt you needed to have that indoor/outdoor relationship, whereas most houses only have front and back doors. The Neutra VDL House had 12 doors. Another element involved was water. The windows reflected water, plus Neutra felt adamant about nature having the ornaments and not competing with its beauty. Windows bring the perfection of nature’s ornaments inside.

The latest, most convenient technology was always part of Neutra’s architecture. He felt the home must keep you healthy and make life easier. Neutra built the Neutra VDL House as his own home and studio. The studio was called the Van der Leeuw (VDL) Research House. Neutra constantly experimented with the current technology until he found it helpful. 

If you are interested in visiting this exciting Los Angeles landmark known as the Neutra VDL House, please visit their website. 

Photo Credit: Arch Daily

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