Week 5

John Lautner

Born on the 16 July 1911, This American architect has influenced and inspired countless architects, houses, buildings and has changed and revolutionised American and Californian architecture. Lautner studied Arts, philosophy, ethics, physics, literature, drafting, and architectural history. Throughout his carrier he worked on over 200 architectural projects. He specialised in mainly domestic housing, but did design quite a few commercial buildings. Lautner was greatly influenced with organic architecture which he learnt and developed under his apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright. His attitude toward architecture was identical to Wrights, sharing philosophies and an idea, the notion of a building as a “total concept”.
Derivative from Wright, Lautner shows a strong connection with geometric forms like the circle and triangle. These are dominant themes in his works, as is integrating a structure with its surroundings to create an organic flow between the structure and its environment.

Sheets/ Goldstein Residence

The house was designed and built in 1963 in Beverly Hills, California. The house was constructed from the inside out and built into a sandstone ledge of the hill side, allowing for views of LA. This house has been featured in many movies such as Charlies Angels 2, Bandits and The Big Lebowski. The house is a great example of Organic American architecture and is one of John Lautners most famous works. A great proportion of the roof is constructed of a coffered concrete with little skylights made of drinking glasses/ cups pierced into it. The house was designed to feature cross ventilation as there is no air conditioning.

Elrod house

This house was built in 1968 for interior designer Arthur Elrod. The house is situated on the Palm Springs Valley and looks out toward the mountains through plate glass walls cut to fit the contours of the rock the house was built on. Constructed of concrete, glass and stone the house maintains a ‘super modern cave’ feel. The house was featured in the 007 Bond film Diamonds are Forever and in countless books and magazines. The house is currently up for sale, the asking price is 13 million US, which give you an idea of its magnitude and magnificence.