The books that I read in April 2022
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| April 2022 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson |
"Case Study Houses," Elizabeth A. T. Smith
"Eero Saarinen," Pierluigi Serraino
"Charles & Ray Eames," Gloria Koenig
"R. M. Schindler," James Steele
"Richard Neutra," Barbara Lamprecht
"Frank Lloyd Wright," Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer
Cliff's Notes
April was "Architecture Month" here at the old homestead. And, much like "Bacon's Law", all of these can be connected. to each other as well the prior month's "Who Built That? Modern House". That book featured Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames.
"Case Study Houses"
I have long been interested in the Case Study House program and this book is an excellent overview of the work and its influence on the architecture and design of modern homes. I first became aware of them from Julius Shulman's photographs of the Stahl House (CSH#22).
- Charles and Ray Eames designed CSH#8
- Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen designed CSH#9, the Entenza House
- Richard Neutra designed CSH#6, CSH#13, and CSH#20
- An Eero Saarinen table is pictured on page 83
"Eero Saarinen"
Saarinen, the creator of the "Tulip" chairs and "Pedestal" table, was primarily an architect. My wife and I were using his furniture when we got together in the mid-1970s. But, it was only with this book that I garnered a fuller undressing of his life and body of work.
- Saarinen and Charles Eames became lifelong friends at the Cranbrook Academy of Art
- Don Knorr (CSH#19) worked in Saarinen's office in the early days of his career
"Charles & Ray Eames"
I am a huge Eames fan and own several pieces of their furniture. My first encounter with them was as a teenager when I saw the "Mathematica" exhibition at he California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles. This is the least of the books that I have about them, but it is a good read.
- Ray probably met Charles when she worked on his joint project with Saarinen for a design competition. at MoMA.
- They met John Entenza not long after they moved to Los Angeles
- Entenza introduced them to Neutra
- They then moved into Neutra's Strathmore Apartments in Westwood
"R. M. Schindler"
My wife and I visited the "Schindler House" in 2005 without our really knowing who he was. This book was quite an eyeopener. I mark it down for using too many terms, e.g., Gesamtkunstwerk, that only architectural historians will understand without resorting to Google searches. But, it gave me an understanding of his contributions to architecture.
- He attended a school in Vienna, founded by Adolf Loos, as did Neutra
- He worked for Frank Lloyd Wright and supervised the construction of the Barnsdall House
- Neutra and his wife lived in one half of the Schindler's King's Road House
- Schindler and Neutra had an ill-fated architectural partnership
"Richard Neutra"
Neutra was the least known to me of these architects. though I would have passed by his house/office on Silver Lake Boulevard many times as I was growing up, and photos of the Kaufmann House are inescapable in most discussions of modern architecture.. (In recent years, I have also attended a function the Claremont Methodist Church.) Now that I have read this book, I feel that Neutra may be the most talented of the lot when it comes to designing houses.
- Neutra and Schindler, his elder by five years, were friends
- Neutra also worked for Frank Lloyd Wright
"Frank Lloyd Wright"
Last in terms of reading, but first in chronology, is Wright. He may very well be the most famous of the ones written about in this collection of books. One of his designs is certainly the first work by a major architect that I encountered in my life. I grew up not far from Barnsdall Park and knew of the Hollyhock House from an early age. I may not have appreciated its importance, but could feel that it was special. This book is a good introduction to his work, but avoids any discussion of how he was a rotten person.
- He entrusted Schindler with overseeing work on the Hollyhock House
- He employed Neutra, but that only lasted about three months
