Richard Joseph Neutra (Vienna, 1892 - Wuppertal, 1970) was an Austrian-American architect and theorist. He graduated from the Vienna University of Technology in 1912, and in 1923 moved to the United States.
Neutra worked briefly for Frank Lloyd Wright before accepting an invitation from his close friend and university companion Rudolf Schindler to work and live communally in Schindler's Kings Road House in California.
He subsequently developed his practice and went on to design numerous buildings embodying the International Style, twelve of which are designated as Historic Cultural Monuments, including the Lovell Health House (1929) and the Richard and Dion Neutra VDL Research House (1966).
He was famous for the attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project, in contrast to other architects eager to impose their artistic vision on a client.
His domestic architecture was a blend of art, landscape, and practical comfort.
His poetry, based on the close relationship between architecture and inhabitant, widely contributed to the definition of the “California style”, which became a worldwide phenomenon in the 1950s.
His son Dion started training with his father in 1937, at 11 years old. While attending the University of Southern California, he spent his third year studying abroad at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and graduated cum laude.
Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture has been studying the notable relationship between man, nature and architecture for 90 years.
In 1932, Richard Neutra built his house thanks to a donation from the Dutch philanthropist Dr Van Der Leeuw (hence the acronym VDL). This house is a particularly important example of Richard Neutra’s work because it encapsulates all the architectural theories that he first posited in his book Wie Baut Amerika? (1927) and later on in his more philosophical reflections Survival Through Design (1953).
Seven years later, when the family had grown, he built an annexe in the garden. In 1963, the house was devastated by fire, leaving only the annexe standing.
At that time, Richard Neutra and his son and colleague Dion Neutra rebuilt the house and added a solarium/atrium on top of the original structure. He incorporated everything he had learned over the years in this reconstruction: modularity, natural climate control, water roofs, interaction with the natural environment, technological advances, etc.
Kettal presents now the Penthouse from Richard Neutra’s VDL Research House II, that is the embodiment of his architectural theories such as “biorealism”, which denotes the relationship between architecture and health.
Kettal introduces the VDL Pavilion, which measures 12×4 m and conserves the building’s original interior layout, as well as a version with a completely transparent interior.
“The box -as Richard Neutra said- is opened fully by sliding doors, so that the actual rooms of the house are the garden spaces.
The house, in its free relation to the ground, the trees and the sea, is in constant proximity to the entirety of nature. It acts as a guide and a ‘shock absorber’, providing a well-needed relaxation space away from the complications of daily life”.
Under the supervision of Dion Neutra, Richard’s son, Kettal used updated construction methods and materials, while respecting all of the house’s original details.
An automated smart home system has also been designed to control the lighting, air conditioning and heating, among other things.
The VDL Pavilion by Kettal -through a revisitation of the original project by Richard Neutra- introduces the customer to a new experience, well balanced between architecture, design and health.
Zoe Miles