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What's your favorite Rudolph Schindler house? Why?

blah

I picked up a fabulous little tome today: Schindler and the Small House

It was a whole $4.80 at the Prairie Avenue Book Sale.

It has models and analysis of a number of his houses. It's fascinating stuff!

What's your favorite Rudolph Schindler house? Why?

 
Aug 11, 09 9:29 pm

i'll pick the tischler house, primarily because i've been there and because, as of last i knew, mr tischler still lives there. it's beautifully sited on the edge of a rise so that the main level opens onto an upper lawn. it's small/efficient, but feels generous. beautiful little jewelbox.

1 Tischler House

1949-50

175 Greenfield Avenue, Westwood Starting our Schindler tour in the west and heading east, we begin in cosmopolitan Westwood. Still lived in by Adolph Tischler, this late Schindler design remains in close to original condition. The soaring ceiling lends an almost industrial feel to the living room, augmented by Schindler's famous blue corrugated fiberglass ceiling panels (which over the years Tischler has partially covered with plywood to mitigate the effects of heat and that pesky disco-by-day blue light). But from the street elevation, what Schindler accomplished is miraculous-a tower of massing, broken up in the most unpredictable way with angles that are remarkably complex yet instantly legible as an articulated whole.

Aug 11, 09 9:35 pm  · 
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holz.box

schindler's pueblo ribera court in la jolla.

the place is in awful shape, but must have been incredible when it was built.









Aug 11, 09 9:47 pm  · 
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dsc_arch

the Shindler house. mainly for personal reasons. I got to go to a party there in the 80's and fell in love with the building. Including it's outdoor fireplace. I used it as precedent in my thesis at USC. I love the interplay of the thin windows along the side
yards as well as the interlocking "L" of the entire house.

I also was fascinated by the Hollyhock House and learned that schindler was sent there to supervise construction. Now to my surprise Kathryn Smith has a book on it. She is also the authority of the hollyhock house. I met her at her MRY designed house and had a wonderful discussion for a paper.

Aug 11, 09 9:59 pm  · 
 · 
citizen

The Wolfe House on Catalina Island...



...for obvious reasons. I can't find a decent photo, alas.

Schindler is one of my favorite architects, able to marry the modern to regional vernacular in delicious ways. Go, Rudolf!

Aug 12, 09 1:30 am  · 
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silverlake

My favorite is the Buck House - I think it is one of the best illustrations of his 'Space Architecture', and also his most concise middle finger to the International Style with its irregular lines and fragmented forms..

I've just finished documenting every known Schindler in my downtime (thank you economy), so please indulge me as I go through some personal highlights below...

Buck House, 1934




In the late thirties, he starts getting restless with his plaster-skin syntax and his forms get interestingly mannered..

Wolff House, 1938


Macky Apartments, 1939


In the forties its interesting how he divorces the roof from the wall, where it eventually becomes a paper thin plane moving independently of the body..

Drost House, 1940


Rodriquez House, 1941


Gold House, 1945


Kallis House, 1946


Schlesinger House, 1952

Aug 12, 09 2:06 am  · 
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holz.box

the macky apts looks surprisingly fresh. all these in your hood?

Aug 12, 09 2:13 am  · 
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silverlake

These are scattered about Los Angeles, although most of his work is in Silverlake.. Fortunately his entire body of work is in SoCal..

Aug 12, 09 2:21 am  · 
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blah

Holz,

You're spot on about Macky!

Aug 12, 09 2:45 am  · 
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i should have posted a picture of the tischler. it's very different from all of the above. but those are some great pics, silverlake. good use of downtime, for sure, because i think you'll appreciate having the documentation later.

tischler, in 2003, when i got to visit with mr tischler for a bit:

Aug 12, 09 8:09 am  · 
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doesn't mack(e?)y look fresh at least partly because it was recently renovated and reopened? the design looks fresh, of course, but it helps that the surfaces are new.

Aug 12, 09 8:11 am  · 
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outed

still love the original house for himself. sure, it could have benefited from some extra cash, but it's more revolutionary to me than corb's domino....

Aug 12, 09 8:45 am  · 
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trace™

They have a wonderful tour I took advantage of that gives you access to most of these houses.

Images

Aug 12, 09 9:41 am  · 
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207moak

It's the How House for me



Aug 12, 09 10:00 am  · 
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Mackey Apartments
Aug 12, 09 7:20 pm  · 
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holz.box

one of my fave schindler books is james steele's how house, which not only features correspondence between how & schindler, but schindler's thoughts on construction as well. i got mine from PA books for a song, one of my favorite finds of all time, actually.

holly 7617
april 22nd 1925
mr. james e how
los angeles

dear mr how
i am sending you herewith the promised copy of my original estimate for the cost of the house, the estimate includes the guest room, the garage and the second bathroom, as shown on your plan. according to your wish i omit these features for the present and am quite certain that this will reduce the actual cost of the house to $7500.

concrete work $2200
carpenter work 3400
hardwood floors 300
glazing 350
roofing 110
plastering 333
electrical wiring 180
plumbing 600
septic tank 50
heating 150
tile work 50
painting 300
incidentals 400
total $8420

the carpenter foreman has started today to lay the work. his wage will be ten dollars a day plus a bonus at the end of the work. i shall give you an account of the weekly pay roll each friday.
i have accepted for you the lowest bid obtainable for the structural lumber to $610.00. this amount is payable to the american lumber co, after delivery has been made. i shall issue the certificate at the proper time. will you be kind enough to make your application for a water meter immediately, to the municipal water bureau? it may be well to impress the officials with the urgency of its need for building purposes.

sincerely, rm schindler



according to the inflation calculator, that's $103,000 in today's dollars. somehow, i don't think that's feasible...

Aug 13, 09 1:49 am  · 
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SDR

Yes, the slight Steele book is a joy.

$610. for structural lumber. . .


Lots more pics of La Jolla:
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=Schindler%20Pueblo%20Ribera&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Aug 13, 09 1:59 am  · 
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SDR

More Wolfe:







Aug 13, 09 2:06 am  · 
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SDR

Fitzpatrick, 1936:





Lath-floor bridge -- foreground in top photo


Aug 13, 09 2:13 am  · 
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dsc_arch

This one.

since i can buy it now!

http://www.laureenweaver.com/listings.html

Aug 18, 09 7:47 pm  · 
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