Iconic Modern Homes in Los Angeles

The Ennis House, constructed in 1924, is hugely influential, as it was one of the first private residences to be built of patterned concrete blocks—Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative system that is believed to be inspired by ancient temple architecture. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and since 2005 has been in the process of being restored. Image courtesy evdropkick/Flickr. #iconic #ennis #ennishouse #concrete #franklloydwright #wright #losangeles

Buck and Carlotta Stahl paid $35,000 in 1960 for their residence designed and built by architect Pierre Koenig as part of the Case Study House program launched by John Entenza, publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. "Mom had read about Pierre and heard he liked working with industrial materials. In order to get this house made it would have to be with steel. Back then steel wasn’t very conventional. You couldn’t have built this house from wood—the windows wouldn’t hold up. So they used Bethlehem Steel." —Bruce Stahl, son of Buck and Carlotta, who grew up in Case Study House #22, in a 2015 issue of Los Angeles Magazine. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10). #iconic #losangeles #casestudy #pierrekoenig #koenig #stahlhouse #stahl #steel #entenza #artsandarchitecture

A side view of the Gehry House in Santa Monica, a property which originally boasted a 50-year-old Dutch Colonial that architect Frank Gehry and his wife, Berta, purchased in 1978 for $160,000. One of its defining characteristics is the use of chain-link fencing, which as Paul Goldberger writes in his 2015 book on Gehry called "Building Art," was considered "anti-Mies material". Image courtesy ikkoskinen/Flickr. #iconic #losangeles #gehry #frankgehry #chainlink

It's believed that for the initial design of the Chemosphere (1960) architect John Lautner and his client, a young aerospace engineer named Leonard Malin, were inspired by the Dymaxion House by R. Buckminster Fuller. Both houses were conceived as a polygon set atop a central post and held together by cables. At the time, Lautner was quoted in The New York Times proposing the Malin Residence as a prototype for "moderate-priced housing." Image courtesy © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10). #iconic #losangeles #chemosphere #lautner #johnlautner #malinhouse #malin #fuller #buckminsterfuller #buckyfuller #dymaxion

Rudolf Schindler designed the low-slung, concrete-and-wood Kings Road House in 1921 as a communal residence for himself and his wife, Pauline, to share with another couple, Marian and Clyde Chace. Each couple would enjoy their own studios, an enclosed patio, a bathroom and a rooftop terrace for sleeping. The shared spaces included the entrance hall, the kitchen, and the many garden areas. After the Chaces moved out after the first year, Richard Neutra and his young family moved in and stayed until 1930. This house is but one of the more than 50 structures of Schindler's that still stand in Los Angeles. Image courtesy Lian Chang/Flickr. #iconic #losangeles #kingsroadhouse #schindler #rudolfschindler #chace #neutra #richardneutra #communal

"As a Case Study House—most materials and techniques which have been used here are standard to residential architecture. In the structural system that evolved from these materials and techniques, it was not difficult to house a pleasant space for living and working....Color was planned and used as a structural element, and while much concern was given to its use in the various structural planes, the most gratifying of all the painted surfaces is the dark, warm gray that covers the structural steel and metal sash." —Charles Eames, architect, as published in the December 1949 issue of Art & Architecture. Image courtesy Edward Stojakovic/Flickr. #iconic #losangeles #eames #charleseames #rayeames #casestudy #entenza #johnentenza #artsandarchitecture

Dutch industrialist C. H. Van der Leeuw sponsored the VDL House in Silverlake as a research project, undertaken by Richard Neutra. The white-stucco house is broken by ribbon windows and boasts a rooftop solarium as well as as a sleeping porch off the living room. Image courtesy © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10). #iconic #silverlake #neutra #richardneutra #VDL