John Lautner, Architect - Softcover

Escher, Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3764358637 ISBN 13: 9783764358631

Publisher: Birkhäuser, 1998

Synopsis

In 1937, then apprentice with Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner (1911-15) came to Los Angeles to supervise construction of the Sturgess Residence. Two years later he established hiw own office in Hollywood, building a house for himself with Henry Russel Hitchcock called "the best house by an architect under 30 in the US", the first in a long line of unique buildings. Never part of the architectural establishment, John Lautner has always practised what he called <>. Among the best-known examples are the Malin Residence (Chemosphere), the Reiner Residence (Silvertop), the Arango Residence in Acapulco, and the Elrod Resdience in Palm Springs. His work ranges from exciting but low-cost houses to finely crafted large residences, to restaurants and educational facilities.

About this title

Review:

"In this fascinating account of new previously unreported information on the commission of American posters during World War II, the authors vividly present quotes revealing the goals and methods applied to pictorial standards. With new insights familiar posters come alive again as the strategies for their design are discussed and assesed in an up to date historical perspective. This book will be invaluable to all those interested in the World War II studies and graphic design." -- Therese Thau Heyman

"This book presents some fifty of the realized projects as well as republishing an interview that Marlene Laskey conducted with the architect in 1986, and a collection of Lautner's observations....The spectacular location of the villas--on rocky slopes, on the ocean, or, better still, on rocky slopes overlooking the ocean--is invariably exploited by Lautner to the full. He developed an infallible feeling for using the design of his houses to emphasize the dramatic aspect of their setting. Grand gestures, prodigious cantilevers (certainly since he discovered the structural possibilities of concrete in 1963), subtle light delivery, and strategic orientation are the most striking characteristics, together with the vast dimensions and robust finish."  -- Arthur Wortmann, Archis

"This book celebrates the career of a neglected giant, who enriched the Southland for over fifty years....Enthusiasts have had to wait for this sumptuous publication to discover the full range of John Lautner's achievement....He was an original striving for the unique, drawing his inspiration from the site, unbending and outspoken." -- Michael Webb, L.A. Architect

Lesser known to laymen's eyes is the work compiled in the recent paperback release of John Lautner, Architect (edited by Frank Escher; Princeton Architectural Press). A Wright apprentice who started his own practice in 1939, Lautner melded his space-age vision for housing with the California landscape, incorporating great expanses of glass, low-slung furniture, and natural materials. -- Elle Dcor

This is the only book on Lautner's work, which spanned the late '30s to the early '90s (he died in 1994) and, fittingly, it is truly user-friendly. Accompanying the 500 photographs are nuggets of text in which the architect-a former associate of Frank Lloyd-Wright-lays out his ideas in no-nonsense language and talks about the experience of putting each house together. Love 'em or hate 'em, you have to agree that they are the products of an abiding interest in marrying people's domestic needs to unusual spaces." -- LA Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Birkhäuser
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 3764358637
• ISBN 13: 9783764358631
• Binding: Paperback