The Architecture of R.M. Schindler

The Architecture of R.M. Schindler

“The spirit of Schindler warms the works of all of us who were touched by his life.” —Frank O. Gehry “He is the most important architect in California of his day and deserves highly the attention given to him at last by his hometown, Vienna.” —Philip Johnson With such masterworks as the Schindler-Chace House and the Lovell Beach House in California, the Vienna-born modernist R. M. Schindler (1887–1953) is recognized as one of the most innovative architects of the 20th century. Nearly 50 years after his death, admiration for his breathtakingly original houses and apartment buildings is at an all-time peak. Containing many never-published drawings and photographs and spanning Schindler’s early years in Vienna, his apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright, and his bold contributions to West Coast modernism, this book—which accompanies the first major Schindler retrospective—offers the most comprehensive view of his genius to date. Intuitive and pragmatic, embracing the free flow of indoor and outdoor space, the houses designed in California by R.M. Schindler are among the most celebrated examples of 20th-century domestic architecture in the United States. Yet it took decades for the Austrian émigré, who died in 1953, to convince the East Coast architecture establishment that his kind of modernism was worthy. While his sometime colleague Richard Neutra pursued the Corbusian ideal of the house as a "machine for living," Schindler designed organic forms--angled walls, variously sized windows, plans that shift off-axis--that respond to multiple aspects of the individual site. In 1921, while still employed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Schindler designed the tilt-up concrete Kings Road House for himself and his wife, Pauline. This landmark early project--fulfilling, in his words, "the basic requirements for a camper's shelter"--was designed to be shared with a contractor friend and his wife. The house became a haven for fellow bohemians, a scene entertainingly described in one chapter of this excellent and copiously illustrated study of Schindler's contribution to modernism and the architecture of Los Angeles. During the following years, the "rustic complexity" of the Lovell Beach House (1922-26) gave way to increasing international style influence, visible in the John J. Buck Residence (1934), with its flat roofs and sliding walls of glass. Schindler's late work explored increasingly personal forms of "space architecture," culminating in the delicate crow's nest design of the Ellen Janson Residence (1948-49). This book accompanies an exhibition that travels to the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. (June 28 to October 7, 2001) and then to the MAK Center in Vienna (November 13, 2001, to February 5, 2002). --Cathy Curtis In life, avant-garde West Coast architect Rudolf Schindler had his loyal admirers, but he was largely dismissed by prominent tastemakers for perceived transgressions against Modernist design principles. Only long after his death in 1953 have serious efforts gone into assessing his oeuvre. The books reviewed here are welcome additions to the now-burgeoning field of Schindler studies. The Architecture of R.M. Schindler offers five scholarly essays and a wealth of illustrations and photos. Curators Smith and Darling compiled the catalog to accompany a major retrospective put together by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and traveling to Washington, DC, and Vienna, Austria. The text examines the distinct phases of his creative evolution from 1912 until his death but breaks no new ground, except perhaps for disclosures found in recently released personal correspondence detailing the bohemian life Schindler and family led at his west Los Angeles home. It is this landmark 1921 house that is the subject of Schindler House, a happy collaboration between one-time resident Smith (Frank Lloyd Wright: Hollyhock House and Olive Hall) and photographer Mudford. As his own home, Schindler built one of the most startlingly original structures of the 20th century, provoking both fulsome praise and bewildered condemnation. Probing its history and presenting the structure from all angles, this slim volume does more to promote an appreciation of this legendary abode than any prior publication. Schindler House is a most attractive purchase for large public and academic libraries. Comprehensive architecture collections should have The Architecture of R.M. Schindler. For general collections, the most balanced treatment remains David Gebhard's Schindler (William Stout, 1997. reprint). David Solt?sz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Elizabeth A.T. Smith, curator of the Schindler exhibition, is James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Robert Sweeney is president of the Friends of the Schindler House. Richard Guy Wilson chairs the Department of Architectural History at the University of Virginia. Kurt G. F. Helfrich is a