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[[Pearlman Mountain Cabin]]<br>
[[Pearlman Mountain Cabin]]<br>
[[Sheats Residence]]<br>
[[Sheats Residence]]<br>
[[Arango Residence]]
[[Arango Residence]]<br>
[[Elrod House]]
[[Elrod Residence]]
|significant_projects=
|significant_projects=
|awards=
|awards=
|}}
|}}
[[Image:Sheets Apartments.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Sheats Apartments]] (1949), Los Angeles.]]
[[Image:Sheets Apartments.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Sheats Apartments]] ("L'Horizon"),<BR> Los Angeles (1949)]]
[[Image:052607-001-Chemosphere.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Chemosphere]] (1960), Los Angeles.]]
[[Image:052607-001-Chemosphere.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Chemosphere|Malin Residence ("The Chemosphere"]],<BR>Los Angeles (1960)]]
'''John Lautner''' (16 July 1911 - 24 October 1994) was an influential [[United States|American]] [[architect]] whose work in [[Southern California]] combined progressive engineering with humane design and dramatic space-age flair.
'''John Lautner''' (16 July 1911 - 24 October 1994) was an influential [[United States|American]] [[architect]] whose work in [[Southern California]] combined progressive engineering with humane design and dramatic space-age flair.


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Lautner was born in [[Marquette, Michigan]] in 1911. He was educated at public schools in Marequette, [[Boston, Massachusetts]] and [[New York City]] and studied at the [[Northern Michigan University]]. From 1933-1939 he worked under [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] at the [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]] studios in Wisconsin and Arizona, alongside other renowned artists and architects like [[E. Fay Jones]], [[Paolo Soleri]] and [[Santiago Martinez Delgado]]<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/responsibilityin00laut#page/n15/mode/2up "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (interview transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986, p.vii]</ref>. He married his first wife Mary Faustina ("MaryBud") Roberts in 1934.
Lautner was born in [[Marquette, Michigan]] in 1911. He was educated at public schools in Marequette, [[Boston, Massachusetts]] and [[New York City]] and studied at the [[Northern Michigan University]]. From 1933-1939 he worked under [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] at the [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]] studios in Wisconsin and Arizona, alongside other renowned artists and architects like [[E. Fay Jones]], [[Paolo Soleri]] and [[Santiago Martinez Delgado]]<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/responsibilityin00laut#page/n15/mode/2up "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (interview transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986, p.vii]</ref>. He married his first wife Mary Faustina ("MaryBud") Roberts in 1934.


Lautner served as construction supervisor on Wright's Johnson residence "[[Wingspread]]", the legendary "[[Fallingwater]]" and the [[Johnson Wax Building]]. He moved to California to supervise Wright projects there, including the [[Sturges House]] and the [[Arch Oboler]] house "Eaglefeather"<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref> (although the main house was never built, in part because Obeler's six-year-old son Peter drowned in a rainwater pool that had collected in the excavations). Lautner settled permanently in Los Angeles after breaking with Wright. His first major independent project was his own home, the Lautner House (1940) and his first major commercial commission was the [[Desert Hot Springs Hotel]] (1947).
Lautner served as construction supervisor on several major Wright projects including the Johnson residence "[[Wingspread]]", the legendary "[[Fallingwater]]" and the [[Johnson Wax Building]]. He moved to California to supervise Wright projects there, including the [[Sturges House]] and the [[Arch Oboler]] house "Eaglefeather"<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref> (although the main house was never built, in part because Obeler's six-year-old son Peter drowned in a rainwater pool that had collected in the excavations). Lautner settled permanently in Los Angeles after breaking with Wright. His first major independent project was his own Los Angeles home, the Lautner House (1940) and his first major commercial commission was the [[Desert Hot Springs Hotel]] (1947).


From 1944-46 Lautner was an associate in the practice of [[Douglas Honnold]], who was primarily an interior designer. In 1947, Lautner left the firm after he began a relationship with Honnold's wife Elizabeth Gilman (although the two men remained friends). Lautner and Gilman married in 1950 after Lautner divorced MaryBud, who returned to Marquette with their children, Karol (born 1938), Michael (born 1942), and Mary Beecher (born 1944)<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>. Lautner founded his own practice in Los Angeles in 1946<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/responsibilityin00laut#page/n19/mode/2up "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner, interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986) p.ix]</ref> and was granted his architectural license in 1950<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>.
From 1944-46 Lautner was an associate in the practice of [[Douglas Honnold]], who was primarily an interior designer. In 1947, Lautner left the firm after he began a relationship with Honnold's wife Elizabeth Gilman (although the two men remained friends). Lautner and Gilman married in 1950 after Lautner divorced MaryBud, who returned to Marquette with their children, Karol (born 1938), Michael (born 1942), and Mary Beecher (born 1944)<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>. Lautner founded his own practice in Los Angeles in 1946<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/responsibilityin00laut#page/n19/mode/2up "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner, interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986) p.ix]</ref> and was granted his architectural license in 1950<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>.
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==Architecture and influence==
==Architecture and influence==
Lautner's distinctive style of [[Organic Architecture]] was greatly influenced by his mentor Frank Lloyd Wright. Lautner's designs display the same preoccupation with essential geometric forms -- the circle and the triangle are dominant motifs in both his overall designs and his detailing -- and his houses similarly explore the concepts of creating an organic flow from indoor to outdoor space, taking advantage of elevated or 'difficult' locations that offer wide vistas, and like Wright he considerably expanded the possibilities and vocabulary of domestic building design by exploiting the latest building technology and materials, especially through the use of massive sculptural concrete forms, large skylights and panoramic expanses of plate glass.
⚫
Although mostly known for his residential commissions, Lautner also contributed to the commercial genre of [[Googie architecture]]. 'Googie' was named in derogatory reference to Lautner's 1949 design for Googie's Coffee Shop (at the corner of Sunset Strip and Crescent Heights) in a 1952 magazine article by [[Yale University]] professor Douglas Haskell. The [[Coffeehouse|coffee shop]] itself was distinctive for its expansive glass walls, arresting form, and exuberant signage oriented to car traffic: an advertisement for itself. Other chains such as Tiny Naylor's, Ship's, Norm's and Clock's quickly imitated the look, which proves its commercial value.


⚫
Although best known for his residential commissions, Lautner also contributed to the commercial genre of [[Googie architecture]]. 'Googie' was named in derogatory reference to Lautner's 1949 design for Googie's Coffee Shop (at the corner of Sunset Strip and Crescent Heights) in a 1952 magazine article by [[Yale University]] professor Douglas Haskell. The [[Coffeehouse|coffee shop]] itself was distinctive for its expansive glass walls, arresting form, and exuberant signage oriented to car traffic: an advertisement for itself. Other chains such as Tiny Naylor's, Ship's, Norm's and Clock's quickly imitated the look, which proves its commercial value.
Googie became part of the American postwar ''[[Zeitgeist]]'', but was ridiculed by the architectural community of the 1950s as superficial and vulgar. Not until [[Robert Venturi]]'s 1972 book "[[Learning from Las Vegas]]" did the architectural mainstream even come close to validating Lautner's logic. Lautner's reputation suffered as a result. Following some lean years in the 1950s he enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the Chemosphere. In the late 1960s and 1970s he produced some of his most important designs, most notably his spectacular poured-concrete houses. The homes Lautner designed (many of which were immortalized by renowned architectural photographer [[Julius Schulman]]) were often situated in hilltop, hillside, mountain or coastal locations -- the Chemosphere, for example, is located on a steep L.A. hillside site which was at the time considered unsuitable for building - and many therefore enjoy commanding views of their local area, of which Lautner's designs took full advantage.


One of Lautner's best-known and most influential creations, the Leonard J. Malin Residence (1960), known as "The [[Chemosphere]]" (located at 776 Torreyson Drive, West Hollywood) is a [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument|Los Angeles landmark]]. It is one of the most unusual and distinctive houses in the Los Angeles area and has featured or been referenced in many media productions. Passing through various owners, the building was rented out and occasionally used as a party venue and by the 1990s the interior was considerably degraded. In 2000 German publisher [[Benedikt Taschen]] purchased and restored the house with architects [[Frank Escher]] and [[Ravi GuneWardena]].
Googie became part of the American postwar ''[[Zeitgeist]]'', but was ridiculed by the architectural community of the 1950s as superficial and vulgar. Not until [[Robert Venturi]]'s 1972 book "[[Learning from Las Vegas]]" did the architectural mainstream even come close to validating Lautner's logic. Lautner's reputation suffered as a result. Following some lean years in the 1950s he enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the so-called "Chemosphere" (1960), which has become one of Lautner's best-known and most influential creations. The Leonard J. Malin Residence (1960), located at 776 Torreyson Drive, West Hollywood, is a now [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument|Los Angeles landmark]]. It is one of the most unusual and distinctive houses in the Los Angeles area and its unique design has led to it being featured or referenced in many media productions. Passing through a succession of owners, the building was rented out and occasionally used as a party venue and by the 1990s the interior was considerably degraded. In 2000 German publisher [[Benedikt Taschen]] purchased and restored the house with architects [[Frank Escher]] and [[Ravi GuneWardena]].


In his later years Lautner created a series of monumental homes for affluent clients, most of which featured major elements fabricated from poured concrete. The 17,500 sq.ft. Bob Hope Residence (1973) in [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] features a massive undulating triangular roof, pierced by a large circular central light shaft. The original house burned down during construction and Hope's wife Dolores made extensive changes to the second design, with the result that Lautner eventually distanced himself from the project<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>.
In his later years Lautner created a series of monumental homes for affluent clients, most of which featured major structural elements fabricated from poured concrete. The [[Elrod House]] (1968) is sited on a commanding hilltop location in the desert outside [[Palm Springs, California]]. Its central feature is a striking 'floating' circular 'sunburst' concrete camopy suspended over the main living area. It is fitted with curved glass-and-aluminium sliding doors that enable the space to be completely opened around half its circumference, leading out to the swimming pool and terrace and offering sweeping views of the surrounding desert.


The neighbouring 17,500 sq.ft. Bob Hope Residence (1973) features a massive undulating triangular roof, pierced by a large circular central light shaft. The original house burned down during construction and Hope's wife Dolores made extensive changes to the second design, with the result that Lautner eventually distanced himself from the project<ref>[http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lautner.htm Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner]</ref>.
The neighbouring [[Elrod House]] in Palm Springs features a striking circular 'sunburst' concrete roof suspended over the main living area; this is fitted with curved sliding glass doors that allow the room to be completely opened around half its circumference, leading out to the swimming pool and terrace and offering sweeping views of the surrounding desert.


The vast (25,000 sq.ft) Arango House (aka "Casa Marbrisa") in Acapulco was built for Mexican supermarket magnate Jeronimo Arango in 1973 and was jointly designed by Lautner and Helena Arahuete during her first year with the firm. Perched on a hilltop site, with uninterrupted views across the whole of Acapulco Bay, the main living quarters are surmounted by a large open terrace with spectacular views of the beach and bay, encircled by a "sky moat" which snakes around the edge; the terrace is itself topped by a huge, sweeping semi-circular angled 'shade' made of poured concrete.
The vast (25,000 sq.ft) Arango House (aka "Casa Marbrisa") in Acapulco was built for Mexican supermarket magnate Jeronimo Arango in 1973 and was jointly designed by Lautner and Helena Arahuete during her first year with the firm. Perched on a hilltop site, with uninterrupted views across the whole of Acapulco Bay, the main living quarters are surmounted by a large open terrace with spectacular views of the beach and bay, encircled by a "sky moat" which snakes around the edge; the terrace is itself topped by a huge, sweeping semi-circular angled 'shade' made of poured concrete.

Revision as of 00:35, 7 June 2010

John Edward Lautner
Born(1911-07-16)July 16, 1911
Marquette, Michigan
DiedOctober 24, 1994(1994-10-24) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
Parents
  • John Edward Lautner (father)
  • Vida Cathleen Gallangher (mother)
BuildingsMalin Residence,"Chemosphere"

Pearlman Mountain Cabin
Sheats Residence
Arango Residence

Elrod Residence
Sheats Apartments ("L'Horizon"),
Los Angeles (1949)
Malin Residence ("The Chemosphere",
Los Angeles (1960)

John Lautner (16 July 1911 - 24 October 1994) was an influential American architect whose work in Southern California combined progressive engineering with humane design and dramatic space-age flair.

Personal life and career

Lautner was born in Marquette, Michigan in 1911. He was educated at public schools in Marequette, Boston, Massachusetts and New York City and studied at the Northern Michigan University. From 1933-1939 he worked under Frank Lloyd Wright at the Taliesin studios in Wisconsin and Arizona, alongside other renowned artists and architects like E. Fay Jones, Paolo Soleri and Santiago Martinez Delgado[1]. He married his first wife Mary Faustina ("MaryBud") Roberts in 1934.

Lautner served as construction supervisor on several major Wright projects including the Johnson residence "Wingspread", the legendary "Fallingwater" and the Johnson Wax Building. He moved to California to supervise Wright projects there, including the Sturges House and the Arch Oboler house "Eaglefeather"[2] (although the main house was never built, in part because Obeler's six-year-old son Peter drowned in a rainwater pool that had collected in the excavations). Lautner settled permanently in Los Angeles after breaking with Wright. His first major independent project was his own Los Angeles home, the Lautner House (1940) and his first major commercial commission was the Desert Hot Springs Hotel (1947).

From 1944-46 Lautner was an associate in the practice of Douglas Honnold, who was primarily an interior designer. In 1947, Lautner left the firm after he began a relationship with Honnold's wife Elizabeth Gilman (although the two men remained friends). Lautner and Gilman married in 1950 after Lautner divorced MaryBud, who returned to Marquette with their children, Karol (born 1938), Michael (born 1942), and Mary Beecher (born 1944)[3]. Lautner founded his own practice in Los Angeles in 1946[4] and was granted his architectural license in 1950[5].

Elizabeth died in 1978 and in 1982 Lautner married her caretaker, Francesca. In 1984 he was named Olympic Architect for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. On his death in 1994, his protégé Helena Arahuete took over the practice, which continues today.

Honors

  • Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, 1970
  • Architectural Record Award for Excellence, 1971
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Northern Michigan University, 1975
  • Architectural Record Award for Excellence, 1977
  • Cody Award, 1980
  • Los Angeles chapter, American Institute of Architects, Man of the Year, 1980
  • Olympic Architect, 1984

Architecture and influence

Lautner's distinctive style of Organic Architecture was greatly influenced by his mentor Frank Lloyd Wright. Lautner's designs display the same preoccupation with essential geometric forms -- the circle and the triangle are dominant motifs in both his overall designs and his detailing -- and his houses similarly explore the concepts of creating an organic flow from indoor to outdoor space, taking advantage of elevated or 'difficult' locations that offer wide vistas, and like Wright he considerably expanded the possibilities and vocabulary of domestic building design by exploiting the latest building technology and materials, especially through the use of massive sculptural concrete forms, large skylights and panoramic expanses of plate glass.

Although best known for his residential commissions, Lautner also contributed to the commercial genre of Googie architecture. 'Googie' was named in derogatory reference to Lautner's 1949 design for Googie's Coffee Shop (at the corner of Sunset Strip and Crescent Heights) in a 1952 magazine article by Yale University professor Douglas Haskell. The coffee shop itself was distinctive for its expansive glass walls, arresting form, and exuberant signage oriented to car traffic: an advertisement for itself. Other chains such as Tiny Naylor's, Ship's, Norm's and Clock's quickly imitated the look, which proves its commercial value.

Googie became part of the American postwar Zeitgeist, but was ridiculed by the architectural community of the 1950s as superficial and vulgar. Not until Robert Venturi's 1972 book "Learning from Las Vegas" did the architectural mainstream even come close to validating Lautner's logic. Lautner's reputation suffered as a result. Following some lean years in the 1950s he enjoyed a resurgence thanks to the so-called "Chemosphere" (1960), which has become one of Lautner's best-known and most influential creations. The Leonard J. Malin Residence (1960), located at 776 Torreyson Drive, West Hollywood, is a now Los Angeles landmark. It is one of the most unusual and distinctive houses in the Los Angeles area and its unique design has led to it being featured or referenced in many media productions. Passing through a succession of owners, the building was rented out and occasionally used as a party venue and by the 1990s the interior was considerably degraded. In 2000 German publisher Benedikt Taschen purchased and restored the house with architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena.

In his later years Lautner created a series of monumental homes for affluent clients, most of which featured major structural elements fabricated from poured concrete. The Elrod House (1968) is sited on a commanding hilltop location in the desert outside Palm Springs, California. Its central feature is a striking 'floating' circular 'sunburst' concrete camopy suspended over the main living area. It is fitted with curved glass-and-aluminium sliding doors that enable the space to be completely opened around half its circumference, leading out to the swimming pool and terrace and offering sweeping views of the surrounding desert.

The neighbouring 17,500 sq.ft. Bob Hope Residence (1973) features a massive undulating triangular roof, pierced by a large circular central light shaft. The original house burned down during construction and Hope's wife Dolores made extensive changes to the second design, with the result that Lautner eventually distanced himself from the project[6].

The vast (25,000 sq.ft) Arango House (aka "Casa Marbrisa") in Acapulco was built for Mexican supermarket magnate Jeronimo Arango in 1973 and was jointly designed by Lautner and Helena Arahuete during her first year with the firm. Perched on a hilltop site, with uninterrupted views across the whole of Acapulco Bay, the main living quarters are surmounted by a large open terrace with spectacular views of the beach and bay, encircled by a "sky moat" which snakes around the edge; the terrace is itself topped by a huge, sweeping semi-circular angled 'shade' made of poured concrete.

Lautner's dramatic and photogenic spaces have been frequently exploited for film and TV:

Production designer Michael Riva and concept artist Phil Saunders based the design of Tony Stark's mansion in the Iron Man movies on Lautner's architecture[7]. The exteriors of the building (a series of computer-generated images which were digitally composited into location photos of Point Dume State Preserve in Malibu) are strongly reminiscent of the Arango House and fancifully blend many of Lautner's 'signature' elements including the dramatic cliff-side location, large expanses of glass, classic "California split-level" layout and sinuous, organic lines.

Lautner also designed a home on Malibu's Carbon Beach, at one time owned by David Arquette and Courteney Cox, which sold for US$33.5 million.

One of the few Lautner buildings regularly open to the general public is the Desert Hot Springs Motel, which was restored in 2001. The Bob Hope residence was made available for limited museum-sponsored public visits during 2008-2009.

Several of Lautner's completed houses have since been destroyed or altered:

  • the Bick Residence in Brentwood was demolished in 1990[8]
  • the Nouard Gootgeld Residence, 1167 Summit Drive, Beverly Hills (1952) was jointly built by Lautner and Gootgeld. The property was purchased by Priscilla Presley in 1974, stripped down to its structural beams and converted into a large Italianate villa[9]
  • the Herpel House was extensively altered by later owners (including the addition of a second storey) but it has recently been faithfully restored by present owner at a cost of over US$500,000.

In 2009 Lautner's work was the subject of a documentary, Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner, directed by Murray Grigor.

Major projects

1940

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1953

1955

1956

1957

1958

1960

1961

1962

1963

1965

1966

1968

1969

1970

1971

1973

1975

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

References

  1. ^ "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (interview transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986, p.vii
  2. ^ Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner
  3. ^ Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner
  4. ^ "Responsiblity, Infinity, Nature" - John Lautner, interviewed by Marlene L. Laskey (transcript), Oral History Program, University of Los Angeles, California, 1986) p.ix
  5. ^ Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner
  6. ^ Triangle Modernist Houses - John Lautner
  7. ^ Phil Saunders' Random Stuff - Tony Stark's house design
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ Lautner & Laskey, 1986, pp.vii-ix

External links

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