NIGHT VISIT AT RICHARD & DION NEUTRA’S, VDL RESEARCH HOUSE. December 25th, 2009

Last weekend I was invited to sit in on a review of Cal-Poly Pomona School of Architecture Grad Students. I friend of mine is going through the program and let me know that the VDL Research House would be open to friends and family for the evening and I jumped on the opportunity. The VDL House is just up the street -Silverlake Blvd.- from a cluster of houses he and his son Dion designed, which are right around the corner from the Neutra Office Building -and the ChaCha – on Glendale Blvd. Needless to say, Neutra’s got the whole town on lock down!

I’ve been lucky to tour more than a few steel and glass, SoCal Modernist landmark residents from the Palisades to Silverlake but this is the first time I’ve had access at night… This lead to gorgeous views of the reservoir and two bruised shins! At night it is hard to get your bearings in a house of 90 degree angles, slivers of powder-coated aluminum floating in air and windows with harsh reflections or none at all. The later resulting in yours truly, acting like Conan trying to find the wizard in a hall of mirrors, only the wizard is nowhere to be found and I was not holding my broad sword and Ugg boots. Tip-toeing around an architectural landmark is one thing when you’re on a tour with fifty other people and there are “security gaurds,” watching your every move but I had the place all to myself.

I imagine you would get used to maneuvering in a house like this one after a few weeks but for a first timer, it was not at all comfy and cozy. But it did photograph well, photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »