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Lovell Health House

Los Angeles, United States of America
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The Lovell Health House is an International style Modernist residence designed and built by Richard Neutra between 1927 and 1929. The home, in Los Angeles, California, was built for the physician and naturopath Philip Lovell. It is often described as the first steel frame house in the United States, and also an early example of the use of gunite (sprayed-on concrete).

Aesthetically, the house follows many of the principles of the International Style, and was in fact included in the 1932 Museum of Modern Art exhibit that retrospectively defined that style. In essence the house reflects Neutra's interest in industrial production, and this is most evident in the repetitive use of factory-made window assemblies.

The house clings to the side of a steep cliff; it is perpendicularly suspended to take on the panoramic views of Los Angeles. Since the house is suspended perpendicularly, the volume of the house is disconnected from the street, which is bridged by a concrete walkway that brings the inhabitant into the upper level of the house, which is the living quarters, and issues them down a large staircase encased in glass that leads into the living room and to the pool outside. The lower level of the house, the living room, follows an open plan that leads out to the patio and swimming pool. It's outside near the pool that one begins to understand the spatial organization of the overlapping planes and the pilotis that support the cantilevering volumes.

The Lovell House was added to the list of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles in 1971.

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  1. Archdaily
  2. Wikipedia
aleeshacallahan, January 9th, 2013
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