Maria Isabel Garcia
Cordill
ARCH 2551-006
Fall 2011
Lovell Beach House

Rudolf Michel Schindler was born in Vienna, Austria on September 10, 1887. He studied architecture at the imperial Technical College in Vienna from 1906 to 1911. When he entered to the imperial academy of fine art he joined the studio of Otto Wagner. While he was in school he worked in Mayr and Mayer firm. Later on, he moved to Chicago with a contract in Ottenheim, Ster. He joined the office of Frank Lloyd Wright in February 1918, and later on he was send it to Los Angeles in December 1920 to supervise a construction of Hollyhock House. Schindler was attracted to Los Angeles climate and bountiful landscape. In November 1921, he started his architectural practice in Los Angeles and designs his own studio- residence. From this studio at North Kings Road he worked and design the rest of his career , major building like the Lovell beach house, Wolfe House, Oliver House , Eliot House …etc. at the end of the 1930’ Schindler joined in partnership with Richard Neutra. Schindler was a conjunction of influences, he worked and trained with some of the foremost practiotioners, since the first years of his career when he studied architecture with Wagner, he was directly influenced by Adolph Loos, theories and enthusiasm for America. In this moment Schindler was created the rejection of historical architecture, and getting interest in modern material and methods, simplification of form, and the manipulation of space. With several years of employment in a Chicago firm, Schindler was hired by Wright to work on imperial Hotel, Tokyo. . Wright increased his interest in modern construction and material, especially concrete, and organized building in an ordinate system. Another of the guy who influences Schindler was Irving Gill, a Chicago architect; he was a pioneer in modern materials and methods in southern California, he experiment with concrete and modified building techniques. Some of the important concepts that he absorbed from Wright’s design were the system in plan, the spatial integration of the building with gardens, implementation of openings the inside of the house to outside through doors which disappeared , and designing sleeping porches . The Lovell Beach House is similar in Principle to Le Corbusier designs of the time, but especially complex. Five asymmetrical three storey portal frames of reinforced concrete and arranged in a row and support within them a variety of interlocked spaces, including living room and the sleeping porch.
Schindler houses were characterized by freedom, which makes it uniquely American.