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| John Lautner |
Lautner was born in Marquette, Michigan. His first experience with building came when he helped his father and mother build a chalet-type retreat on a hillside overlooking a lake there.
He received a degree in English from Northern State Teachers College (now Northern Michigan University) and then became an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright for six years. In 1937 he supervised the construction of two Wright projects, and in 1939 he opened his own practice in Los Angeles.
His first project was a home for his own family, which earned him high praise from architectural critic Henry-Russell Hitchcock. Other well known projects include Silvertop, the Chemosphere, the Sheats/Goldstein residence and the Elrod residence. He also designed several commercial buildings.
Lautner's work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions in the United States and abroad. His buildings have been featured in countless publications, in a documentary film on his life and work, in James Bond and Diehard films, among others, and in commercials for television.
In 1970, he was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects for Excellence in Design. He also received the Gold Medal from the Los Angeles AIA chapter in 1993 for his lifetime achievement.
From johnlautner.org
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| Silvertop you-are-there.com |
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| Silvertop interior flickr.com - Michael Locke |
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| Chemosphere nytimes.com |
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| Chemosphere interior nytimes.com |
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| Sheats/Goldstein Residence dailyicon.com |
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| Sheats/Goldstein interior designboom.com |
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| Elrod House nytimes.com |
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| Elrod House interior thenewsgallery.com |
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| Schaffer House you-are-here.com |
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| Schaffer House interior la.curbed.com |
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| Maurer House you-are-here.com |
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| Segel House you-are-here-com |
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| Walstrom House nytimes.com |
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| Hotel Lautner - Desert Hot Springs, California cntraveler.com |
Update - 11/27/2012: Reader John Bachman mentioned that Lautner designed Bob Hope's home too. I hadn't found a photo of it when I was doing my research, but when I searched a little more, I found this:
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| Bob Hope home - Palm Springs, California hauteliving.com |
I have always loved Lautner's work Dana. What a dream come true it would be to live in one of his homes. Just the opportunity to see them in the flesh would (almost) be good enough.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't pick a favourite. Could you?
They're all so spectacular that I don't know how anyone could pick a favorite. It would be worth a trip to the US to stay in the Hotel Lautner in Desert Hot Springs, California.
DeleteSomething out of a sci-if dream, that Elrod House! These were familiar o me but I wasn't aware of the who's and whatfors, thanks Dana!
ReplyDeleteEven all these years later, they really do look futuristic.
DeleteThank you so much for this post, Dana! I love John Lautner, as well as the other architects who participated in the Case Study Program that ran from 1945- 66. These houses are all amazing examples of the new ideas of that particular time. Neutra and Koenig are other great favorites from this great Californian architecture experiment.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed this post. It's great to have a new follower who comments frequently.
DeleteMakes me want to drive out to California just to see these and stay at the hotel!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to stay there myself. The grounds are beautiful, and the rooms are full of great mid-century furniture.
DeleteHe also designed Bob Hope's house. Thanks for the nice post.
ReplyDeleteI didn't run across a picture of the Hope home when I wrote the post, but I did a search and found it. Thanks for the information.
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