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Wanted Publisher - New Neutra Book VISION FOR THE WORK "The Neutras, Then and Later" © 2005-6 by Dion Neutra. I, Dion Neutra, am in a unique place to share a side of the Neutra practice and a personal relationship with Richard Neutra. At 80, I have memories and experiences that only exist in my mind. Some, I have shared in this MS. I also have become passionate about the state of preservation in our country based in part on my experiences with the loss of examples of our own work which has become a metaphor for losses of 'the recent past' that are happening, it seems, with more and more frequency. Can this hemorrhage be stemmed? My vision for this book series contains the following. A discussion of the philosophy of the firm as seen through my eyes. The sharing of personal experiences with my illustrious father, Richard Neutra; what was it like to be the son? What sort of father was he? Through the relating of vignettes about the design process as well as personal experiences in the family, this work will, in part, be autobiographical. I'm thinking this could well become three or more volumes by the time we revisit upwards of 300 built projects and discuss some that were not constructed. I'd like this to be a report on the biography of our firm, now 80 itself, as seen through the aging of its work product, the buildings. I thought of a chapter which records the progression of the key players of the Neutra family as they aged as well. People and buildings; they age. Can the process be made more gentle or respectful? The general format would be to contrast the pristine images of the buildings that everyone has seen with candids taken later to reveal the later condition in which the sites find themselves. "The Neutras, Then and Later" . This is a unique project. I'm not aware of a comprehensive history of the work of a firm of this stature; it's a story that if told might have an effect on finally getting a policy of preservation in place in the US as a National Imperative. I believe with the current interest in things 'Neutra', as well as the emerging specialty of historic preservation as a profession, there could be a wide audience for these books. For those with interest for more detail, below is a more comprehensive outline of the work as far as I've gotten. Most of the MS for vol. I is written; it only remains to assemble the graphics and art direct the way to best present this material. There will undoubtedly be a myriad of captions to write for photos. THE NEUTRAS-THEN AND LATER A Foreword to be written by attorney Shirley Hufstetler, a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court under Carter. She who wrote the Foreword for my mother's book, 'Promise and Fulfillment'. I have much respect and affection for her. A superior court judge, she performed my second marriage. I've spoken to her preliminarily. Remains to be seen if her health will permit her to participate. There would be a Preface in which I state what gave rise to my wanting to write this book-series and giving some acknowledgements. There could be an Introduction by Richard Longstreth, art history professor and former president of the Society of Architectural Historians. His father, architect, Thaddeus was long associated with our firm for projects in the east. Other possibilities might be Paul Goldberger, or Tom Hines, long time friends, or others. The first volume would start with a chapter "The 'then' Images" discussing and referring to the major books that have appeared over the years with their pristine images of the works of the firm taken shortly after their completion and inauguration into service. In it, I explain why I think it important to also show how some of these projects looked 'later' after some years. Who knows what they look like 'now' when the reader reads. In another chapter, "Venues of the Neutra Practice" I'd like to record and picture the loci of the Neutra practice [for the first time in print] from the Schindler House, the Douglas St. Duplex, the first VDL, the Neutra office Building , the second and final version of VDL, and the studio on Neutra Place. "The Neutras, Then and Later" an illustrated chapter depicting the Neutra's immediate family members with baby, youth and later images to provide a metaphor for aging. People age as do buildings! In "The 'Later' Images" chapter, I discuss that a third to half of
our total works no longer look the way they once did; thus the inspiration
to record how some of them looked 'later' and whether there might be
a way to protect what is left of the collection from following suit;
a kind of 'biography of a firm'. I'd mention that I've often told vignettes
about practice over the years and had people urge me to write these
down, since they appear nowhere in print and reside only in my head.
I'd go on to record a few 'success' stories where new owners have taken
over and done respectable restorations. Next would come a chapter 'Unbuilt Neutra' in which I outline a group of prominent projects that for whatever reason were never built. These represent a substantial fraction of the production of this firm, but for which there is normally no interest because of no photos of a completed building. Following this I'd like to write a chapter called 'The Last of the Robertsons'; the story of the three buildings dad did in the 30s using Robertson Decking as wall sections. Only one of these survives. Next would come a chapter 'The Dion Neutra Reunion House' in which I discuss the only example of a firm designed project on which both father and son worked, but not concurrently.. The next series of pages would contain a group of early commercial and residential projects with then and later photos. Use original B&W shots taken by commission of the office soon after completion and then show later color snaps of what they look like a generation later. When possible include a personal vignette or recollection of the original client and basis for design, and what happened later for each project. In most cases, the whole thing could be shown on two opposing pages of the book presented in an informal manner; perhaps with the candids askew like having been laid out on a dining table. Subsequent pages would continue with groups of similar types of buildings with the same format; vintage shots of the original followed by what has happened since, and the story of why, if known. We will allocate some spreads to representative projects that were done subsequent to 1970. For most of these I have 'then' photos and some 'later' shots; others are yet to be taken. That could include Huntington Beach Library, Canfield School, Claremont Graduate Center, O'Brien House addition, Bond House Pool house, and others yet to be realized. A subsequent chapter would be entitled 'Lost Neutras'; it would list the Neutras by decade that are either demolished or drastically altered. This would be followed by a chapter called 'Neutras at Risk' where we list the prominent projects that are most at risk for uncontrolled changes. At this point I'd like to include a chapter to the effect "What's it like to be the son of a famous father?" This would consist of an introductory narrative illustrated by a couple of letters my dad wrote me; one at 11, the other at 17 on sex! I'd also like to include another letter that illustrates his character. These are sides of RJN that have never been focused on to my knowledge. The letters are dated 1920, 1938, 1944. I'm thinking the latter two might best be included in an appendix, as they are lengthy. I've recently thought to expand this chapter to include accounts of other kin of famous parents; Nathaniel Kahn, Eric Wright, Paul Einstein, Mira Nakashima-Yarnall and others. This feature could be repriesed in subsequent volumes with later examples. Near the end of the book, I'd like to include a chapter featuring Julius Shulman's reminiscences of his interactions with my dad on the occasions of their photo shoots together (I have a rough MS of two interviews conducted with him in which he expounds on this and releated subjects). Penultimate chapter "The State of Preservation in the US" would contain a discussion of the current state of preservation in our nation with a description of the strategies that are in use now in the service of preservation. Maybe each volume would have this repeated but updated with new information. Give some examples of how these strategies fail or succeed to achieve the desired results. Final chapter: "Can we do better?" A vision of an idealized future; what could we do in our country to better protect our heritage? "Afterword": A preview of projects to be treated in subsequent volumes, and a statement of the condition of the Neutra practice and the Institute at press time. Appendix: '"The Neutras, Then and Later" Project based reminiscences; "The Neutras, Then and Later" Personal reminiscences. Master List of publications in which various Neutra projects are pictured. Master list of addresses of Neutra project sites; Lost Neutras by decades spread sheet of all built and lost projects since the beginning. The R. Neutra letters referred to above. Photo Credits; Index. Sample Chapter: From my perspective, the state of preservation in our country as of this writing is sadly lacking. We have NO national commitment to it, actually. What IS our National Policy for preservation? Do we have funds set aside to save worthy examples or help for those who own these maintain them? From where I sit the answers are 'none' and 'no help'. What strategies are available seen from the perspective of the Left Coast? In the City of Los Angeles, there is the Cultural Heritage Commission, which has the ability to designate projects as City Monuments even over the objection of their owners, although this is seldom done. Most often it is the owner or his agent who nominates the property for consideration. The process is somewhat time consuming, arduous and nothing that can be undertaken by the average layman. Most must employ an expert and pay. If accepted, and by no means are most applications accepted, the project is given a Monument designation and all city departments informed. This introduces a new layer of bureaucracy with which to deal in making any improvements or changes. The demands of this agency can be arduous and expensive from the owner's point of view. What does the owner of such a monument gain in the way of perks, incentives; cash, tax rebates, special expedition of permit grants? How about VIP free parking to attend the extra meetings that are required before a permit can be issued? Turns out none of the above. At his own expense he may erect a bronze plaque of a standard design on his building. The effect of all this? A stay of up to one year in the issuance of a demolition permit. If perchance a demolition were undertaken without a permit, the charge would in all likelihood be a simple misdemeanor carrying of a fine of perhaps $500. Hardly a very robust preservation policy. More compelling is what is called the 'Scorched Earth Policy' whereby any permits are put on hold for a period of five years at the site in question; more compelling. In practice, much preservation occurs because of advocacy of avid preservationists using persuasion or bully pulpits, as opposed to invoking available law or public policy. What other means are there? One can nominate a project for the National Register of Historic Places. This is a federal program administered by the National Park Service. To start, one must fill out an elaborate form to be submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office in which the project resides. Buildings of less than 50 years of age need not apply [except against greatly increased resistance]. Once the SHPO approves the paperwork, it is submitted to the NPS office in Washington, DC. which may or may not approve. They are very selective of what they approve, as if this is a VERY exclusive club! I've never understood just WHY this process should be SO selective, unless it is a way to reduce the load of overworked bureaucrats. One would think, if this were about preservation, the mere filing of an application should be enough to ensure the listing on the Register. But is that what it's about? Turns out that being listed does nothing but require one extra hoop to be jumped through by a government agency if such happens to own the monument. That is what happened in the case of our Gettysburg Cyclorama Center, where the very same governmental agency, the National Park Service, decided it wanted to demolish our building. When we got it listed, they jumped through the extra hoop. As this goes to press, it is scheduled for demolition. Is there a program available to actually SAVE a building threatened in this way? It would appear not. In nearly ten years of trying no one has been able to think of a viable methodology to save this building. Another technique in use is called a 'Façade Easement'. That involves recording a document called an Easement whereby the outer envelope of the building is protected and any change must be reviewed by a preservation organization. In Los Angeles, for the most part, this program has been managed by the LA Conservancy against a lump sum payment of 5% of the 'value of the easement' which is banked against the possibility of having to resort to legal action to enforce the Easement. To date, out of some 20 odd such, I was told in 2002, there had yet to be a need to resort to legal action. Consequently there is no history of what that would consist of or cost. Presumably it would be to assess damages for the loss of the historic building or fabric. Who knows what a court, unfamiliar with these issues would award and to whom. Would there be imprisonment to the miscreant? Who knows, and what good would that do, if the building were lost? Must such a program exact such a large pre-payment to be viable? Some cities in California, have adopted a State Preservation program called 'The Mills Act', a California creation. If the owner agrees, he enters into a 10-year contract with the City. They inspect yearly to see if the owner has complied with saving certain features deemed important. This can include interior features as well. If the owner can demonstrate a 'higher and better use' for this property there could be some tax rebates according to a complicated formula which only a CPA can figure out. Should this contract be violated, the owner looses the tax rebate, is fined 12% of the value of the easement and the contract is voided. Thereafter he may demolish the building or otherwise desecrate it with impunity. The Mills Act, therefore, has relevance only for cases where the owner wishes to save the building anyway, and is tempted by a tax rebate. It would seem that once this interest evaporates or the ownership changes, preservation becomes problematic. For several years prior to the printing of this book, I've been advocating a method that is designed to really protect and save a building deemed by its owner worthy. It would contemplate a Protective Covenant, which would be recorded with the title of the property. It would require the observation of a local preservation organization, which would oversee proposed changes in the property. There would be created a checklist of important features that must be protected during the life of the project. The particular feature of my plan would be that the title of the property would revert to the presiding Preservation Organization if the Covenant were violated. This, while, revolutionary in the annals of property law in our country is a true disincentive for what happened to our Maslon house in Rancho Mirage, in 2002. There a buyer assured the heirs of the original client that he respected and understood the importance of the house. After they sold to him, with a hefty surcharge to MAKE SURE, he demolished the house a couple of weeks later without even bothering to remove the contents of several closets. Had my Covenant been in place, he would have ended up no longer owning the parcel; hardly an incentive to destroy. I've had the pro bono help of knowledgeable real estate attorneys to polish the wording of this Covenant. As of printing date, we have yet to place this on title of any property, mostly because I've just been too busy. Meanwhile, we continue to loose more and more of these treasures. Bottom line: In the Western region of the United States, there would appear to be no public policy commitment to enable sure preservation of particular buildings that people value. It is for this reason that I've advocated for years the convening of a Presidential Commission to confer and discuss on the state of preservation in our country. I've suggested that if we can set aside 15 Billion to clean up toxic waste sites, surely we could allocate a like amount to save important examples of our built environment from destruction. The theory would be, if it's endangered, buy the people out and figure out how to repay the pot later. An example of the absurdity of current policy and the lack of a coordinated policy is as follows. In 1991, after the death of my mother, my brother and I were responding to an IRS audit of the estate. We'd both been left apartment buildings in Westwood, CA which had been designated City Monuments some years earlier. Otherwise, they had no protection. The IRS took the position that this designation acted only as a one year 'stay'. They were willing to give us credit for this year, but wanted the estate tax valuation to be based on 'the highest and best use' of the property, which would have doubled the theoretical values [and the taxes due]. When it was pointed out that this pressure to develop ran precisely counter to the policy of the City of Los Angeles, which was trying to preserve an important piece of its heritage, there was no appeal to the IRS position. No supervisor who could say, 'Hey, back off here; how many cases like this are there per year in the whole country'! We were forced to hire an expensive Washington DC attorney who told us our chances in a lawsuit were doubtful. We ended up settling with a huge additional tax payment just to get through with it. No precedent was set; the same thing could happen again. At no time was any concern shown for the intent of the local community. The Revenue Service was in business to collect the maximum tax no matter what the consequences. Is that an integrated National policy that considers the local constituency? Sample Chapter: He never spoke down to me or tried to explain his points in a language suited to my age. In retrospect, those were good times. An example, which remains in memory, was a time when dad was interested in a book on brain physiology. He went on for hours about his thoughts about it and how the human brain reacts much like a wire coil connected to a meter. The faster you pass a metal bar through it, the higher the meter peaks. The more abruptly one approaches one's fellow being, the greater the resistance. I DID remember at least one of these messages! In my memory, dad never played pure games with me like cards, chess, scrabble, or other similar games. He had no interest in sports either to witness or support in me. Our interaction seemed to be exclusively in the area of intellect, and primarily in the verbal area. One day when I was about 11, dad approached me and said, "Would you like to learn to draft? It's something I could teach you and it might be a useful skill at some time in your life." He never said, "I want you to be an architect'! I recall thinking, 'Gee this might be fun, and I would get to sit in the office with the grownups"! So that's how it started. At this time I was also already playing the violin, and I was ready to upgrade to a better instrument. We shopped around at the local violin store and found a beautiful Italian instrument which cost at that time $1000, a princely sum indeed! My parents proposed a plan whereby I could earn money by drafting to pay back on their advance to allow me to take on this violin. I think the idea was to instill some sense of responsibility since I couldn't possibly have afforded such a violin on my own. I would work by the hour at the office and gain points towards the payback. At the same time I was supposed to find time to practice and take lessons, not to speak of do homework and practice gymnastics to which I aspired as well. In retrospect, this was an impossibly conflicted schedule inappropriate for a youngster of 11-12 years of age. Needless to say, I found little time for the usual leisurely growing up mode often experienced by my friends. Through my years in the office I became proficient in drafting, learning from a lettering guide, which, in 2003 we resurrected from the archives to become the basis for a 'Neutraface' drafting font that was introduced in 2002 in honor of the special lettering we used in the office and on our buildings. While in middle and high school I found taking the drafting classes the easiest, so when I enrolled at USC for a year before volunteering for the Navy in WWII, it was natural to opt for architecture when asked "What would you like to major in?" So, in a sense, I was not presented with other options growing up. It's lucky that I happened to be gifted and had a real interest in this profession. When I think of it, there is really no other that I'd rather have entered! In the early 50s I was instrumental in the development of original ideas used in the practice including organizing the typical detail and specification systems; comparing dead flat roofs with the wedges we'd used to then on top of rafters to create a minimal slope to gutters. I showed that simplifying the framing freed funds to afford the best possible quality of roofing with a 30-40 year anticipated life. Leaving out the gutters simplified maintenance and upkeep. Dad appreciated my contributions in these areas, although I remember him once chiding me about being 'too detail oriented'. I reminded him that early in his career, he'd been the same. I'd run into a notebook he kept during the construction phase of the 1933 Laemmle Building on Hollywood and Vine [see p.x]. It was full of the most detailed notes you could imagine on the minutia of 'stuff' that comes up during construction. When I showed it to him by way of illustrating my point, he was astounded; he'd completely forgotten how he was 40 years earlier! As I progressed in my study of architecture, we began to discuss basis for design and the philosophy behind the work. In time, I think in time he genuinely admired my accomplishments and gifts, but that generation was slow to voice praise. He continued to parent throughout my career. I also presided over an overhaul of what we called 'LOFASI' [List of Fixtures and Special Installations]. This was a series of supplemental notes selected to suit a particular project. The approach permitted the use of a standardized basic specification supplemented by these items, which were arranged in paragraphs with key numbers referring to them. Even a less seasoned person could thus assemble a specification giving a list to the typist who typed paragraphs from the coded references; a technique weirdly reminiscent of how a computer would today manage such a database. Here again, the idea was to standardize and simplify the completion of projects so that beginners could learn and feel competent to select carefully crafted paragraphs covering the points required. In this same vein we developed typical details on letter-sized sheets, which were bound into a spec book with index and references to the main drawings. This was a system, which I refined over the years as well. Toward the end of his life, Dad found it difficult to turn over the reins. My mother encouraged it, because she wanted more 'quality time' with him. She kept accepting lecture engagements and travel opportunities for them to where I was running the office on my own towards the end of the 60s. When I think back on it, Richard Neutra's strong suit was NOT being a parent or father, not because of any bad will. It was simply not a priority for him, nor had he had much role modeling for this in his youth. I had to find my way on my own in many respects. On the other hand, in unexpected ways dad showed concern and caring. I'm publishing a few letters that illustrate how he tried to parent in his own unique way. The first was what I would call the 'Birds and the Bees' letter. It was written in about 1938, while my parents were at Mt. Palomar, CA, a place they enjoyed visiting because of its remoteness and rugged terrain. I still have the hand written draft. I was about 11 when I first saw this, and I have to say it was way over my head at the time. It was only in later years that I came to appreciate the poetic and profound thoughts it contains. It is a side of Richard Neutra that has not been published heretofore. ['38 letter-See appendix.]. The next letter was written in 1944, as I was about to go into the Navy. Dad evidently became concerned about the peer pressure I would experience to become involved in sex prematurely in his view. My brother, Ray, says he was sent a copy as well at about this same age ['44 letter-See appendix] Finally, I'd like to share a portion of a letter dad wrote to my mother while they were courting in December 1920, two years before their marriage on December 23, 9122. It was his view on relationship and happiness. Relationships: letter to Dione by RJN Happiness is a concomitant symptom that may occur when doing something constructive. Probably it is the best life can offer us. However, one cannot aspire to catch it, because it is elusive. It has to appear all by itself. This is a knowledge known by the most learned heads since a hundred thousand years. To begin with, one has to have the great good fortune to find worthwhile and wonderful human beings and mysteriously fuse with them: then the possibility exists that this magic side phenomenon, "happiness," easily manifests itself again and again. However, one surely should not loll around waiting for it but decide to become the kind of person who has the capacity to respond to the love that surrounds one and this surely will in any case deepen one's inner core. Often it seems to me that I am less gifted for this than you, my treasure, but then I console myself and reflect that this gives you a better chance to practice on me and thus become a real saint!
Dion Neutra is principal of Richard and Dion Neutra, Architects and Associates, the Los Angeles firm founded by Richard Neutra in the early 1920s. He can be reached at 2440 Neutra Place, Los Angeles, CA 90039-3141; phone/fax (323) 666-1806, e-mail Dion@neutra.org. |
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