Abstract
Many architects of the modern movement who, in theory, refused luxury nonetheless responded to the demand for it. Richard J. Neutra was one of them: Although he mostly rejected luxury in his writings, he gained fame for his skills in constructing luxurious residences. This paper explores how he handled such discrepancies. For this purpose, it relates his understanding of luxury to the German debates on the luxury of the interwar period and analyzes two of his most important expensive residences: the Lovell Health House (1927–1929) and the Kaufmann Desert House (1946–1947). It comes to the conclusion that Neutra took an intermediate position between socialist opponents and idealist proponents of luxury. While he acknowledged the importance of objectivity and scientific thinking and agreed to give priority to the improvement of the living conditions of the masses, he was nevertheless much interested in comfort, aesthetics, details, and individualization. Moreover, it draws attention to the fact that Neutra’s houses also reflected his clients’ relationship to luxury. The Kaufmanns asked for a luxurious background for leisure; the Lovells’ wanted a place for a disciplined life that lacked certain essential traits of luxury.
Highlights
The relationship of modern architecture to luxury is ambiguous
The Kaufmanns asked for a luxurious background for leisure; the Lovells’ wanted a place for a disciplined life that lacked certain essential traits of luxury
The luxury of modern architecture was praised by a few critics only, for example by Philip Johnson and Walter Riezler, but frequently attacked by critics such as Karel
Summary
The relationship of modern architecture to luxury is ambiguous. Only a few architects of the modern movement openly admitted that they considered luxury something desirable—Frank Lloyd. This paper researches such questions with regard to Neutra’s oeuvre For this purpose, it analyzes his understanding of luxury in theory and at two of his most important houses, the Lovell Health. Giedion subsequently changed his definition of and opinion about luxury in Giedion (1939) It focuses on what the architects and critics used to discuss as luxuries. “Irrational luxury” will relate to everything that certain anti-idealists—for instance, most Marxists and logical positivists—considered unobjective and superfluous because it escapes scientific grasp This form of luxury commonly included the spiritual and the art. Alice Friedman’s study about the glamour of Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House came closest to the topic of this paper Alice Friedman’s study about the glamour of Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House came closest to the topic of this paper (Friedman 2010, pp. 74–107).
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