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The Schindler House, also known as the Schindler Chace House or Kings Road House, is a house in
West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
, designed by architect
Rudolph M. Schindler Rudolph Michael Schindler (born Rudolf Michael Schlesinger; September 10, 1887 - August 22, 1953) was an Austrian-born American architect whose most important works were built in or near Los Angeles during the early to mid-twentieth century. ...
. The house serves as headquarters to the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, which operate and program three Schindler sites, and is owned and conserved by the Friends of Schindler House. The Schindler House was a departure from existing residential architecture because of what it did not have; there is no conventional living room, dining room or bedrooms in the house. The residence was meant to be a cooperative live/work space for two young families. The concrete walls and sliding canvas panels made novel use of industrial materials, while the open floor plan integrated the external environment into the residence, setting a precedent for
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
architecture in particular.


Inspiration

After completing the
Hollyhock House The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright originally as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall (built, 1919–1921). The building is now the centerpi ...
, Schindler and his wife Pauline vacationed in
Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
in October 1921. Inspired by the trip, Schindler returned to create a design for multiple families to share a modern living area, much like Curry Village, Yosemite National Park.


Architecture

The Schindler House is laid out as two interlinking "L" shaped
apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...
s (referred to as the Schindler and Chace apartments) using the basic design of the camp site that he had seen a year before. Each apartment was designed for a separate family, consisting of 2 studios, connected by a utility room. The utility room was meant to serve the functions of a kitchen,
laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...
, sewing room, and storage. The four studios were originally designated for the four members of the household ( Rudolph & Pauline Schindler and Clyde & Marian Chace). Each person was assigned a studio marked in the plans with his or her initials, and everyone converged in the communal kitchen for domestic chores.Irene Lacher (August 18, 1994)
Rescuing a Design Icon: An Austrian museum provides funds to restore the Schindler House
''
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''.
The house also has a guest studio with its own kitchen and bathroom. The house, at just under , sits on a lot. Instead of bedrooms, there are two rooftop sleeping baskets. The baskets were
redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
four post canopies with beams at mitered corners, protected from the rain by canvas sides.


Construction

When Schindler first submitted plans to the local planning authorities, they were denied, citing this radical, at the time, new method of construction. After many trips to the local planning office and extensive talks to convince them of its merit, the Building department granted him a temporary permit, meaning that they reserved the right to halt construction at any stage. The house is built on a flat
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
slab, which is both the foundation and the final floor. The walls are concrete
tilt up Tilt-up, tilt-slab or tilt-wall is a type of building and a construction technique using concrete. Though it is a cost-effective technique with a shorter completion time, poor performance in earthquakes has mandated significant seismic retrofit r ...
slabs, poured into forms on top of the foundation. The tilt up slabs are separated by , filled with concrete, clear glass or frosted glass. The tilt up panels act as the hard sheltering wall at the back of the house, and a softer permeable screen at the front. Schindler had long been fascinated by the construction method of tilt up concrete slabs, having done extensive research on them in his early days working for Ottenheimer, Stern, and Reichert. He was now intent on using this method for the new home he was designing, along with his friend
Clyde Chace Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a to ...
, an engineer and contractor who had worked closely with Irving J. Gill who pioneered tilt-up architecture in Southern California. With Schindler as architect and Chace as builder to save costs, construction began in November 1921. Construction was complete by June 1922, with a total cost of $12,550. The landscaping, furniture and sleeping baskets remained to be completed. The Chaces and Schindlers shared the house from the summer of 1922 until July 1924 when the Chaces moved to Florida.


History

Schindler's friend, partner and rival,
Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for the majority of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. He ...
along with his wife Dione and son Frank lived in the Chace apartment from March 1925 until the summer of 1930.
Pauline Gibling Schindler Pauline Gibling Schindler (March 19, 1893 – May 4, 1977) was an American composer, educator, editor, and arts promoter, especially influential in supporting modern art in Southern California. Her husband was architect Rudolph Schindler. Early ...
left the house and her husband in August 1927 while Rudolph remained at the house until his death in 1953. The Chace apartment had a variety of famous and creative people live in it, including; art dealer & collector Galka Scheyer, dancer
John Bovingdon John Bovingdon (1890–1973) was a modern dancer-turned-economic analyst who performed regularly at the Kings Road House of architect R.M. Schindler in Los Angeles in the 1920s. He studied economics at Harvard and graduated with high honors in 191 ...
, novelist Theodore Dreiser, photographer
Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...
and composer
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
. Pauline Schindler returned to live in the Chace Studios part of the house, separate from her former husband, in the late 1930s and stayed until her death in May 1977.


Friends of the Schindler House (1977-present)

Pauline Schindler died in May 1977, leaving the house in the Schindler family until th
Friends of the Schindler House
(FOSH), an organization created by architects and historians passionate about the house and its legacy as well as members of the Schindler family, purchased the property in June 1980 from the California State Office of Historic Preservation with the aid of a $160,000 state grant. FoSH owns and is responsible for the house, which was in a very challenging state when it was received. The first phase of restoration to the house was completed in the mid-1980s. By this time, the West Hollywood neighborhood had been rezoned to allow four-story apartment buildings.
Gregory Ain Gregory Samuel Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium- ...
(who greatly admired Schindler), advocated that the property should be sold and the house rebuilt in the desert, because its context had changed so profoundly. As with all complex renovations, debates as to which era to return the house to have been part of the restoration and preservation process. Over the years, the Schindler House received $200,000 for restoration from West Hollywood and the State of California, and $50,000 for operations from the College of Environmental Design at
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the '' name'' section of this article for more info ...
. In 2022, on the hundredth anniversary of the Schindler House, FoSH launched a campaign to stabilize and preserve the house. Events during the year include special events, a film screening, and a series of online discussions of the impact of the house on architectural modernism.


MAK Center for Art and Architecture (1994-present)

On August 10, 1994, the Friends of the Schindler House signed an agreement with the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna to create the nonprofit MAK Center for Art and Architecture. The MAK Center for Art and Architecture's mission is to serve as a contemporary, experimental, multi-disciplinary center for art and architecture and is headquartered in three architectural landmarks by the Austrian-American architect Rudolph M. Schindler. The Center operates a residency program and exhibition space at th
Mackey Apartments
(R.M. Schindler, 1939) and runs more intimate programming at th
Fitzpatrick-Leland House
(R.M. Schindler, 1936) in Los Angeles. The FoSH and MAK Center agreement allow Pauline Schindler's FoSH to retain full ownership of the property, with MAK Center serving as the public-facing institution that operates the house for public visits, tours, exhibitions, programs, and events. A $250,000 grant from MAK was used to restore the house as a study center for experimental architecture, and the museum also provide significant operating costs to FoSH. In 2022, the Museum der angewandte Kunst and the MAK Center contributed $150,000 in support of the FoSH's centennial campaign to restore the Schindler House. The exhibitions and programs at the MAK Center at the Schindler House investigates the relationship between art and architecture, and includes exhibitions, lectures, symposia and concerts.


Schindler House Centennial Celebration (2022)

In 2022, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the public institution which publicly operates the Schindler House, presented
Schindler House: 100 Years in the Making
'. The four-month exhibition and programming series celebrates the pivotal first century of the landmark modern house in Los Angeles by Austrian-American architect R.M. Schindler. The exhibition and accompanying publication guides visitors through a gentle timeline of the Schindler House, from its inception on an empty plot of land to subsequent years of preservation and institutionalization, emphasizing acts of making, unmaking, and remaking that have constituted the house and its mythos over the last century. Artists in the exhibition include conceptual artist Kathi Hofer,
Carmen Argote Carmen Argote (born 1981) is a Los Angeles-based artist. She hails from Guadalajara. She is known for performance art and sculpture. Her work has been included in exhibitions and museum collections, including the Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles Cou ...
, Fiona Connor, Julian Hoeber, stephanie mei huang,
Andrea Lenardin Madden Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...
, Renée Petropoulos,
Gala Porras-Kim Gala Porras-Kim (born 1984, Bogota, Colombia) is a Korean- Colombian-American contemporary interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles and London. Her work deals with the fields of linguistics, history, and conservation, often eng ...
,
Stephen Prina Stephen Prina (born 1954) is an American artist. His work has been categorized as post-conceptualism. Prina is a professor at the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) at Harvard University. Early life and education Born in 1954, in ...
,
Jakob Sellaoui Jakob may refer to: People * Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name Other * Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP * Max Jakob Memorial Aw ...
and
Peter Shire Peter Shire (born 1947) is a Los Angeles-based artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works. His sculpture, furniture and ceramics have been exhibited in the United States, Italy, France, Ja ...
. The exhibition was complemented by a calendar of programs including parties and performances, panel discussions, lectures series, in-person curator-led tours, and the Schindler House Companion Tours.


Recognition

Schindler's radical concept for a cooperative life/work space with its raw concrete walls and sliding canvas panels were an innovative use of industrial materials and its open floor plan thoroughly integrated the house with the surrounding gardens. "
The Pit The Pit may refer to: Places * The Pit, a commonly used name for a mosh pit * The Pit (arena), the main indoor arena at the University of New Mexico * The Pit (memorial), "Яма" the Holocaust memorial in Minsk, Belarus * Elder 'The Pit' Stadiu ...
",
Peter Noever Peter Noever (born 1 May 1941) is an Austrian designer and curator–at–large of art, architecture and media. From 1986 to 2011 he was the artistic director and CEO of MAK— Austrian Museum of Applied Arts and Contemporary Art in Vienna. Li ...
's land art project at the beginning of the
Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistri ...
, situated at the interface between two world cultures, at a geopolitical intersection in the east of Austria, bares the "Concrete Fragment - Rudolph M. Schindler". A 1:1 cast of the
tilt-up Tilt-up, tilt-slab or tilt-wall is a type of building and a construction technique using concrete. Though it is a cost-effective technique with a shorter completion time, poor performance in earthquakes has mandated significant seismic retrofit r ...
slabs in concrete, made on the occasion of the exhibitions at the
MAK Mak may refer to: People *Mak Dizdar (1917 - 1971), Bosnian poet *Muhammad Arshad Khan, Pakistani painter popularly known as "MAK" *Alan Mak (director) (born 1968), Hong Kong film director *Alan Mak (politician) (born 1984), British Member of Par ...
. It is at the same time a landmark to Schindler's architectural conception, where one can clearly witness the spirit, scale and material, away from the Kings Road House and only from Schindler's birthplace. In recent years, the Schindler House has had to contend with the rising density of the surrounding neighborhood. The surrounding neighborhood is currently dominated by 4-story condominium and apartment buildings designed by
Lorcan O'Herlihy Lorcan O'Herlihy (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish-born American architect working in Los Angeles and the founding principal of Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects OHA He is the son of the actor Dan O'Herlihy. O'Herlihy was educated at Cal ...
, vastly different from the original expansive lots for single family residences. The condominium was built despite efforts by numerous notable architects who were invited by Peter Noever on behalf of the MAK Center in 2003 to submit alternative proposals for the site. Selected by a jury that included
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...
,
Chris Burden Christopher Lee Burden (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist working in performance, sculpture and installation art. Burden became known in the 1970s for his performance art works, including ''Shoot'' (1971), where he arranged ...
, Michael Asher and Richard Koshalek, all of the resulting proposals—including the three winning designs, by
Odile Decq Odile Decq (born 1955 in Laval, France) is a French architect, urban planner and academic. She is the founder of the Paris firm, Studio Odile Decq and the architecture school, Confluence Institute. Decq is known for her unique, self-described got ...
,
Eric Owen Moss Eric Owen Moss (born 1943 in Los Angeles) practices architecture with his eponymously named LA-based firm founded in 1973. Education Moss was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Califo ...
and
Carl Pruscha Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...
—were organized into an exhibition, "A Tribute to Preserving Schindler's Paradise," at the house. Among the other competition entrants were prominent architects such as Coop Himmelb(l)au, Lebbeus Woods, Dominique Perrault,
Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...
(who proposed a 21-story tower) and
Peter Eisenman Peter Eisenman (born August 11, 1932) is an American architect. Considered one of the New York Five, Eisenman is known for his writing and speaking about architecture as well as his designs, which have been called high modernist or deconstructiv ...
(who proposed building partly underground). All submitted projects are documented in the publication "ARCHITECTURAL RESISTANCE." The Schindler House was included in a list of all-time top 10 houses in Los Angeles in a ''Los Angeles Times'' survey of experts in December 2008. Image:SchindlerHouse_plans.djvu, Architectural drawings and elevations
(click to see the rest of the sheets) Image:SchindlerHouse011.jpg, Schindler House exterior from Kings Road Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922.jpg, Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922 f.jpg, Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922 c.jpg, Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922 d.jpg, Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922 e.jpg, Image:Schindler-Chase house (Rudolf Schindler), 1922 g.jpg, Image:Interior view of the R.M. Schindler residence, West Hollywood (previously Sherman), 1921-1922 (shulman-1997-JS-317-ISLA).jpg, Image:Schindler House.jpg, Image:Signing of MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House Agreement.jpg, Robert Sweeney, Harriett Gold and
Peter Noever Peter Noever (born 1 May 1941) is an Austrian designer and curator–at–large of art, architecture and media. From 1986 to 2011 he was the artistic director and CEO of MAK— Austrian Museum of Applied Arts and Contemporary Art in Vienna. Li ...
, signing of corporation agreement between Friends of the Schindler House (FOSH) and the Republic of Austria, August 10, 1994, West Hollywood


Notes


External links


Friends of the Schindler HouseMAK Center Los Angeles
* ttp://www.pbase.com/themarmot/schindler Photos of Schindler House {{DEFAULTSORT:Schindler House Houses completed in 1922 Modernist architecture in California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Museums in Los Angeles Houses in Los Angeles Buildings and structures in West Hollywood, California Historic house museums in California Architecture museums in the United States Rudolph Schindler buildings