Richard Neutra

Richard Neutra (1892-1970), American architect, born in Vienna, and educated at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna and the University of Zurich. In 1923 an international prize for architecture enabled him to travel to the United States. After moving to California in 1925, Neutra early established his reputation for the design of the Lovell House (1929) in Los Angeles. Built of concrete and glass panels around a prefabricated steel frame, it is characterized by technological and structural innovations along the lines of the International Style, that is, modern architectural design emphasizing function and typically austere in appearance. A follower of the noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Neutra believed that a building should be integrated with its site. These ideas were carried out not only in his designs for private dwellings but also in major urban design projects, both in the United States and abroad. He discussed his architectural ideas in Mystery and Realities of the Site (1951), Survival Through Design (1954), and Life and Human Habitat (1956). Neutra became a naturalized US citizen in 1929.