Richard Neutra built a house and studio for himself in Los Angeles in 1932. He was only 41 then. Born in Vienna, in 1923 he migrated to the United States, settling first in Chicago. In February 1925, encouraged by their friend the Viennese architect Rudolf M. Schindler, he and his wife transferred to California, renting the guest apartment of the latter’s house on Kings Road. This was the start of Neutra’s meteoric career in America, as well as the end of a friendship.

Soon after arriving, Neutra was put in charge of landscaping a summer house for Philip Lowell at Newport Beach. Schindler, a close friend of the client’s, was working there. Discrepancies between the two began in 1927, when Neutra was commissioned directly by Lowell to build his new house and private clinic. To top it all, it was with the Lowell House that Schindler got international recognition. In fact, in 1932 he was the only architect in the West Coast to be chosen to represent International Style at the Modern Architecture exhibition organized by New York’s Museum of Modern Art... [+]