Table Of Content
They started at the extensive Neutra archives available at UCLA and were able to pull out some never-printed photos of the interior of the property. They also were able to get some of the original paint and fixture supplies to recreate the exterior. Additionally, they more than doubled the property size by purchasing several adjacent properties to add to the Kaufmann property and brought it to Neutra’s initial vision. In 1996, it was the twentieth building to be designated as a protected local landmark and is believed to be the first private property to be selected as such.
A Landmark Modernist House Heads to Auction
Strikingly photographed in 1947 by Julius Shulman, it stood vacant for several years after Kaufmann’s death in 1955. Then it went through a series of owners, including the singer Barry Manilow, and a series of renovations. Along the way, a light-disseminating patio was enclosed, one wall was broken through for the addition of a media room, the sleek roof lines were interrupted with air-conditioning units, and some bedrooms were wallpapered in delicate floral prints. Those owners, Brent Harris, an investment manager, and Beth Edwards Harris, an architectural historian, are finalizing their divorce, and plan to auction the Kaufmann House at Christie’s in New York in May.
Uchronia founder designs own home as "love letter to French craft"
The collaboration between the client and architect was grounded in a mutual appreciation for cutting-edge design and technological advancement, setting the stage for creating a landmark in modernist architecture. Richard Neutra, an emblematic figure of 20th-century Architecture, excelled in blending technology, aesthetics, and the nuances of the natural environment into his designs. Among his illustrious works, the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California, is the quintessential example of his approach to modernist architecture. This dramatic new build from developer Claudio Bravo in the exclusive Mirada Estates enclave was highly anticipated before hitting the market, shares agent Rich Nolan. Perched over The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, the open floor plan wraps around a sleek-as-can-be pool deck, visible through floor-to-ceiling expanses of glass. Comparing the top 10 sellers of 2023 with the prior year reveals shifts in the market.
Eight mid-century houses that prove Palm Springs is a modernist mecca
The first batch of stone that arrived was not a perfect match, but a second quarry did the trick. To help restore the remote physical setting of the house, the Harrises acquired several adjoining parcels to more than double the land around the house. Now fully restored, the Kaufmann desert house has assumed a significant place among important American houses of the mid-century period. Constructed in 1946, this residence was designed for Edgar J. Kaufmann, a discerning client known for patronizing exceptional architectural works, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Neutra’s design for the Kaufmann House epitomizes the ideals of modernism with its clean lines, integration with the landscape, and innovative use of materials, offering a serene yet functional living space that blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living. It is impossible to describe the impact of the Harris’ ownership of the Kaufmann house, both in terms of its restoration and preservation as well as its impact economically and culturally for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
Related story
The bar was set particularly high in 2022 with the transfer of the Duane Hagadone estate; at $42 million it was the region’s top sale, commanding $2,032 per square foot. Because Nelda and Joe were hosts of heroic stature, the property with the Arthur Elrod interior was a fixture of the local party scene in the early to mid-’60s. Not only did the couple throw the after party for the annual Bob Hope Classic, but Nelda hosted fashion shows and charity fundraisers on a regular basis.
Architect-designed furniture
Architect Alan Hess previews this year's Modernism Week events - Desert Sun
Architect Alan Hess previews this year's Modernism Week events.
Posted: Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Fusing glass, steel, and stone, "it is an architectural marvel that helped define the modernist aesthetic," says Gerard Bisignano, partner at Vista Sotheby’s International Realty, who is handling the sale of the 3,162-square-foot home. The home is a one-story structure that subtly accommodates itself to the site by stepping up slightly on three levels, made more dramatic through the introduction of a roofed (but otherwise open-air) second floor room. Centered above the main entrance, Neutra called this outdoor room a "gloriette" -- from the 12th century French for "little glory." Neutra's use of the term derives from history's' largest and best-known gloriette in the Schönbrunn Palace garden in Vienna.
Top architecture stories
Coachella’s equestrian ranching and date farming origins were ready to be revived on this 10 ½-acre site located off Avenue 44 east of Eagle Falls Golf Course. Buyer’s representative Erica Gerardo reports that upon purchase, her client updated the late-1950s three-bedroom fixer and added an accessory dwelling unit. These efforts have an eye toward exploring the residential construction possibilities of the parcel that is included within Coachella’s General Plan Resort District. The pool was essential to Neutra, who was known float in the water as he supervised work on the house. Julius Shulman’s famous photograph juxtaposes the hard lines of Neutra’s geometry with the natural contours of the San Jacinto Mountains. In 1962, Joe and Nelda Linsk, newly arrived in Palm Springs and living temporarily at actress Claudette Colbert’s half-acre compound on Monte Vista, decided to put down winter roots in the clubby little resort town.
Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. was a Pittsburgh department store tycoon who commissioned the home in 1946. It was initially intended to be a winter retreat for his family from the unforgiving Midwest and East Coast winters, but it ended up becoming one of Palm Springs—and modern architecture’s—most important landmarks. While the house favors an east-west axis, four long perpendicular wings extend in each cardinal direction from the living areas.
Architectural Design
The house underwent “an award-winning restoration” by Marmol Radziner in the 1990s that included the installation of air conditioning. Nestled in the foothills of Palm Desert, California, the Annenberg Estate is a stunning example of mid-century modern architecture. Quincy Jones for media mogul Walter Annenberg, the original estate is comprised of 25,000 square foot house on 200 acres. Palm Springs’s commitment to its midcentury legacy and architectural flair has allowed it to remain a sought-after vacation home locale well into the 21st century. Today, it’s been announced via The Wall Street Journal that one of its most legendary examples of California modernism—the 1946 Richard Neutra property made unforgettable by Slim Aarons’s 1970 Poolside Gossip photo—has sold for $13.06 million.
If you are an Orange County property owner, you may be interested in the new loan program aimed at helping homeowners build an ADU on their property. Orange County Housing Finance Trust has developed a program to encourage property owners to invest in an ADU by providing access to low-interest, deferred, partially forgivable loans for qualified owners. The house still stands today and is considered one of the essential pieces of 20th-century architecture among projects such as Fallingwater, Robie House, Gropius House, and Gamble House. This allowed home inhabitants to walk from the interior to the exterior without sensing a temperature change on the floor. They would feel as though they were on the same surface even after crossing the glass line and over to the exterior hardscape slab.
The tour was fascinating in its detail, but Beth's personal recollections left the most lasting impression. The Kaufmann House has gone through several owners after the Kaufmann’s owned the house, which led to the house to fall in disrepair and a lack of concern and preservation of the modern dwelling. However, a couple that appreciated 20th Century modern homes restored the house back to its original luster with the help of Julius Shulman. The Kaufmann House is now considered to be an architectural landmark and one of the most important houses in the 20th Century.
Nonetheless, Marmol Radziner’s design of the detached, open-air, wood pavilion is a seamless addition to the property and a brilliant homage to Neutra. The one-story structure has a pinwheel floor plan centered around the living room with a floor-to-ceiling fireplace, and the master suite, additional bedrooms, and a service wing oriented as branches. A roofed but open-air room he called the “Gloriette” (from 12th-century French for little room) was Neutra’s way of working around local building restrictions that forbade two-story structures. Flanked by movable aluminum louvers, the design helped shelter the home from wind and sandstorms.
