Welcome to
The Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design
We are a 501c3 charitable organization founded by famous architect Richard Neutra in 1962. He named it after the title of his 1954 book Survival Through Design. In that book he argued that the survival of humans and the planet requires a commitment to research-inspired design that artfully combines technology and nature. He called this “biorealism.” We have two missions.
Mission 1
Preserve and Share the Neutra Legacy.
We innovate in preserving and programming our three Neutra designed apartments.
We share our intellectual property by improving access to Neutra archives and facilitating scholarly works, exhibitions, films and preservation. We publish seminal Neutra writings and maintain this website for fans, scholars and volunteers. A free pdf of Chapter 44 of the new illustrated edition of Survival Through Design is available below.
Mission 2
Promote creative research-inspired design that serves people and the planet.
Perceptual Research
Discussion at Office
Giving Voice
We facilitate research on Neutra buildings. We convene like minded partners to find platforms including our own venues to give voice to, or celebrate designers, researchers and developers who aim to benefit people and the planet