Mr. George and Mrs. Elizabeth Rourke House

Mr. George and Mrs. Elizabeth Rourke House

Located in Beverly Hills, George and Elizabeth Roarke’s bungalow is characteristic of Richard Neutra’s work, down to its steeply inclined lot. Among Neutra’s most favored materials and flourishes at the time—tongue-and-groove wooden ceilings, exterior strip lighting, deep overhangs, extended gutters, spiderlegs, and white stucco and wood exteriors—all appear in the design. Inside, other common features include glass walls in the living room and kitchen, a Roman brick fireplace with an asymmetrically located firebox, and built-in cabinetry in both stainless steel and birch. However, while Neutra typically conformed to orthogonal lines, the design features one exception: the west bedroom has an angled footprint that follows the setback of the property line in order to take in the best views. Another bedroom suite at the opposite end of the L-shaped plan had a separate entrance to accommodate the couple’s grown son.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 216.