Mr. and Mrs. Leo Cytron House

Mr. and Mrs. Leo Cytron House

The Cytrons’ house is set on a property with trees and streams that Richard Neutra utilized in his design for the entrance to the house. Although the lot was a tight one, Neutra’s design decisions seem to expand it. Visitors’ progress is marked by anticipation as they undertake at least four turns and pass over a creek on a wide, rustic wooden plank bridge on their route to the house. Natural features, such as an aged plane tree with a formidable trunk, and the entrance path of loosely laid flagstone contrast with the white planes of the house. The house is laid out on a strong east-west axis which is divided between two areas, a bedroom wing and the kitchen wing. Both wings are connected by the living room, and at this central point, windowed walls on the east and west sides also provide access to the outdoors.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 389.