United Auto Workers Building

United Auto Workers Building

Richard Neutra’s writing reveals an interest in the working man, including a concern over their fate as mechanized production proliferated. He asked, “Can we build a symbol against the nervous insecurity of family breadwinners?” His solution, realized in the United Auto Workers Building, was dedicated to the spirit of democracy. He intended his design to realize this principle, creating a non-hierarchical building through fluid and mutable spaces. This project was commissioned by the local United Auto Workers chapter at the Mercury/Ford Auto Plant in Pico Riviera. It recalled a building Neutra and Alexander had designed five years earlier for a different union member: the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. At the United Auto Workers Building, Neutra announced the purpose of the structure with a metal sign that was cantilevered beyond the white stucco façade. While the building extended out across its site, the aesthetic of long lines was complemented by spaces with interwoven planes, as was the case in an interior courtyard at the heart of the building. The large interior space could easily be reconfigured to serve multiple purposes and hold differently sized audiences. For example, the main hall, which could host a seated audience of 200 and a standing one of 600, doubled as a basketball court. Deep beams of laminated wood spanned its width, and acoustical tile and other elements were introduced to improve the sound quality during events. Sliding glass walls opened onto the large courtyard, which would unify the two spaces for crowds of up to 1,200. In addition, purpose-built rooms, including a library, offices, and a conference room, were all constructed alongside the gardens.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 408.