Channel Heights Housing

Originally conceived as a housing development for middle and working class Angelenos in the City of Compton and titled, the Amity Village, the plans were relocated after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The imperatives of the war effort demanded increased housing for defense workers.

The scheme included 222 residential structures clustered in three large blocks, housing a total of 600 families. Composed of alternating one story duplexes and two-story, four family units built of stucco and redwood with a soft interior color palette, Neutra sought to create a sense of community and privacy.

Additionally, Channel Heights offered a community meeting place, school buildings, a craft center, as well as a marketplace and store.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 173.