Douglas Fir Plywood Model Demonstration House (Brice House)

Douglas Fir Plywood Model Demonstration House (Brice House)

As its name suggests, the Douglas Fir Plywood Model Demonstration House was part of an exhibition mounted by the Los Angeles Building Center to bring attention to new building materials and techniques. The plywood featured was a novel innovation at the time, made with new glues that improved the wood’s resistance to water. Although many of the exhibited houses did not demonstrate the same innovative approach to design as they did to materials, Neutra’s entry was a trailblazer in both realms. Along the exterior, white-stained plywood panels were held in place with metal strips which created a sense of rhythm. Like many of Neutra’s domestic designs, this house balances the needs of a public entry and a more private, family entrance. The T-shaped footprint meant all rooms opened to the outdoors, improving the house’s ventilation. Finally, Neutra’s two-story plan placed the master suite above the kitchen in a smaller second story that allowed for an expansive roof deck. In anticipation of the closing of the exhibit, all entries were raffled in a free drawing, and this house was moved and reassembled at its new site in Westwood, a process eased by its light steel frame and demountable panels.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 113.