Dr. and Mrs. Charles Oxley House

Dr. and Mrs. Charles Oxley House

This house was built for a physicist and his wife in a style that recalls the design of the Ward-Berger House of 1939. The house was built with a small budget, using materials such as paint efficiently for purposes of visual surprise. The design is the result of a careful composition of lines and planes and the play between dark and light elements. For example, the master bedroom’s west wall, made of white stucco, divides two glassed areas. While some columns are white, creating a juxtaposition against dark walls, in other areas columns are dark, suggesting that instead of synthesis, Neutra intended to create a dynamic play with the viewer’s perception.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 342.