James D. and Orline Moore House

James D. and Orline Moore House

Located in the Ojai Valley, which Richard Neutra described as a “a lovely sub-tropical landscape of orange groves between mountain ranges,” James D. and Orline Moore’s house is designed to connect with its surroundings. Set on thirty acres of ranch land, its position promises privacy. Lush landscaping—including cattails, Louisianian iris, water hyacinths, lotus, waterlilies, and more which were planted and cared for by Orline Moore—surrounds the house, along with a large pool that wraps around its northeast corner. This L-shaped pool not only enhanced the integration between indoors and out but also served as a source of irrigation for the surrounding plants. Neutra also placed a pool above the carport which reflected the scenery and effectively erases the view of the carport from the house above. The main house is accompanied by a studio and guest house, all of which are connected with stone stairs and a pergola. Inside, a window wall along the eastern side of the house offers views down the length of the valley, while windows along the north of the house frame distant mountains. Lofty ceilings that reach eleven feet in places are surfaced in redwood, while walls and built-ins are made of birch. The layout has a fluid quality, with the screened porch leading into a day room which then opens into the dining nook and kitchen. Two bedrooms adjoin a corridor which functions as an exhibition gallery. The site is also unified by the asymmetric play of lines and planes.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 252.