Neutra Office Building

For his office building along Glendale Boulevard, Richard Neutra designed a space with two opposing faces. Along its eastern façade, a glass and stucco front, complete with the typical elements of a commercial building, welcomed clients. This commercial area was used for the architectural offices, and the Neutra practice continued to occupy it until 1999. Here, a large open drafting room was carefully illumined with suspended aluminum light troughs. However, Neutra also translated the well-known features of his residential projects—including balconies, wide overhangs, exterior soffit lighting, and gardens—to the opposite, western side of the structure. This area had a secondary purpose. Divided between two levels, each with a single bedroom apartment, the spaces in the rear of the building have been rented to both residential and commercial clients over the years.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 220.