Richard Neutra, Landscape Architect

A Lecture by Barbara Lamprecht, PhD, Architectural Historian

Richard Neutra (1892-1970) insisted that his designs were not buildings but “soul anchorages,” “habitats,” and “constellations,” environments that fused constructions and site. While renowned for his cool, sleek interpretations of Modernism, his first job after World War I was as an assistant to a gardener, on his knees planting seedlings in boxes. His employer, though, was no ordinary gardener, but one of Switzerland’s most famous early purveyors of Modern landscape design. At the time, landscape architecture as a profession was emerging from garden design, horticulture, and botany; it was an exciting time when new theoretical positions were established. Neutra was introduced to other now-iconic figures in the field, later integrating his knowledge of plants with ideas about evolutionary biology’s role in human well-being.

The event is free of charge and no reservations are required.  

photo credits:

Above: Richard Neutra, Kuhns house, 1960s. Photo by John Lary Kuhns. Used with the kind permission of the family.

Right: View through patient waiting room  Source: Photo by Julius Shulman. Copyright The J. Paul Getty Trust. The Getty Research Institute ID no grill_2004_r_10_b0081_9_2098_20.