http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jZzoN7EKqxU (Obviously, the release has been postponed.)
Steve Jobs grew up in an Eichler. Jobs attributed a lot of his design style/standards to growing up in that home (see his blockbuster biography for more.) Someone I know owns an Eichler. She's introduced me and countless others to John Lautner through her site. I now think of him as The California architect, even surpassing his mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright, as this country's best architect.
hey that's cool i like a lot of Lautner's work! IMO though, FLW still mastered the ability to blend a structure into the surrounding, where Lautners stand out from ...interior mood, FLW was famous for saying the exterior simply resulted from what the interior design was, he somehow captured a mood inside, i don't think anyone has been able to match yet ...that's IMHO
There is a strong FLW feel that I experience in his buildings. That feeling of serenity alone puts him in a class all his own.
If any of you ever has the opportunity,visit Falling Water in Pennsylvania. How they built that back in the '30's in the remote area it's in is unbelievable.When you come out of the woods,and you see this house jutting out of the rocks,it's just amazing. You're right about the height of his rooms. He was short in stature,so he made the ceilings lower than most. Image Unavailable, Please Login
^^ LOL ...all true FLW designs definitely had flaws ...have you seen a few of his homes where the laundry room had to be accessed via a tunnel? definitely some after thought the one area that Eichler suceeded over FLW was IMO to open the space, without restrictions ...i know FLW opened the floor plan up, but he'd then partition into private spaces again, and the ceiling height of course ...he showed always a real simplisity to his designs, that i appreciate John, falling water is definitely on my "must visit" list, iconic ....have you visitied there? ...it's on my list with a few other FLW buildings (SC johnson building, Taliesin west) the story goes that FLW had his students draw up the falling water property for weeks, in extreme detail, every stone, tree ...but still he didn't draw any designs ...one day the client called, and was only a couple hours away, which then FLW sat down and drew up all the plans within those couple of hours before the clients arrived ...fantastic!
Yes,I have been there. Words can't describe the place.But I don't think I would want to actually live in that house........the constant sound of running water would eventually drive me crazy.........as in water touture But if you can look past all the quirky things about the place,remember it was done in the '30's !!! Once again,a huge ego I've read he pretty much wrote the manual on ego size.
Yes, it truly is amazing! We made it our first stop on our RV trip from Pa. to Ca. when we were moving back to Ca. in 2008. As you mentioned, the remote location made it even more unbelievable. I am 6'6" so the ceiling heights were annoying but the sights and sounds would make up for it.
very cool! it was apparently the kaufmanns weekend home 'til the 60s, then only on display since he was that certainly, i have the pbs documentary by ken burns, in one interview (mike wallace iirc) where FLW says that "if i (he) had claimed to be the greatest architect that ever lived, that i (he) was not wrong to have said so" LOL
he used to charge students to intern with him at Taliesen West in AZ :0 he figured he was doing you a favor
cool John ...how close were those ceilings to your head? and he'd work them like dogs too! in the pbs doc they remark how every day they worked labor for the majority of the time, and some design besides funny, everything you read says how FLW made it felt that his presence was a favor to those around him ...i think a lot of his legend he made, imagine if he wasn't so, if he was a more reserved character, would he have the fame he does now? (or even then?)
one thing IMO made Eichler more successful, is they were functional ...in sunny CA being able to come in & out so easily, and fit the life style of hosting many guests ...with an outside living space besides falling water, FLW had more closed in spaces, some balconys and porches, but still more enclosed ....and Eichler had garages (or at least car ports) Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can attest to that story as it was specifically mentioned when we toured the archives on site. I did a 2wk summer studio a bunch of years ago at Taliesin West. We camped in the desert as did the interns, we had a studio in a class/lecture room on the grounds. Meals were in the common kitchen as used when he was there and meals were communal, cocktail party in the main living space that is photographed constantly and opportunity to hear stories. The main studio was/is still being used for work. We met a few people that worked with FLW, toured buildings in the area. It was a great two weeks. The highlight was a tour of the archive and seeing the very drawings you reference in your post and especially the 3d sketch he himself prepared for that presentation that sealed the deal for Fallingwater. We also saw the pencils that were on his desk the day he died, they were sealed and stored for posterity. It was a very special two weeks in the desert... Adding to the fun was me making the trip in my alfa spider out from Carmel where I was living/working at the time having my office with my father. FTFY
true to say ...i meant that Eichler designs mostly had one incorporated although, that is a downside of the Eichler designs, the front facade is typically occupied by garage or carport Image Unavailable, Please Login
why is that a downside, his designs weren't about the "front" as many are, his were about the importance of where you lived and used his houses given the environment they enjoyed and the ability to live inside and as outside. That seems practical and in keeping with the architecture he practiced.
I happened to bump into the Kaufmann book about fifteen years ago with twenty minutes to spare. Within a week we got in the car at around midnight, drove all the way to FW from NYC, took the extended tour, and drove home the same day so I could go to work. We've been back several times, both to take in the house that much more and to drive the backroads from FW to the DC area. The house is an incredible achievement. Move one piece of furniture, though, and it's all over for that room/area.
Not to be a detail tyrant here, but Joseph Eichler was not an architect; he was a very open-minded developer who wanted to bring California modernism to the masses. Most of the "Eichler" designs were done by the following firms: - Anshen and Allen - Jones (A. Quincy) and Emmons - Claude Oakland Personally, the A. Quincy Jones designs tend to be my favorite, but that's of very little surprise since he's my favorite architect, at the moment.
