R-M Schindler

R. M. Schindler (1887-1953), was a pivotal modernist architect who designed and built iconoclastic houses and a few small commercial buildings for an enlightened middle class. Born in Vienna and trained by Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos, he settled in Los Angeles, California, in 1920, after having worked with Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago for three years. Although he designed more than 500 projects during his career, over 150 of which were realized, Schindler's distinct buildings contrasted sharply with the dominant International Style, and he remained largely unrecognized by the critical establishment during his lifetime. Schindler called his approach "Space Architecture," a reference to the interior space that foremost interested him. He developed novel ways of working with common, inexpensive materials such as concrete, which suited the warm Los Angeles climate; corrugated fiberglass panels, which he used in his "translucent" houses; and plaster and plywood that allowed him to secure commissions during the Great Depression and World War II. In his so-called Schindler Frame construction, he aimed to reduce the use of building materials to the bare minimum. This volume provides a comprehensive evaluation of Schindler's entire career as both a designer and theoretician. It includes archival plans and early watercolor drawings, as well as newly commissioned photographs by Grant Mudford. Author Judith Sheine examines in detail renowned projects such as Schindler's own Kings Road house (1921-22); the How (1925) and Lovell beach (1922-26) houses; as well as the less-renowned later buildings such as the transparent Kallis (1946) and Tischler (1949-50) houses. Also reproduced in its entirety is Schindler's 1912 manifesto, a poetic yet direct statement of his theories and approach.