Expansion of Neutra Beach House
Lewin's villa, designed by Richard Neutra in 1938, is located at the foot of a cliff in Santa Monica, California, and turns its mass towards the infinite Pacific. The current owners decided to expand the original villa with additional common rooms, a pool, a garage with parking space, service areas, and to redesign all outdoor spaces.
The question of how to build upon the existing masterpiece may seem very difficult at first glance, but architect Steven Ehrlich successfully tackled it. With sensitivity, he reconstructed Neutra's villa and designed the new part of the house as a reflection of contemporary technological, material, and functional possibilities. He was largely inspired by Richard Neutra's designs, but not by the forms of the existing structure, rather by the principles of the house, as Frank Lloyd Wright used to say. The presence of curves in Neutra's floor plan was reflected in the use of curves in Ehrlich's design. The original "spider" support system was expressed by Ehrlich in a new material - steel. He also chose materials that followed the original black-and-white color scheme of Neutra's house, using monochromatic materials in the new extension - exposed concrete, stainless steel, and glass panels.
The garage and service rooms in the extension serve as a noise barrier from the neighboring Pacific Coast Highway. The extension is positioned next to the existing villa in such a way that its L shape creates an internal courtyard. The central space of the extension is a glass pavilion, which is connected to the villa by a glass bridge and covered by a stainless steel arch reflecting the illuminated surface of the azure pool.
Ehrlich understood and founded his concept of the extension on the echoes of Neutra's idea of intertwining the interior with the exterior, the sight axes, and the flows of transparency delineated by glass and concrete walls. In connection with contemporary technical possibilities, Neutra's views on architecture gain the appropriate dimension and charge. After years, we can appreciate the timelessness of Neutra's thoughts.
Thanks to the understanding and respect of the architect and his clients towards the historical qualities and the use of modern and high-quality concepts and materials, a beautiful example of residential architecture has emerged in Santa Monica. The quality plot and the layout of functions expressed in contemporary forms are the main advantages of this house.
The question of how to build upon the existing masterpiece may seem very difficult at first glance, but architect Steven Ehrlich successfully tackled it. With sensitivity, he reconstructed Neutra's villa and designed the new part of the house as a reflection of contemporary technological, material, and functional possibilities. He was largely inspired by Richard Neutra's designs, but not by the forms of the existing structure, rather by the principles of the house, as Frank Lloyd Wright used to say. The presence of curves in Neutra's floor plan was reflected in the use of curves in Ehrlich's design. The original "spider" support system was expressed by Ehrlich in a new material - steel. He also chose materials that followed the original black-and-white color scheme of Neutra's house, using monochromatic materials in the new extension - exposed concrete, stainless steel, and glass panels.
The garage and service rooms in the extension serve as a noise barrier from the neighboring Pacific Coast Highway. The extension is positioned next to the existing villa in such a way that its L shape creates an internal courtyard. The central space of the extension is a glass pavilion, which is connected to the villa by a glass bridge and covered by a stainless steel arch reflecting the illuminated surface of the azure pool.
Ehrlich understood and founded his concept of the extension on the echoes of Neutra's idea of intertwining the interior with the exterior, the sight axes, and the flows of transparency delineated by glass and concrete walls. In connection with contemporary technical possibilities, Neutra's views on architecture gain the appropriate dimension and charge. After years, we can appreciate the timelessness of Neutra's thoughts.
Thanks to the understanding and respect of the architect and his clients towards the historical qualities and the use of modern and high-quality concepts and materials, a beautiful example of residential architecture has emerged in Santa Monica. The quality plot and the layout of functions expressed in contemporary forms are the main advantages of this house.
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