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volume5 Chatroom with Dion Neutra

mark d- Thank you Dion for coming in to the volume5 project.

Dion Neutra- Glad to be here; this is a first for me! I'm an architect, working mostly on restoration and salvation of our projects at this time. I'm the president of our firm and my father's partner.

joan- I have a friend in Palm Springs who bought the Miller House designed by your father and he is restoring it. It is very exciting project.

Dion Neutra-  Joan, your friend promised he'd contact me about the restoration of the Miller house! Remind him.

joan- I will pass on your message to Hal.

mark d- Is there a role for the level of experimentation in materials and construction methods that were key to the VDL House in projects today? Does Cal Poly Pomona support this materials and construction research in
projects today?

Dion Neutra- I'm not sure what Cal Poly supports in the school just now; hopefully they'll support the restoration of some of the features we designed in 35 years ago.

mark d- Do you see Architects today using there own projects as a testing lab ?

Dion Neutra- Mark, I do see that; seems like that is one of their main opportunities when they can design for themselves.

mark d- What was the design process like in the Neutra office? What design tools were used?  Did your studio build design models of the projects? I ask because I have never seen photos of design models from your studio in the books.

Dion Neutra-  Mark: the design process was very interactive; we'd shoot ideas at RJN and he'd mark up prints and send them back. We did some study models; pretty simple, but I have some in.

mark d- today it seems that most designs studios develop from 3d cad models or chipboard models. What was the role of perspective drawings? Sketch perspectives which were done during your father's travels were shown at the Gallery at Cal Poly Pomona. They were great to see... where is that show ( collection ) now?

Dion Neutra- The profession has changed drastically since the advent of the computer. For us it WAS the perspective that communicated the project. Cal Poly still has the collection of travel sketches. WE now have a traveling exhibition which features a number of RJN original sketches.

Future Architect- Mr. Neutra, do you find it more of a help or a hindrance in your career by having such a famous father?

Dion Neutra-   FA; it's been a help overall. But don't ask me in this forum to explain what it was llike to be the son of a famous architect.

mark d-  Was he a good teacher to you?

Dion Neutra- In many ways I feel like I participated in the work, so I influenced IT.

mark d- After the design and construction of the Lovell Health House, (which I think is one of the greatest works of modern architecture) your father was about 37... was it hard for him to "live up to that project" in his the rest of his work?
How did he think about the importance of the Lovell house to the body of his work?

Dion Neutra- MARK, re Lovell; good question. In many ways this project was the metaphor for all that was to follow; I don't think it ever seemed like something 'to live up to', but rather it became in inspiration for what was to follow.

Gina- I just had the opportunity to see the recently restored Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, they did a wonderful job.  Were you involved in the restoration?

Dion Neutra- Gina, the Kaufmann was indeed a unique job. Gina, I wasn't involved with the Kaufmann.

mark d- What do you think of Philip Johnson's Design addition, the Crystal Cathedral, Schuler's church, that you and your father did? How important was Philip Johnson in building your father's career?

Dion Neutra-  Mark, in many ways the Crystal Cathedral was the antithesis of what we tried to do at GG; it was quite a shift. But early on, Johnson was very important to my dad; even got him one of his early well-paying consulting jobs with White Motor.

mark d- What are your plans with the Neutra archive at Cal Poly ? Are you working there?

Dion Neutra-   Mark, on the archives at Cal Poly, I've not been kept abreast of what they are doing; think they suffer from lack of funding for personnel.

mark d- Still? Does the University use the house for teaching today? Does the University support the restoration and maintenance of house?

daniel-   Did Johnson consult with you on the Crystal Cathedral?

Dion Neutra-  Nope, never heard from Phillip on that one!

Dion Neutra-  At GG, glass is a common denominator, but look at the window cleaning nightmare that PJ created for his owners! The steel space frame IS overpowering, but the space is dramatic; there is no doubt.

Future Architect- are you happy in general with the restoration work going on at the various Neutra houses?

Dion Neutra-  FA, in many cases, I'm not happy with the wholesale demolition of any sign of 'age' that has gone on with many of the restorations. Often, I feel they are no longer really anything more than shells of their former glory.

mark d- What is the mission today of the Neutra House (VDL House)?

joan- There was a modern architecture symposium last weekend in Palm Springs and one of the comments from Williams family was how much the new owner was changing his design. Do you think people have an obligation to retain the original design?

mark d- are the original materials of the houses still on the market? Do you help with that research. Do you use the web to support Neutra Home owners?

Dion Neutra- finding original materials and staying with the original spirit are objectives we try to follow, tempered with reality. Sometimes the cost may require some rethinking.

Dion Neutra- Joan, 'obligation' is too strong, but it would be wonderful if the 'spirit' would be respected in these restorations.

joan-  The architects working on the Kaufmann house explained how hard it was to obtain the original materials, what they had to go through to find a certain granite in Utah, it's quite a bit of work.

JVCARCH- Regarding your CC complex, I understand that you had a strong influence in the design of the Tower of Hope. It has always been a strong icon identified with CC. Dion any interesting insights on it's program or design?

mark d- Has the Web helped? Do owners get help from Cal Poly?

Dion Neutra- Mark, so far, the web has mostly helped people know that I exist and has acted as a clearing house for queries. I hope in time it will assume the role of inventory of remaining Neutra projects. It has figured in our long standing battle to try to save the Gettysburg Cyclorama Center.

Dion Neutra- JVCArch; yep, if it weren't for me, the TOH wouldn't have been built! It was a unique project; only about 2200sf/floor with 13 floors.

mark d- It has a GREAT stair.. we were talking about it in class yesterday The vertical cables.. Can you do that today?

daniel- or are you more limited in doing stairs like that because of a more restrictive building code?

Dion Neutra- Regarding the stair at TOH, who knows if that would be allowed today; actually I don't see why not! I was pretty proud of that stair! Did you know within a week of opening someone tried to commit suicide by jumping from the 12th floor off that stair? They landed in the 12" deep pool and SURVIVED!

mark d- Speaking of Surviving... Is your book "Survival through Design" in Print?  We were looking for it online for a class

Jessica- Wow, that's some history!

Dion Neutra-  So Nick, what DO you do?

Nick- I'm working on becoming a great designer!

Dion Neutra- Jessica, if you ever can get to the roof of the Tower of Hope, you'll see that in lieu of a railing, we have a shallow pool about 4' wide protecting the deck from would be suicides; it's the same idea. So far no one has jumped from THERE.

Dion Neutra- MARK, We have some copies of Survival left which we sell on our website, along with a few other out-of-print titles.

mark d-  So much has been written about your father and RM Schindler... What do you think of his work and how history has remembered him? Do you know about the MOCA show that is coming?

Dion Neutra-  Mark, I'm going to the opening of the new Moca show tomorrow; it has some of our stuff in it; should be worth seeing. I'm sure my dad would be pleased at the play our work has gotten in recent years. Folks I'm running out of gas, and getting writers cramp; I think I'm about done for this session; what do you think?

Nick- Do you think your father would be happy with how people perceive his work?

mark d-  Thank you Dion . We should talk about the support for the VDL house. Any help we can offer at the volume5 web site?

Dion Neutra- I think we should say that the VDL house needs everyone's support. Come join us Sunday night,
and if you can't let me know your ideas of how we could raise that money! With that, over and out! Thanks everyone.