23 Facts About Richard Neutra

Richard Joseph Neutra was an Austrian-American architect.

Richard Neutra's Jewish-Hungarian father Samuel Neutra was a proprietor of a metal foundry, and his mother, Elizabeth "Betty" Glaser Neutra was a member of the IKG Wien.

Richard Neutra had two brothers who emigrated to the United States, and a sister, Josephine Theresia "Pepi" Weixlgartner, an artist who was married to the Austrian art historian Arpad Weixlgartner and who emigrated later to Sweden, where her work can be seen at The Museum of Modern Art.

In June 1914, Richard Neutra's studies were interrupted when he was ordered to Trebinje, where he served as an lieutenant in the artillery until the end of the war.

Richard Neutra was just a small town clerk in Vienna, but then he became his commander.

Richard Neutra took a leave in 1917 to return to the Technische Hochschule to take his final examinations.

Richard Neutra contributed to the firm's competition entry for a new commercial centre for Haifa, Palestine, and to the Zehlendorf housing project in Berlin.

Richard Neutra married Dione Niedermann, the daughter of an architect, in 1922.

Richard Neutra moved to the United States by 1923 and became a naturalized citizen in 1929.

Richard Neutra worked briefly for Frank Lloyd Wright before accepting an invitation from his close friend and university companion Rudolf Schindler to work and live communally in Schindler's Kings Road House in California.

Richard Neutra subsequently developed his own practice and went on to design numerous buildings embodying the International Style, twelve of which are designated as Historic Cultural Monuments, including the Lovell Health House and the Richard and Dion Neutra VDL Research House.

In 1932, Richard Neutra was included in the seminal MoMA exhibition on modern architecture, curated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock.

In 1949 Neutra formed a partnership with Robert E Alexander that lasted until 1958, which finally gave him the opportunity to design larger commercial and institutional buildings.

In 1965, Richard Neutra formed a partnership with his son Dion Richard Neutra.

Between 1960 and 1970, Richard Neutra created eight villas in Europe, four in Switzerland, three in Germany, and one in France.

Richard Neutra's work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

Richard Joseph Neutra died on April 16,1970, at the age of 78.

Richard Neutra was known for the attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project, in contrast to other architects eager to impose their artistic vision on a client.

Richard Neutra sometimes used detailed questionnaires to discover his client's needs, much to their surprise.

Richard Neutra's domestic architecture was a blend of art, landscape, and practical comfort.

The Richard Neutra Office Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1980, Richard Neutra's widow donated the Van der Leeuw House, then valued at $207,500, to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to be used by the university's College of Environmental Design faculty and students.

In 2011, the Richard Neutra-designed Kronish House at 9439 Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills sold for $12.8 million.