The Chemosphere by John Lautner 1960 - Printable Version

+- Front Desk Architects and Planners Forum (https://frontdesk.co.in/forum)
+-- Forum: Architecture and Planning (https://frontdesk.co.in/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Study Resource (https://frontdesk.co.in/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=114)
+---- Forum: Theory Of Design (https://frontdesk.co.in/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=13)
+----- Forum: Time, Works and Philosophies of Great Architects (https://frontdesk.co.in/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=121)
+----- Thread: The Chemosphere by John Lautner 1960 (/showthread.php?tid=1788)

---

The Chemosphere by John Lautner 1960 - anjali - 12-13-2014

The building stands on the San Fernando Valley side of the Hollywood Hills, just off of Mulholland Drive. It is a one story octagon with around 2200 square feet (200m2) of living space. Most distinctively, the house is perched atop a concrete pole nearly thirty feet high. This innovative design was Lautner’s solution to a site that, with a slope of 45 degrees, was thought to be practically unbuildable. The house is reached by a funicular.

This home, built in 1960 may be the solution to a construction in steep terrain, slope of 45 degrees, hardly accessible, leaving almost intact the surrounding landscape and environmental impact. At least it’s a work that invites reflection and avoids conventional excavation of the mountain, the retaining walls and the increased cost of the project


Raised up on a single central pillar reminds her figure some water tanks, watchtowers or any communication tower. When Lautner saw the sun, drew a straight vertical, one horizontal on top and a curve on it. “Draw it up here,” said his assistant.



A house of 205 square meters, of octagonal shape and whose rooms are distributed on the same floor, accessed via a bridge from the side of the hill, where the structure is almost at ground level which is reached by a elevator from the garage below.

---

RE: The Chemosphere by John Lautner 1960 - Manish Jain - 09-11-2018

Steel struts shoot out from the single column to support the floor of the house. The concrete column, however, is not the element that supports the roof of the residence. It actually does not even continue up into the interior. The inside of the house is a column-free open space The north side of the house contains the public spaces, such as the living room, kitchen, and dining room, and the south side facing the hill slices into 4 bedrooms and a bathroom. At the peak of the house, where the column would have been, Lautner placed a circular rooflight in order to provide lighting in the deepest part of the plan. Under this rooflight there is a fireplace and a sitting area.

---