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book cover for Richard Neutra and the Making of the Lovell Health House, 1925–35

Richard Neutra and the Making of the Lovell Health House, 1925–35

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Pub Date Sep 02 2025 | Archive Date Aug 24 2025
Getty Publications | Getty Research Institute

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Description

This absorbing volume traces the Lovell Health House from its inspiration through its construction to its impact.

This book tells the story of the Lovell Health House, designed and built by Austrian American architect Richard Neutra (1892–1970). Perched on a steep hillside with panoramic views of Los Angeles, the home pioneered the use of concrete and steel; radically advanced the ideals of hygienic, carefree, and open-air living; and explored new relationships between space, structure, the natural world, and physical and psychological well-being. It was widely documented and written about in leading architectural journals when it was erected, and these publications elevated the house to the status of an icon in the history of modernism and an essential work of the international modern movement. It also helped to launch the global career of one of the central figures of twentieth-century architecture.

The book includes new texts by Edward Dimendberg, Crosby Doe, and Nicholas Olsberg, a chronology by Thomas Hines, and historic texts by Willard D. Morgan and Richard Neutra. At the heart of the book are six narrated portfolios of visual and textual documentation on the background, design, making, circulation, reception and resonance of this seminal house. Featuring historical photography by Morgan and contemporary photography by Grant Mumford, this volume will help bring Neutra’s masterpiece to an entirely new audience.
This absorbing volume traces the Lovell Health House from its inspiration through its construction to its impact.

This book tells the story of the Lovell Health House, designed and built by Austrian...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9798887120089
PRICE $50.00 (USD)
PAGES 144

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Featured Reviews

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Smart, well-researched, and surprisingly readable. Richard Neutra’s Lovell Health House in Los Angeles is a sleek, steel-framed home clinging to the hillside. How did this even get built in the 1920s? Dimendberg’s book has the answers. It’s like a behind-the-scenes documentary in print, showing how Neutra pulled off this radical design, from the early sketches to the challenges of construction. It features essays, old magazine clippings, Neutra’s own notes, even a timeline of how the house went from wild idea to modernist icon. There’s a fun irony in how something meant to be ultra-functional (a "health house" for clean living) became a kind of celebrity, endlessly photographed and written about.

If you’re into architecture, especially modernism or L.A.’s design history, this is a must-read. If you’re just casually interested, it’s still a cool look at how a single building can change the way people think about homes. Either way, it’s way more engaging than your typical coffee-table book.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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