rudolph schindler

Last night we went to a lecture by Kimberli Meyer, director of the MAK Center, at the Gamble House on the life and architecture of Rudolph Schindler. We love Schindler not only because we love modernist architecture, but because there is so much of it in our neighborhood here in Los Angeles. Here are 11 new things I learned about Schindler.

1. He wrote his own manifesto in 1911 at the age of 24. How many of use can do that?!
2. It was in a tent camping in yosemite that he realized the necessity of a sense of outdoors indoors.
3. He married a very leftist, eclectic woman named Pauline who made their home a place for artists, musicians, intellectuals and the like to convene.
4. He never turned down any job even despite the budget. WIsh he was still alive.
5. The difference between he and Neutra - he always built with the land in mind whereas Neutra followed the international style meaning, like a machine, his sort of building could be built anywhere. Still love Neutra too.

6. His middle name was Michael, is that Viennese?
7. Besides architecture, he also got an art degree and was also a good writer. That's ambition!
8. He loved to optimize space by adding custom shelves and lighting in nooks that would've otherwise been overlooked. This also always made things seem bigger than they really were.
9. He prefered not to use white on the walls, but the colors found in the immediate outdoors.
10. A guidebook containing all the buildings he built in Los Angeles exists so we can do a Sunday drive. Definitely my idea of fun*

11. Lastly, we have the same birthday!