Got 15-25 Million Dollars? Maybe You Could Own This Legendary Mid-Century Modern Home
Kaufmann House - Richard Neutra - Christie’s - Architecture - New York Times
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Oct. 30 — The Kaufmann House, a 1946 glass, steel and stone landmark built on the edge of this desert town by the architect Richard Neutra, has twice been at the vanguard of new movements in architecture — helping to shape postwar Modernism and later, as a result of a painstaking restoration in the mid-1990s, spurring a revived interest in mid-20th-century homes.Don't miss the NYT slideshow: (Click the image).
Comments
Finally, something the NYT is good for (though I suspect the price tag helped convince the editors to approve the spread). The photo shown does a very good job of showing how Neutra liked to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces into a combined living space.
The Kaufmann house can be credited with helping save another Neutra house in San Diego on a double lot. A buyer intended to demolish it for a McMansion, but preservationists used photos of the Kaufmann house to impress the new owners on the advantage of restoring the Neutra design. The cost savings of restoration appealed to the husband, and the snob factor of owning a Neutra original sold the wife.
I have mixed feelings about using snob appeal to save significant buildings, but preservationists will tell you mid-century modern buildings are being demolished left and right, and when it comes to saving them, well, whatever works.
Posted by: Lorenzo | November 5, 2007 02:30 PM
Posted by: Bill Quick![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.dailypundit.com/MCM-Interiors/nav-commenters.gif)
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November 7, 2007 03:51 PM