The Legacy of Richard Neutra

            Famous architects and designers from the early nineteen hundreds had some of the largest impact on architecture and interior design today. They were the ones that pushed their way through the disputes of what society dictated that was acceptable. Richard Neutra is one of these architects. He focused on what the client needed and wanted in the space instead of what was dictated was to be placed.

            Richard left a huge legacy. The Austria born architect (1892-1970) gained his education in Austria but practiced mostly in southern California. He worked next to Frank Lloyd Wright briefly which is where he explored his love of glass and the transparency aspect of it. By connecting the user back to nature, there would be a sense of tranquility in the space.

            Frank Lloyd Wright was another architect who seemed to focus on the client’s needs instead of what was dictated. This is one possibility of where Richard Neutra could have gotten the idea from. Richard would often give his clients long and complex questionnaires to understand their needs fully. By doing this the interior of the building that he designed will be shaped for their needs, instead of being squished into the building shell. This approach is extremely similar to the approach we take today as designers, so he was far ahead of his time.

            Architects like these two were always criticized on their designs since they were approaching the design problem in a way that was unthought-of at the time. Their style developed into something similar to

Organic Architecture. As important as it was to Richard Neutra to try to stay true to the nature of the building, he was primarily driven by the form being defined by the function. This was not recognized as being important until later years, but Richard Neutra’s designs were some of the first steps towards this.

            Even through being criticized, Richard Neutra stuck to what he believed was the correct way to approaching design. By doing this it not only earned him a place in history but a credit to forever changing the way design was to be looked at. The concepts he practiced is the shift that Interior Design as a career is taking today. It is Richard Neutras passion that pushed his concept into present day design. 

Sources:

Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture 
RICHARD JOSEF NEUTRA (1892-1970) 
Organic Architecture