In a photo from the 1940’s, the sloped roofs echo the shape of the mountains in the distance. The units asymmetrical roofs, with a low slope to one side and a steeper pitch on the other give a more naturalistic appearance to the ensemble. Archival photo by Julius Shulman, J. Paul Getty Trust. In the late 1920’s Hubbard had built the B bar H Ranch, dude ranch on the property in Desert Hot Springs, where Hollywood stars could soak up the sun, ride horseback and rope cattle in absolute privacy. With the end of WWII, and the burgeoning middle class, Hubbard envisioned a new direction for his property and in 1947, Hubbard hired Architect John Lautner to design a modern resort community for a broader audience than the Hollywood elite who had enjoyed the Ranch. [we don’t know anything about Lautner? can we do a brief summary of him and why he was brought on?] John Lautner, only 36 years old had received wide acclaim for the modern houses he had been designing in Los Angeles for a decade and would have been a natural choice for Hubbard who wanted a fresh vision.We don’t know for sure why only the first four units were built, but the hard work the current owners, Tracy Beckman and Ryan Trow...
The view from the interior is through a continuous wall of glass to the cactus garden and terrace, with just a glimpse of the sky above the surrounding high concrete walls. Mike Schwartz PhotographyA Modern PuebloThe four 700 sf apartments were identical in layout, with high walls separating the apartments- sort of a modern take on the traditional row house. This is a surprising approach given the vast landscape of the desert where there is plenty of room to spread out.Each unit is surrounded by high walls, with no direct view to the outside, only up over the top of the walls to the sky. Again, a surprise given the spectacular surrounding mountains of Palm Desert. Can we reference anything about the interiors? Are these finishes true to the original design or are we looking at a modern-day interpretation? The big moves on the interiors- the light grey concrete ceilings and floors, the wood frame windows and redwood paneling-are true to the original. The original finishes in kitchens and bathrooms had been changed by previous owners, so Tracy and Ryan choose new finishes that were in sync with Lautner’s aesthetic, but updated to today’s standards of functionality. For furniture, the...
(Photo 4) Mike Schwartz Photography By lowering the floor level relative to the courtyard garden, the exterior surface is right a ground level when seated.The effect is anything but confining, as Lautner makes one entire side of the house glass facing a narrow outdoor space between the glass line and the “party wall”, that contains a desert garden. These “party” walls are a modern version of the common wall that separates and provides fire protection between row houses. (For plants, see next paragraph)[anything about the plants? did lautner choose these? can you describe what was meant by “party wall”?]
Two of the walls of the enclosed terrace garden are built of lightweight redwood construction. This a good indication that Lautner was inexperienced in working in the desert, as clear-finished wood deteriorates quickly under the desert sun. [interesting that he was inexperienced in the desert but still chosen for this project? anything more on why he was selected? any other desert novice mistakes?] (see next paragraph)The walled desert garden is the focal-point for each unit, a sort of miniaturized version of the wide-open desert - and totally private.In the photos taken in the 1940’s, the gardens included lawns with stepping stone, and other water-loving plants, also a desert novice mistake. The current cactus gardens are better adapted to the desert environment, and the sand in which the cacti are placed creates a zen garden aesthetic.
The desert garden is two feet above the interior floor level, aligning with the backrest of the couch, giving the impression that one is enveloped in nature. Dan Chavkin Photography Lautner lowered the interior floor height of the dwellings two feet below the ground giving a feeling of being contained within the earth, much as in the early Pueblo settlements of the Southwest, where the clustered homes were tucked into the ground.The interiors of the Lautner Compound, enveloped with protecting walls, appear almost womb like, protected from the harsh desert, (and snooping neighbors!) When seated in the living room of Lautner’s design, your eye level is at the same height as the low desert plantings, making a beautiful connection to nature.
A window set writhin restored redwood paneling looks out on the cactus garden, and make’s a focal point for the compact galley kitchen. The window sill is at the height of the raised garden. Mike Schwartz Photography.Even in the kitchen, the window sill is closely aligned with the raised height of the outdoor cactus garden.[is this how the original kitchen looked?]According to Ryan, a previous owner hired John Lautner in 1980 to redesign the kitchen eating space, creating the new cantilevered bar seating and removing a portion of the redwood wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the unit. Later during the renovation, Tracy and Ryan updated the kitchen further, to include stainless steel cabinets in the style of the Sheats Goldstein residence, along with new poured concrete countertops. Convention cooktops and other appliances were added.
The living units are beautifully nested together. The total footprint for the four units, including parking and terrace/garden is only 4,750. This type of clustered housing is great way to achieve a high density of housing while preserving open space.The layout of the units is also anything but traditional, with almost no right angles to the plan, helping the diminutive 700 sf of each unit appear much larger, including an open plan kitchen, living and dining area. The sunbathing courtyard is surrounded with high walls, separating it from the adjacent parking, and providing privacy. In addition to privacy, a walled compound is well suited for the desert environment, avoiding the heat gain through glass, particularly on the south and west sides of buildings.
Lautner reversed standard construction, where steel beams are installed first and concrete is placed on top. This approach allows the steel beams to define the exterior appearance. (Optional Photo 1)Dan Chauvkin Photography Steel ExoskeletonThe structure of the compound is primarily made of a concrete, starting with a slab-on-grade, and poured concrete walls that make the “party” walls separating the units. Eschewing right angles in the project, Lautner designed pleated and tapered concrete walls that seem to grow out of the land. Four steel beams that support the roof of each unit are set within the concrete walls. The angled roof shapes, low to the ground, seems to echo the surrounding mountains. Lautner then suspends the concrete roof below the steel beams, leaving the steel beams exposed on top. These angled steel beams are the signature design element of the complex, visible from a distance, almost like the exoskeleton of a prehistoric dinosaur.
(Taliesin) Lautner takes his own approach. Where Wright used rough concrete with boulders set within it, and wood clad beams that give a rustic appearance, The Lautner uses sleek steel and smooth concrete for a more refined appearance. Carol M. Highsmith, courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence on John LautnerWright first coined the term “Organic” architecture to describe his design approach. The term has come to describe a movement in design, where the architecture is inspired by nature, appearing to grow out of the site. This is seen in Wright’s Fallingwater residence and Taliesin West, his desert residential apprenticeship school. For both projects, stone and concrete walls connect the building to the earth. Other Wright apprentices including Mark Mills, Paolo Soleri and Buckminster Fuller followed this approach and became well-known practitioners of the Organic Architecture, when they established their own practices. Lautner was born in Marquette, Michigan in 1911. He grew up in a home where his parents were devoted to the arts and architecture. As child his family designed and built themselves a cabin called “Midgaard”, on...
(Taliesin) Lautner borrowed the structural design of the exterior wood beams from Taliesin’s roof. Perhaps he had learned a lesson from the desert, and used more durable steel instead of wood. Courtesy The Lautner CompoundWhile Lautner was an apprentice at Taliesin, he was deeply involved in the construction of the Taliesin West drafting room. We can see clearly how the sloped roof of the drafting room, supported from above with brightly colored “Cherokee Red” (one of Wright’s favorite colors) wood clad beams, influenced Lautner in the design of the Lautner Compound.[would be interesting to know how he made the jump to palm springs. did he do other projects there?]Lautner left the fellowship and established his own practice in Los Angeles in 1938. Wright was a mercurial figure, and he cut off ties with many apprentices who left to start their own architectural practices. Not so for Lautner, who wrote to Wright that he was“ready to do anything you or your Fellowship need” After leaving Taliesin, he worked together with Wright on 11 projects over the next 5 years. We’re not sure how Lautner came into the orbit of Lucien Hubbard, one of the greatest directors in Hollywood. We do kn...
racy Beckmann and Ryan Trowbridge on the terrace of the end unit. The intimate outdoor space is animated by the red steel beams and tapered and folded concrete walls. Photo Dan Chavkin PhotographyRestoring a Desert Masterpiece The current owners, business partners ,Ryan Trowbridge and Tracy Beckmann [are they a couple?], discovered the “Lautner Compound” by accident in 2007, while researching John Lautner for inspiration for a renovation project they had invested in together in the Silverlake neighborhood of LA [for a client? for themselves?]. They came across the misnamed “Desert Hot Springs Motel” (it comprised apartments) in Desert Hot Springs, for sale on a real estate web site, and drove out to see it the next morning. Tracy, an interior designer, had fallen hard for John Lautner in the late ‘90’s when she had been hired as a set designer for a film shoot at Lautner’s iconic Sheats-Goldstein House. She loved how the coffered concrete roof cantilevered improbably over the slope of the Hollywood hills, appearing to be lifted from the ground, leaving it’s imprint in the shape of the swimming pool below, telling me “…my life was never the same; I knew one day I had to own a piece ...
(Photo 12) ©Jeff Green; Courtesy of LACMA The Sheats Goldstein House A classic of Organic Design, the house is like a futurist cave dwelling, with the rear tucked into the steep hill. The open front of the house was originally designed to have no glass separating inside and out, only a curtain of conditioned air, more of a camping site perhaps than a house. When he renovated the house for the next Owner, Lautner bowed to practicality and added a glass wall between the inside and outside.
(Photo 13) Courtesy The Lautner Compound. The Original Shape: The Lautner Compound was in poor shape and the original color scheme was only partially intact. The redwood siding around the terrace had deteriorated and needed replacement.Tracy described the property as being “in terrible shape”, with most of the redwood rotted away, and the original interior and exterior covered in stucco. [what did they do about the wood? is it redwood now? what did they do to make the house more desert resilient?]The exterior wood had badly deteriorated and had to be replaced in its entirety. The wood is maintained with a coat of teak oil every 3 months. The interior wood had been removed in previous remodels, and it was rebuilt based on historic photos, and was finished with a coat of teak oil.
Lautner’s design had layers of complexity, combining exposed structural steel, concrete and redwood trim, all coming together with no right angles, that was challenging to build and restore.However, the “bones” of the buildings -concrete walls and roof and steel supporting beams – were intact. The poor condition of the property made loans difficult to obtain, so Tracy and Ryan did the work themselves over the course of 4 years. Tracy took the lead on interior design, focusing on interior finishes. Ryan, a skilled furniture designer and builder, took on the carpentry and general construction. They subcontracted specialized electrical and plumbing work. One of the biggest challenges was the lack of right angles in Lautner’s design, where replacing the redwood paneling often required several cuts to get right. [was their goal to restore it to its original design? other?]Their goal was to be respectful of the original Lautner design, but to update the interiors to be comfortable for today’s standards. In particular the kitchens and bathrooms had be changed over the years and the original finishes were lost. For the bathrooms, the fixtures were replace with new, but were kept in their o...
The original black and white photos made it possible to see some finishes, for example the grain of the natural wood siding, but painted colors were a mystery. Originally, the garden off of the terrace was lawn. The director’s chairs are a fitting touch for a Hollywood director client! Archival photo by Julius Shulman, J. Paul Getty Trust They removed the rough stucco covering the concrete walls and ceiling of the units, and then troweled on smooth cement with a wax finish. It was a challenge for them to know the original colors of the buildings, and used other Lautner buildings as reference, keeping concrete and redwood their natural color, adding a pop of red to steel beams, like Wright’s Taliesin West Drafting Room. [were there other challenges besides colors? how about appliances? interior finishes and materials?]Another challenge was keeping the roof from leaking. Ryan said he discovered a basic tar paper roof and that was no match for waterproofing the concrete roof suspended from the steel beams. The steel and concrete move differently under the extreme heat of the desert summer, leading to leaks. He removed the old roofing and replaced it with a modern Spray Polyurethane Fo...
The current owners reimagined the front of the compound, adding a landscaped courtyard where previously there was parking. Mike Schwartz Photography.They added some elements of their own, walling in the property for privacy and to protect from flash floods that have damaged the property in the past. [besides this is everything a recreation of the original?](There is also a swimming pool, but I think it does not tie in that well with the rest of the compound)
(Photo 15a) An outdoor terrace was added on the east sideof unit 2. Echoing the original design theme by Lautner, the terrace is sunken below the planted area on the left side of the photo. Dan Chavkin Photography.They don’t allow cars to enter the grounds any longer, as Tracy told me “because the inner courtyard is a place for reflection, peace and privacy…not cars”
(Photo 16) The bathroom finishes were replaced, but the original layout was retained. The light fixture is from Liz’s Antique Hardware in LAThe sink is the Scola Sink from Duravit. The tile is Heath Ceramics.Mike Schwartz PhotographyDid the article get cut off? Finally, after 4 years of overseeing the construction, in 2012 they re-opened the renamed “Lautner Compound”, as four luxury living units.
70 years later, the buildings have been restored to their original appearance Despite years exposed to the harsh desert sun, the steel beams and concrete walls and roof were structurally sound. Dan Chauvkin Photography.HOUZZ AT A GLANCE?Set incongruously on a street lined with modest ranch-style homes, the Lautner Compound is a cluster of 4 attached homes partially set down into the earth, with undulating steel and concrete roofs. The dwellings are ingeniously nested together, achieving privacy and connection to the desert, while occupying a tiny footprint, a great inspiration for homeowners today wishing to live more sustainably in the desert. The buildings were known to fans of the architect John Lautner as the only surviving multi-family project he had designed, but were otherwise overlooked as nearby Palm Springs became justly famous for its modern houses. The Lautner Compound was built long before the neighborhood grew up around it, but was so durable that it able survive 72 years of neglect and ill-conceived renovations. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of business partners, Tracy Beckmann and Ryan Trowbridge, the compound has been restored and updated as rentals, and was ...
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