Wright Chat

[Roderick Grant]

Reidy, I don't recall this house in "Twilight." There was a scene in another Lautner house, one of the pair for Polin and Jacobsen (I believe the latter) in "John Lautner, Architect" ... or, "Have T-Square, Will Travel," 1949, pp 56-59. I believe it was James Garner's character's residence.

[SDR]

Garner and Newman appear in "Twilight," it seems. In the trailer we see only the Cedric Gibbons residence ? There's a Gae Aulenti table lamp at 2:08 . . .

S

[Reidy]

Maybe it wasn't this one. It was the Garner character's in any case, and it may be briefly visible in the trailer when Garner is on screen.

I hope the scene where Sarandon flips out and trashes Gibbon was a mockup.

[Tom]

Will have to take RG's word about the stair.
Very hard to understand that tho - from the posted plans.
Looks like stair between LR and Kitchen goes down to landing in far north corner of MasterBedroom.
Once down, one turns left to bedroom or right to outside stair to plunge pool.
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW

[Tom]

can't figure out how to delete this mistaken post
Apologies
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW

[Tom]

[Tom]

Really bad writing but new pictures:

https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/wolff-house/
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW

[Roderick Grant]

Tom, you are right. The stair behind the fireplace goes to both the entrance and the guest wing. The stair across from the fireplace goes to the master bedroom on the lower level. The guest wing (which plan has never been published) is 2 stories, and must be the location of the curved staircase.

As I said, Lautner's drawings leave much to be desired, such as clarity.

[Tom]

Okay good.
Defeinitely agree about Lautners plans - very muddy.
This was an unknown house to me before this post.
It's complexity seems to arise from carefull concepts
not mere "willfulness"
Great house.
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW

[SDR]

Thanks for the last link, Tom. A couple of the photos show the corbeled railroad-tie wall that's shown on the drawings. Another shows that the pool was visible from the street above---likely blocked now by the addition ?

S

[SDR]

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[Tom]

The only question of critique that comes up for me concerns the planes of plaster.
Assuming Lautner had free hand and a blank check here I wonder why he chose plaster instead of a wood finish?
For example say: the main ceiling.
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW

[SDR]

Plaster isn't the cheapest surface---especially the sand plaster that Wright et al preferred. Sheetrock probably is, but that isn't the point: sometimes a
designer wants a neutral (and light-colored) plane as a foil for darker and/or richer surfaces. There's a big difference in the quality and quantity of light
in a white-surfaced space, compared to a wood-paneled one---for instance.

S

[SDR]

Wouldn't you love to see some construction photos ?

S

[Tom]

.... would have liked to have been able to ask Mr. Lautner his thinking behind those choices.

YES! would love to see some construction shots. Got to be some somewhere.
Is there such thing as a Launtner archive I wonder?
_________________
"taste is less important than non-conformity"
FLLW