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The idea with this layout was to align the patterns of daily living with the movement of the sun. They could then follow the sun as it migrated across the sky to the main living spaces to enjoy their day. The story of the Kaufmann Desert House begins with Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr.
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The mid-20th century marked the rise of the International Style, characterized by minimalism, open floor plans, and a harmonious blend of aesthetic simplicity and functionalism. Edgar J. Kaufmann, a prominent Pittsburgh department store owner, was deeply embedded in the architectural innovations of his time. Having previously commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to create the iconic Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, Kaufmann’s collaboration with Richard Neutra signified a pivot towards the burgeoning modernist movement on the West Coast. In 1923, he moved to the US, where he worked with Frank Lloyd Wright and close friend Rudolf Schindler.
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The light colored, dry set stone, what Neutra calls “Utah buff,” brings out the qualities of the glass and steel, but it also blends into the earthy tones of the surrounding landscape of the stone, mountains, and trees. The plan leaves spaces for the courtyards on the periphery of the plan, creating a system of privacy appropriate to the specific occupant in the space; hosts, children, guests, servants, etc. The birth of modern architecture had originated in the early part of the 20th century in Europe.
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To help restore the desert buffer Neutra had envisioned for the house, the Harrises also bought several adjoining plots to more than double the land around the 3,200-square-foot (300 m2) house. Best known for his eponymous Pittsburgh department store, Kaufmann revered good design. In 1934, he and his wife Liliane commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build their weekend home along Bear Run in southwestern Pennsylvania—which would become Wright’s masterpiece Fallingwater—as well as Kaufmann’s office. While mental health issues and substance abuse play a major role, ultimately it’s poverty that deepens the spiral for people living on the streets. The growing consensus from experts, advocates and government officials is that increasing affordable housing is the key to reducing homelessness.
The pending sale is bittersweet for the current owners, who said they planned to give a portion of the proceeds to preservation groups. Asked how it felt to be close to selling the property, Dr. Harris looked back at the house, blinking away tears. Barry Manilow ultimately moved into the old Walter Braunschweiger Residence, a 1935 Spanish-style compound on a private hilltop in the town's Mesa neighborhood, leaving the Kaufmann desert house to sit empty for 3 ½ years. His realtor indicated that although the location and the site of the Kaufmann house were spectacular, the house itself was no longer considered valuable and the property was being sold (ultimately at $1.5 million) as a tear-down.
Alternatively, according to the listing agent, "it could easily be made more stylish by converting it to a Spanish style." At this point, Beth and Brent Harris decided to purchase and restore the house. There is no overstating how important this house was to the architectural history of Palm Springs. Today, it is one of the first homes that many people think of when they are picturing MCM desert homes in California.
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Neutra started his own practice in 1930, designing many Californian homes based around simple geometry, clean lines and airy construction. A handful of his projects are located in Palm Springs, which – thanks to its location two hours east of Hollywood – became a hotbed of modernist architecture during the mid-20th century. Movie stars and celebrities in the 1950s and 1960s hired architects to build contemporary weekend residences that were in vogue at the time. The Kaufmann House is one of the most famous buildings authored by Neutra, who himself was a key figure of the modernist architecture movement. Lauded for designing homes that were tailored to the warm Californian climate, his method included ample glazing, boxy constructions, light facades, and outdoor living areas.
The north wing is the guest’s quarters, which are publicly accessible, but retain their private function as they are kept separated from the rest of the house. The west wing of the house is the service wing, left fairly secluded from the rest of the open plan design. The east wing is the most privatized area of the house, as it was Kaufmann’s master suite. Designed by international architect Richard Neutra, the house was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. as a place of retreat from the harsh winters of his native Pittsburgh. Kaufmann was no stranger to important works of architecture, as a little short of 10 years earlier he’d commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design another getaway home for him, the epochal Fallingwater residence.
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If his name rings a bell, it might be because you also know him as the original owner of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania. The Kaufmann House, or Kaufmann Desert House, in Palm Springs, California, was designed by Richard Neutra in 1946. It was one of the last domestic projects conducted by the architect, but it is also arguably one of his most famous homes. Marmol Radziner spent more than five years painstakingly revamping the Kaufmann Desert House in a thoughtful process that included an on-site archaeological excavation and poring over Neutra’s archives at UCLA.
The master bedroom can be found in the east wing, while the kitchen can be found in the west wing together with the service rooms. The flow from interior to exterior space is not simply a spatial condition rather it is an issue of materiality that creates the sinuous experience. The Kaufmann House is celebrated for its distinctive design, which masterfully integrates the building with its desert surroundings while maintaining a functional elegance.
The house has been featured in numerous films, advertisements, and fashion shoots, each time serving as a symbol of stylish modern living and the seamless integration of architecture and nature. Its representation in popular media has played a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions of modernist architecture, portraying it as an ideal of sophistication and modern American lifestyle. After immigrating from Austria, Neutra started his career in America working for a series of well-known architects. His career took off and his work in Southern California began after an old classmate, Rudolph Schindler, encouraged him to move there. Schindler is best known for 1929’s Lovell House in Los Angeles, which is believed to be one of the first steel-framed homes in America and is celebrated for its extensive glass windows and cable-suspended balconies. Not surprisingly, Richard Neutra became famous for designing his houses in the International Style, using a great deal of glass and metal in his projects—just what Kaufmann was after to better observe the desert environs.
Iconic masterpiece, Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, hits market at $25 million - Sacramento Bee
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Such thorough research led him to convince a Utah quarry to re-open a section of its site so that more of the original buff-colored sandstone could be obtained. Birch-veneered plywood was matched, concrete and silica sand floors were patched, and even ductwork was carefully hidden. Through its thoughtful design and integration with the landscape, the Kaufmann House exemplifies Neutra’s ability to create environments that reflect their owners’ personalities and are responsive to their natural surroundings. Today, the 3,162-square-foot modernist home looks almost exactly as it did a half-century ago, thanks to five years of painstaking renovations.
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