R.M. Schindler: 4 Houses (Planet Architecture)

"R.M. Schindler: 4 Houses" is the first in a series of new monographs featuring the works of individual architects by PlanetArchitecture.com. The four houses featured here are the Kings Road house (1921-22) and the How house (1925) which exemplify the innovative wood and concrete structures from the beginning of Schindler's career as well as the Kallis house (1946) and the Tischler house (1949-50) which embody the essence of Schindler's "Space Architecture" - complex interior spaces composed of "space, climate, light, and mood."

This CD-ROM features an intuitive, multi-referenced interface used to access the entire e-archive (electronic archive) of video interviews, photographs, writings, virtual reality panoramas, and drawings. The unique graphical interface takes full advantage of the interactive media and makes the self guided explorations both user friendly and enjoyable. This e-archive provides comprehensive documentation and virtual experiences unparalleled by any single medium. Over 100 full screen color photographs from exteriors and interiors to details document these houses like never before. 49 virtual reality panoramas (allowing 360 degree panning) take you there "virtually". Rare archival materials from the R.M. Schindler Archives reveal his masterful drawing skills. Judith Sheine provides an overview of Schindler's career in a 30 minute video presentation supplemented with drawings and photographs. Also, Sheine's audio introductions of each house (30 minutes in all) provide new insights into these notable houses. In addition, Lionel March's video commentary on Schindler's theoretical concepts shed new light on the otherwise unknown foundation of Schindler's architecture. Lastly, a comprehensive collection of drawings from plans and elevations to sections allow you to study and analyze each project in greater detail.

R M Schindler (1887-1953) was a pivotal Modernist architect who remained largely unrecognized by the critical establishment during his lifetime. A pragmatist and theoretician, Schindler designed more than 500 projects, over 150 of which were built, most of these in the Los Angeles area, where he settled in 1920. R.M. Schindler was born in Vienna in 1887. After his studies there with Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos he was drawn to America by Frank Lloyd Wright's work and came to Chicago in 1914, working for Wright in 1918. Wright sent Schindler to Los Angeles in 1920 to supervise construction of the Barnsdall house and Schindler settled there, establishing his own practice, living and working out of his Kings Road house (1921-22), developing his own original form of modern architecture, which he called 'Space Architecture." His central concerns were with the creation of complex and beautiful interior spaces composed of "space, climate, light, mood."