Customer Reviews

Richard Neutra: Complete Works (Architecture & Design) (Architecture & Design S.)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This luxe volume traces the entire career of the great Richard Neutra (1892 - 1970), whose work symbolizes Modernist splendor in all its glory. Highly acclaimed for his designs of California residences, Neutra is one of the most important architects of the century and well deserving of this stunning tribute.

Originally from Vienna, Neutra came to America early in his career, settling on the West Coast. His influence on post-war architecture is undisputed, the sunny climate and rich landscape of California being a particularly suitable setting for his cool, sleek modern style. Neutra had a keen appreciation of the relationship between people and nature and his trademark plate glass walls and ceilings which turn into deep overhangs effectively connect the indoors with the outdoors. His ability to incorporate technology, aesthetics, science, and nature into his designs brought him to the forefront of Modernist architecture.

For the first time, all of Neutra's works (nearly 300 private homes, schools, and public buildings) are gathered together in one volume, illustrated with over 1,000 photographs, including those of Julius Shulman and other prominent photographers. This is the essential reference book for fans of Neutra's work.

The horizontal 11.5" x 16" format shows the buildings to extraordinarily good advantage. This special volume with a blond wood cover is both an architecture lover's and book collector's dream.

Barbara Lamprecht and Julius Shulman have created one the great architecture books about this leading figure of 20th century modernism. As a fan of Lamprecht's excellent writing, the text in this book is, of course, excellent---full of information, opinion and wit. The depth of information provided, including floor plans, is rare in an architectural photo book. Shulman's photos (and some by the new architectural photo star--John Ellis) are superb. The very large format of this book shows off the beautiful buildings to their best advantage. The real wood cover seems a bit odd for a book on Neutra, but it certainly is handsomely impressive. Though [the price] is a a lot for a book, this one's worth it. Buy it now. The second edition might not be so large and impressive, and certainly won't be made of wood!

This book is awesome for a fan of 20th century architectural design. Even if you just enjoy good design, you'd appreciate the history and the photographs of this great master's work. The fact that the book is so oversized is a conversation piece in itself reflecting the treasure it holds inside. The cover is made out of actual hardwood, the text is written in English, German and French and most all the photographs are black and white. A true treasure for any collector.

I love Nuetra's work, especially since I am a fan of Mid-century arechitecture and furniture design. So when I found this book and at the price that it was, I had to add it to my collection. I actually read every book that goes into my library and I have to say this book is overwhelming. It is one of the most comprehensive literatures of an architects work and life that I have ever seen and I guarrantee anyone who loves Nuetra, architecture, and the mid-century will be pleased.

If you like your books big and heavy, then this book will please you. It is definitely the biggest I've ever bought and putting it on a bookshelf is impossible. But what can you say about its contents. Thorough and complete. To have all of ones work in one book is ambitious, but when done properly, the result is a book which makes all others on the topic redundant. All of Neutra's projects are covered in this book in chronological order. From this you gain a greater perspective of his work, rather than the usual texts which show a few of his greatest hits and always leave you wanting more. One thing you gain from this book is how over a period of 40 or so years Neutra's basic design changed very little, yet was still appropriate to its time and setting. This book is a must have. Just watch your back, it is heavy!!

the reprint edition is as good as i remember the original. neutra's work deserves exposure to current architects captured by the power of computers to design novelty. simplicity and siting are still the key.

This book is amazing though the photos of Neutra's projects are generally not as large as one would hope. It is amazing how much Neutra created during his career. A brilliant book filled with insightful information and general floor plans of building projects. Best of all, there is even a map as to the location of his buildings.

This book does a nice job laying out Neutra's houses over the years. The pictures could have been a little bigger, but I am not going to pick on that point. It is pretty complete in its breadth.
What gets this volume only a 4 star review is the fact that Taschen chose to save money and instead of putting out three different volumes, (one English , one German, one French), they chose to put all three together in one volume!
So what you have is a history which could have probably fit into half the amount of pages (and this is a monster volume) but instead is the size it is largely because there are 3 different accompanying texts for each and every building and house in the book. So imagine having a nice picture of one of Neutra's houses and then an English text describing it and then on the following page, two more texts in each accompanying language. This happens throughout the book and because of it I have taken out a star.
I wish they would have pointed out this fact before I bought it.
On the other hand, if you don't have this book and are a Neutra fan, you should probably buy it.

What a lovely book. I am so glad that this book was reissued. It is huge, with lots of beautiful photos of Neutra's work. A must for those interested in California modern architecture and the Case Study Houses.

This is an exquisite book that belongs in anyone's collection that has a passion for modernism and architecture.This book chronciles the history of a master who made an immeasurable contribution artistically through architecture. The author, Barbara Mac Lamprecht clearly is empassioned, but thoroughly educates us on the impact of Neutra's designs and provides us with the details of his entire carer. The photographs invite us to live in his creations. The publisher, Taschen, is a world leader in publishing art books and the avante garde, they out do themselves with this informative, inventive, and beautifully printed book. DO NOT be without this book, it is a piece of art in and of itself.