Los Angeles is rich in modernist history, from the the iconic case study houses, to the seminal work of Richard Neutra dotting the Californian coast. Neutra's fellow Austrian immigrant, Rudolph Schindler, played an equally crucial role in developing Californian modernism's distinctive style.
Born in Vienna in 1887, Schindler moved to Los Angeles in 1920 via a collaboration with Frank Lloyd Wright, whom he admired since studying the influential Wasmuth portfolio, a collection featuring that most prominent (at the time) American architect's projects. In the private houses he built around Los Angeles between the 1920s and early 1950s, the architect connects Wright's nature-inspired sensibility with the European modernist austerity and spatial experimentation.
The Van Dekker house was designed in 1939 for Tony Award-winning and prolific character actor Albert Van Dekker, his wife and three young kids. The Van Dekkers moved in in 1940 – the house was one of the first major modernist residences in its neighborhood. For Schindler, the project became an exceptional opportunity to design the largest residential commission of his career, totaling 3,756 sq ft over four acres of nature, with a separate garage and workshop.
Schindler introduced some of his revolutionary construction principles to the project, including a dramatic composition of protruding exterior volumes, a sloped copper roof and oblique geometries. His unconventional work on the house included a bold colour selection and an impressive double height wooden ceiling.
In the early 1950s, Van Dekker became an outspoken critic of Senator McCarthy's tactics to expose communists in Hollywood and became blacklisted. He needed to work on Broadway, so he sold the house to his friend and collaborator, prolific film noir screenwriter AI 'Buzz' Bezzerides, who occupied the house until his death in 2007.
Following years of neglect and a successful listing as LA City Historic Monument, the house has now been succesfully restored by its current owner Frank Gamwell, CEO of PCM, a construction management and development firm, who bought the house in 2013. The intention of the renovation was to restore the property back to its original condition, while incorporating minor changes to the interiors that would update the house to 21st century standards.
The renovation is now completed and has just received the prestigious 2016 Preservation Award, granted by the Los Angeles Conservancy.
The sensitive restoration scooped the 2016 Preservation Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy
The house features many Schindler signature gestures, including an impressive double-height wooden ceiling
When the Van Dekkers moved to New York, the house was bought by screenwriter AI 'Buzz' Bezzerides, who lived there until his death in 2007
Following years of neglect, the Van Dekker house is now successful listed as a LA City Historic Monument
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Los Angeles Conservancy website
Photography courtesy of Frank Gamwell and David Crane
-
Pharrell Williams’ latest Louis Vuitton show celebrates a ‘friendship for life’ with streetwear legend NigoLouis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams looked towards his long friendship with BAPE founder Nigo to create a collaborative A/W 2025 menswear collection shown in Paris this evening (21 January 2025)
-
Think small, think electric, as Hyundai attempts to revolutionise the classic Indian three-wheelerHyundai’s Micro Mobility strategy, in collaboration with Indian manufacturer TVS, has revealed two conceptual takes on small electric urban transport in a bid to cut the country’s crushing pollution issue
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
Reflections from Los Angeles: a local writer's personal account of the LA firesArchitecture writer and local resident Michael Webb reflects on the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires and offers his personal account of the events of the last two weeks in California
-
Tour 21 lesser-known modernist houses in EuropeTake a tour of some of Europe's lesser-known modernist houses; architectural writer and curator Adam Štěch leads the way, discussing the 20th-century movement's diversity under a single vision
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the cityFollowing the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North CarolinaDesigned for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
-
The case of the Ontario Science Centre: a 20th-century architecture classic facing an uncertain futureThe Ontario Science Centre by Raymond Moriyama is in danger; we look at the legacy and predicament of this 20th-century Toronto gem
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
-
Alvar Aalto: our ultimate guide to architecture's father of gentle modernismAlvar Aalto defined midcentury – and Finnish – architecture like no other, creating his own, distinctive brand of gentle modernism; honouring him, we compiled the ultimate guide
