The famed Fitzpatrick-Leland house, perched at the top of Mulholland Drive, has been billed a ‘theatrical’ structure by historians – as well as, frankly, ‘a come-on’.
Built as a spec house to attract similar development in the 1930s, it sits at the intersection of the city’s notorious mountain drive and the twisting thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon, an area today hosting many impressive homes.
This year, the Rudolph Schindler creation, now owned by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, will welcome a series of design exhibitions and programming related to the home’s history. The series begins with ‘Pin-up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s LA’, juxtaposing the work of LA-based designers and artists with that of Schindler, who hailed from Austria and moved to LA in 1921.
’Chene’ desk and stool by Atelier de Troupe
Schindler’s innovative designs utilised the interplay of indoor and outdoor space as well as uncommon materials, making him one of the city’s vital architectural voices even today. A former collaborator of Richard Neutra, he built more than 150 homes in the LA area from the 1920s onward. Participating designer Pamela Shamshiri, a former film set designer, lives in the Schindler-designed Lechner House, which she recently restored. Shamshiri, behind the look of spots like the Ace Hotel Palm Springs, made pieces on display in collaboration with artist John Williams. Brendan Ravenhill, also on view, has too made the Schindler legacy part of his design practice, restoring the Southall House in Echo Park and designing fixtures for Schindler’s Bethlehem Baptist Church in South Los Angeles.
The design group Atelier de Troupe, led by Gabriel Abraham, has created an on-view group of light fixtures and furniture that takes cues from 1920s aesthetics; while a kidney-bean shaped wood table and chair set were designed in collaboration with MOC Woodworking. Also contributing designs is Marmol Radziner, a long-time Schindler supporter, with a recreated Schindler sofa, ottoman and sling chairs. The talent on display may well be a contemporary come-on for those tempted by LA’s booming design scene.
’Pin-up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s LA’ juxtaposes the work of LA-based designers and artists with that of Schindler
A recreation of Schindler’s dining table and chairs for Beata Inaya’s Apartment, and the ’Long Church’ chandelier, all by Brendan Ravenhill Studio
Rudolph Schindler’s sling chairs, built by Marmol Radziner, and trolley by Pamela Shamshiri, who resides in the Schindler-designed Lechner house
Left, ’Kings Road’ collection by Marmol Radziner and ’Tempo’ chandelier by Atelier de Troupe. Right, Schindler lamp by Studio Shamshiri alongside ’Kasbah’ sideboard by Atelier de Troupe
INFORMATION
‘Pin-up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s LA’ is on view until 11 February. For more information, visit the MAK Center website and the Atelier de Troupe website
ADDRESS
MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles
835 North Kings Road West
Hollywood CA 90069
-
Our Tech Editor's selection of new and upgraded audio players covers the full spectrum of formatsWhether it’s vinyl, cassette, CD or mp3, or even sound sources you’ve captured yourself, you’ll find a suitable device in this round-up of pocketable and portable audio players
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
A new exhibition retraces 50 years of Pierre Paulin’s history around the table‘Les Tables de Pierre Paulin’ shows a lesser-known side of the designer’s creative world, accompanied by a new book tracing his wife’s hospitality around his iconic table designs. ‘A creator is never alone in his creation…’
-
Tour this Bel Vista house by Albert Frey, restored to its former glory in Palm SpringsAn Albert Frey Bel Vista house has been restored and praised for its revival - just in time for the 2025 Palm Springs Modernism Week Preview
-
First look: step inside 144 Vanderbilt, Tankhouse and SO-IL’s new Brooklyn projectThe first finished duplex inside Tankhouse and SO-IL’s 144 Vanderbilt in Fort Greene is a hyper-local design gallery curated by Brooklyn studio General Assembly
-
Tour Ray's Seagram Building HQ, an ode to art and modernism in New York CityReal estate venture Ray’s Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism
-
Populus by Studio Gang, the ‘first carbon positive hotel in the US’ takes root in DenverPopulus by Studio Gang opens in Denver, offering a hotel with a distinctive, organic façade and strong sustainability credentials
-
This Californian home offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert livingGardens & Villas, a home in La Quinta, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
-
First look inside 62 Reade Street, a clock factory turned family home62 Reade Street, a boutique New York residential project by architects ODA, unveils its first apartment interior, styled courtesy of Hovey Design
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
-
Jewel Box is a Californian project of small scale and big impactJewel Box by Red Dot Studio is the reimagining of a Californian 20th-century gem through a creative addition
