Neutra Furniture: The Body and the Senses by Barbara Lamprecht
preface by Thomas Müller
With
his houses flooded with light, Austria-American architect Richard J. Neutra
(1892-1970) shaped the scene of Californian Modernism. From there he rose to be
one of the most influential names in the history of modern architecture.
However, in contrast to his peers—such as Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Arne Jacobsen,
and Jean Prouvé—Neutra’s furniture designs have long been undiscovered. Author
Barbara Lamprecht fills this gap by studying the extensive but little-known
furniture range that had faded into obscurity until Dion Neutra, Neutra’s son
and architectural partner, started work on the designs with German manufacturer
VS, whose ties to Modernism date back to the Deutscher Werkbund. Referring to
the original sketches and patent drawings, the author focuses on the details of
the designs to show how the furniture was integrated into his projects and its
role in creating the balanced environments he intended for his clients. Each
element—furniture, lighting, building, nature, landscape—worked together as a Gesamtwerk (a complete expression) to create a “sensorium,” or a “soul anchorage,” as
Neutra called those environments best suited to human well-being. Lamprecht is
also the author of the Taschen books Richard Neutra—Complete Works (2000) and Neutra—Selected Projects (2004).
