Tag Archives: model

RM Schindler’s Elmer House, 1952 (unbuilt), Space, part 3 of 5

 

NOTE: Schindler used floating planes as lights in many of his designs. Thin wood frames support translucent glass with lights above the glass. I call these “soffit lights” in this article. A soffit is the underside of a structural element.

Space

The space is shaped by the dominating tilted roof. You are constantly aware of it. You are either under it, looking through it, or contrasting with it.(fig 1)

RM Schindler’s Elmer House, 1952 (unbuilt), Siting, part 2 of 5

Siting

“Most of Schindler’s later houses were designed for hillside lots, and were magnificently tucked into the surrounding greenery. This was partly due to the preliminary sketch he drew directly on a surveyor’s map. The preliminary design was to him the vital one; …he wrote that it was “the very crux of the architect’s contribution, his main creative effort.” “ 1 (fig 1)2

RM Schindler’s Elmer House, 1952 (unbuilt), part 1 of 5

Blame it on Ester and Judith

“All of his periods were the result of change in the economy except for the last – which one can hardly call a period because he had no opportunity to carry it forward than one house….. But the presence of so many three-quarter height screen walls is haunting. The (Skolnick) house (fig 2) is essentially a carousel, an open space with a merry-go-round in the middle. …How he would have continued we can’t say.”