Museum Day: The Neutra Reunion House

The Neutra Reunion House is a unique Mid-Century Modern home that is located in the "Neutra Colony" of homes within the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Richard Neutra designed the Reunion House in 1950 as a home for grandparents that could accommodate family reunions while ensuring privacy for different generations. The residence features signature Neutra designs such as extensive use of glass, stucco, projecting "spider leg" beams, and an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living through walls of glass and private garden spaces.

Richard Neutra was an Austrian-American architect who was one of the most influential modernist architects in the twentieth century and helped define "California Modernism". His architectural style blended modernism with the biorealism design philosophy that aimed to harmonize nature and the environment, human physiology and psychology, and functionality and culture.  His designs used industrial materials like steel and expansive glass, innovative open floor plans, and the seamless integration of indoor living with the outdoors to enhance human well-being. His work is immortalized in numerous landmarked buildings across California, such as the Lovell House, the Von Sternberg House, the Nesbitt House, and the iconic Kaufmann Desert House.

The Neutra family purchased the Reunion House in 1963 and Richard Neutra’s son, Dion Neutra who was also an architect that trained under his father, lived there from 1966 until his passing in 2019. Most of the Neutra Reunion House's original structure and design remain intact making it a significant piece of architectural history.  The House also contains a collection of furniture designed by Richard Neutra, such as a prototype of the "Boomerang" chair, and contemporary reproductions of other Neutra designs like the "Camel" table.

The Neutra Reunion House was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in June 2021. Today the Neutra Reunion House is managed by the Neutra Institute and Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental Design and functions as a house museum and educational resource.