7960 Fareholm Drive, Sunset Strip, CA

The Josef Kun house is one of the few Neutra properties in Los Angeles featuring a spectacular city and ocean view. With walls of glass, this iconic historical residence has been carefully restored with attention to detail and quality.  Features include a rooftop deck at the entry foyer, formal living and dining rooms with large wrap around deck. Lower level includes two elegant guest suites, two bathrooms and a maid’s quarters with a separate side entrance.  Professionally terraced yard with exotic trees and tranquil gardens incorporate the best of Southern California living.

Richard Neutra was born in Vienna in 1892. He graduated in 1917 from the Technische Hochschule, Vienna, where he had been taught by Adolf Loos, and was influenced by Otto Wagner. He worked for Erich Mendelsohn in 1921-22 and in 1923 emigrated to the U.S. where he worked on several projects with Rudolf N. Schindler before establishing his own practice. He adamantly believed that modern architecture must act as a social force in the betterment of mankind.

Neutra created a modern regionalism for Southern California which combined a light metal frame with a stucco finish to create a light effortless appearance. He specialized in extending architectural space into a carefully arranged landscape. The dramatic images of flat-surfaced, industrialized residential buildings contrasted against nature were popularized by the photography of Julius Shulman, one of the most recognized architectural photographers in history.

Shulman’s relationship with architect Richard Neutra was the most important of his professional life. His snapshots of Neutra’s in-progress Kun House so impressed the architect that he engaged the young novice to record more of his projects. By introducing Shulman to Soriano, Gregory, Ain, Rudolph Schindler and other based modernists, Neutra effectively handed Shulman a career.