Richard Neutra and the Making of the Lovell Health House, 1925–35

Available September 2025

Edited by Edward Dimendberg, with contributions by Crosby Doe, Thomas Hines, and Nicholas Olsberg 

This absorbing volume reveals the impact of the Lovell Health House from its inspiration through its construction to its impact. 

This book tells the story of the Lovell Health House, designed and built by Austrian American architect Richard Neutra (1892–1970). Perched on a steep hillside with panoramic views of Los Angeles, the home pioneered the use of concrete and steel; radically advanced the ideals of hygienic, carefree, and open-air living; and explored new relationships between space, structure, the natural world, and physical and psychological well-being. It was widely documented and written about in leading architectural journals when it was erected, and these publications elevated the house to the status of an icon in the history of modernism and an essential work of the international modern movement. It also helped to launch the global career of one of the central figures of twentieth-century architecture.

The book includes new texts by Edward Dimendberg, Crosby Doe, and Nicholas Olsberg, a chronology by Thomas Hines, and historic texts by Willard D. Morgan and Richard Neutra. At the heart of the book are six narrated portfolios of visual and textual documentation on the background, design, making, circulation, reception and resonance of this seminal house. Featuring historical photography by Morgan and contemporary photography by Grant Mumford, this volume will help bring Neutra’s masterpiece to an entirely new audience.

Edward Dimendberg is a professor of humanities at the University of California, Irvine. He is the editor of the English edition of Anton Wagner’s Los Angeles (Getty, 2022).

“The Lovell Health House has long held a place of honor in the pantheon of modern architecture. The authors of this fascinating volume have assembled an astonishing array of primary sources, providing a detailed account of its history and an introduction to the key tenets and philosophy of the Modern Movement.”
—Martino Stierli, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

“An engaging examination of a key moment of the encounter between European and American building cultures. Like in a slow-motion replay, Neutra’s assimilation and deployment of steel frame construction is traced every step from inception to reception through contemporaneous publications. The way that Neutra’s writing, design and exacting site management are interwoven reveals the intensity of thought that went into this emblematic project.”
—William Mann, Witherford Watson Mann architects

“For generations young architects have been pulled toward Los Angeles, entranced by the city’s wide-open culture of architectural ambition and innovation. Wright was drawn to that, as was Neutra, Schindler, Ain, Gehry, and Mayne. Neutra’s Lovell House is an essential protagonist in this century-long story. That such a radical design could be built here is testament to the creative energy of this place. That it still provokes and challenges us today is nothing short of a gift.”
—Michael Maltzan, Michael Maltzan Architecture

144 pages
9 x 11 1/4 inches
13 color and 132 b/w illustrations
ISBN 979-8-88712-008-9
hardcover

Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Research Institute

2025