Neutra VDL Studio and Residences
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Richard and Dion Neutra VDL Research House II
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| Location | 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles, California |
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| Coordinates | 34°5′54.43″N 118°15′37.64″W / 34.0984528°N 118.2604556°WCoordinates: 34°5′54.43″N 118°15′37.64″W / 34.0984528°N 118.2604556°W |
| Area | 4,200 square feet (lot size) 3,501 square feet (structures) |
| Built | 1932, razed 1963, rebuilt 1964 |
| Architect | Richard Neutra and Dion Neutra |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| NRHP Reference # | 03000774 |
| Added to NRHP | May 8, 2009 |
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences, the home of architect Richard Neutra, is located at 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. It is also known as the Neutra Research House, the Van der Leeuw House or the Richard and Dion Neutra VDL Research House II. It was designed by Richard Neutra and his son Dion Neutra. The house is currently owned by Cal Poly Pomona and is maintained by its College of Environmental Design. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on May 8, 2009 and the listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of May 15, 2009.
Originally built in 1932, the 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) house was built for Neutra and his family and called the VDL Research House because it was built with a loan from Neutra's early patron, Cees H. Van der Leeuw, a wealthy Dutch industrialist and architecture aficionado. Neutra and his wife, Dione, raised their three sons at the house. He also ran his architecture practice out of a studio in the house until he later opened his design studio at the Neutra Office Building on Glendale Boulevard (a property that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places).
The original house was destroyed by fire in March 1963. Along with the house, the fire destroyed Neutra's collection of sketches, writings and architecture library. Neutra's son, Dion Neutra, rebuilt the house with his father's oversight. The original footprint of the house was preserved, though a number of changes were made in the design. One critic later wrote that the "original clarity was now gone, but the new house gained a jumpy visual complexity."
In 1980, Neutra's widow donated the house, then valued at $207,500, to Cal Poly Pomona to be used by the university's College of Environmental Design faculty and students. The building was in some disrepair and in danger of deteriorating further, in 2008, when a fund-raising campaign to preserve it was launched. Architecture firm Marmol Radziner volunteered pro-bono services that include repairs to the roof, the reflecting pool, and the building’s water intrusion and waterproofing issues. Improvements were completed during Phase I and II of the restoration project.
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