Rudolph M. Schindler's Unbuilt Architecture

Design Theory, Languages and Methods Toward Space Making
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-041-10468-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 308 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Research in Architecture

This book explores Rudolph M. Schindler’s design theory, architectural language, and methods, with a focus on his unbuilt projects. Drawing from his lecture notes, manuscripts, and drawings, it offers fresh insights into Schindler’s legacy, emphasizing how his work diverged from mainstream modernism and deserves greater recognition in modern architectural history.

The first part investigates Schindler’s theoretical and methodical foundations, including his concept of “space architecture” and “Reference Frames in Space”— three-dimensional tools for shaping form and proportion. Using archival materials, it traces the development and evolution of his ideas within broader historical and theoretical contexts. The second part presents detailed analyses of over a dozen unbuilt projects, reconstructed through drawings and models. These case studies reveal Schindler’s design theory and methods in practice and provide a deeper understanding of his creative process and influence on modern architecture.

This book will appeal to architectural scholars, students, and practitioners interested in early modernism and Californian Modernism. It also speaks to institutions, libraries, and enthusiasts of Rudolph M. Schindler’s work. With global interest in Schindler’s legacy, the book offers valuable insights for both academic and general audiences passionate about his unique architectural vision.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Park, Jin-Ho

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Gestaltung, Darstellung, Bautechnik
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Architektur: Berufspraxis
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Geschichte der Architektur, Baugeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Architekten & Architekturbüros

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of figures

List of tables

List of abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1: R. M. Schindler’s design theory, languages and methods

Ch. 1 Theoretic foundations of space making

Ch. 2 Framing of space: sources and influences

Part 2: Selected unbuilt works

Ch. 3 New lights on the Workmen’s Colony of the Monolith Home (1919)

Ch. 4 Bergen Branch Library competition (1920): Unpremiated submission with the winning scheme

Ch. 5 Translucent House for Aline Barnsdall, Palos Verdes Estates (1927–28)

Ch. 6 Braxton–Shore Beach House (1930): Departure from the 1920s

Ch. 7 Projected in and out in the Oliver House (1931)

Ch. 8 Locke House (1933): Directed rooms with L-shaped surfaces

Ch. 9 Schindler Shelters (1933–42): Composition and construction for low-cost housing units and incremental clustering

Ch. 10 Full-blown rhythmic forms in the Shep House (1934–38)

Ch. 11 Curvilinear form in the Warshaw House (1936)

Ch. 12 Toward nonorthogonal space forms in the Timme House (1938)

Ch. 13 “Space Development” (1945) and its subsequent applications for the Braden House and the Schick House (1945) with the Schindler Frame

Ch. 14 Tilted box form in the Elmer House (1951–52)

Conclusion

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jin-Ho Park is a Professor of Architecture at Inha University in South Korea, where he teaches architectural design, theory, and history. Prior to his appointment at Inha University, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His recent publications include Pavilions for Giving (2025) and Architectural and Urban Subsymmetries (2022).