Monday, 26 November 2012

The Strukus House by Bruce Goff in Woodland Hills

 

4510 Saltillo Street
1 Bed/1 Bath on 1,730 sqft on a total lot size of 7,882 sqft built in 1983 in Woodland Hills. The home was designed by Bruce Goff (Goff was also featured in the New York Times by Joseph Giovannini on August 11, 1985 titled The American School: In Pursuit of Individuality) which was his final design before passing away in 1982 (Bart Prince oversaw the design of the house after Goff's passing) and the only home he designed on the West Coast. The home was built for Al Struckus who was a retired manufacturing engineer from nearby Rocketdyne

From the LA Times article, 'E.T." House Last Symbol of Architect's Gonzo Flair by Leon Whiteson on June 30, 1988:
The Struckus house consists of a cluster of six interlocking vertical cylinders on a small 50-by-100-foot lot on wooded Saltillo Street off Canoga Avenue.
The main cylinder, four stories high and 24 feet in diameter, contains the main living spaces. A 12-foot-diameter cylinder houses the dramatic circular stair that joins these levels, and sports the bulging "eyes" that give the house its "E.T." effect. Four smaller tubes contain closets, bookshelves, a kitchen larder, a shower stall and a vertical art gallery suspended over an indoor pool.

The house's layout is also unusual. The living room is on the top floor, under a circular skylight. The main bedroom and bath are one level down, with the dining, kitchen and an open-plan sitting area on the floor below that. The first-floor entry level has a front door shaded by a projecting canopy that serves as the deck of a balcony overhead.
The edges of the third and fourth levels are cut away on sinuous curves to allow an overlook. This gives the interior drum of this small, 1,500-square-foot house a dramatic sense of spaciousness that is the hallmark of all Goff's residential architecture.
Al Struckus passed away in 1994 and this beautiful home was sold to Kevin and Ann Marshall (employees of the Getty Museum) in 1998 according to Dwell Magazine Sept 2004 in the article A Well Rounded House by Sam Grawe.  You can also view a brief video of Al Struckus who was featured on a show by Andrea Simmons for You Are The Miracle - Act On Your Dreams at the 2:34 mark.

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Above images courtesy Narrowlarry.com
Above image courtesy Darkness is Malleable
Above image courtesy StylePark