Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hills

This early work by legendary West Coast architect John Lautner is now for sale. Best known for his work in Palm Springs and LA, Lautner (1911 to 1994) was the architect behind numerous idiosyncratically iconic contemporary houses, many of which perch on the edges of California’s urban canyons and serve as dramatic backdrops to the comings and goings of the State’s creative industries. Lautner’s work featured prominently as locations in the first season of Seth Rogan’s The Studio.

Tour an early John Lautner

Projects like the Garcia House (1962), the Pearlman Cabin (1957) and the incomparable Sheats-Goldstein Residence in Beverly Hills (1962 onwards), showcase Lautner’s unique architectural approach.

The Jules Salkin Residence on Avon Terrace in Los Angeles’s Echo Park is a rare early work. Completed in 1948, ten years into his own practice, it is markedly different to the emerging but relatively austere Case Study aesthetic and owes much to the six years Lautner spent as an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. Following his move from Taliesin to set up on his own in LA in the 1930s, Lautner also helped oversee several of Wright’s projects in the city, including the Ennis House.

In comparison, the Salkin Residence was modest, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. Jules Salkin was something of a polymath; according to the realtors he worked as a concert violist, contractor, developer, architect, and attorney, and was also a keen fan of modern architecture. The stunning plot has views all the way to Santa Monica, with private terraces that catch the evening sun.

Inspired in part by Wright’s Usonian principles, single-storey affordable dwellings set behind carports with open plan living spaces and simple, low-cost materials, there’s still a hint of the visual extravagances to come in Lautner's later work. For example, the angled wooden beams that support the truss roof, with its oversailing eaves and neat rainwater channels, and the close relationship with the landscape.

The house, which is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1111, was completely renovated in 2014 by the architect Barbara Bestor. Bestor had to remove decades of additions and changes that all but obliterated the architectural quality and character of the house. By restoring and updating the original layout, this 'lost Lautner' is now an important part of architect's legacy.

Now with three bedrooms and 1,361 square feet of living space (the renovation included removing later additions and actually reducing the floor size), the Jules Salkin House sits in a generous third of an acre plot. It is on the market for $2,395,000 via specialist realtor The Value of Architecture.

TheValueofArchitecture.com