“House and Open-Air School in One”

The Lovell Health House (1927–1929) by Richard Neutra for Dr. Phillip Lovell and his wife, Leah Lovell, was a turning point in modern architecture. The house not only carried out Phillip Lovell’s principles of healthy living, it also incorporated a school conducted along the progressive educational theories embraced by Leah Lovell. This article identifies the educational features in Neutra’s plan. Interviews with one of the last remaining students of the school shed light on the students and faculty and how the design served the school’s curriculum. Neutra’s innovative design accommodating the progressive educational program at the Lovell Health House belongs in any discussion of the later school designs for which he won lasting acclaim.