Two more houses by modernist architect Richard Neutra and a house by local architect Eric Owen Moss have been confirmed destroyed due to the deadly wildfires sweeping through Greater Los Angeles.
Neutra’s Hees and Kesler houses have been destroyed by the Pacific Palisades Fire, the worst of the ongoing series of wildfires that have devastated communities in Los Angeles over the last two weeks.
Both single-family homes were built by Neutra in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood in the 1950s and are considered paradigmatic examples of West Coast mid-century architecture.
Also confirmed lost in the blaze was LA architect Eric Owen Moss‘s 708 House, a 1980s extension of a 1940s case study house.
An early project for Moss, who has since created large-scale structures in the city, 708 House was constructed for the architect’s family at the time and is an example of deconstructivist architecture.
The Corpus Christi Church by local firm AC Martin in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood was also destroyed by the fire.
Between the Pacific Palisades Fire and the other major fire, the Eaton Fire – which mostly affected the town of Altadena in northeastern LA – nearly 15,000 structures have been destroyed, and at least 27 people have died.
Tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders as the extent of the damage becomes clear. As of Tuesday morning, the two major fires in the region were both more than 50 per cent contained.
Last week, Dezeen rounded up several other significant projects lost to the fire, including the Benedict and Nancy Freedman House by Neutra and the Robert Bridges House in Pacific Palisades.
In Altadena, Harwell H Harris’s 1930s Pauline Lowe Residence and Gregory Ain’s Park Planned Homes were destroyed by the fire.
Altadena also lost multiple iconic early 20th-century Craftsmen and Spanish Revival-style homes, including Scripps Hall by C W Buchanan.
Local preservationist group the Los Angeles Conservancy has been tracking and confirming the destruction through its website.
Several high-profile projects, such as the Eames House and adjacent Eames-designed case study houses, the Getty Villa, Charles Moore’s Burns House and Craig Ellwood’s Hunt House have all been declared safe as of Tuesday.
Eric Owen Moss’ 708 House was also lost to the fire
Since the fires began, architecture professionals have been responding to the disaster.
Architect Cameron Sinclair, who lost his home in the fire, wrote an article for Dezeen detailing the next steps for people who now face the long road of rebuilding their homes.
Locals have also banded together to share contacts and resources for displaced people and people looking to repair or rebuild their homes, with many offering pro-bono services.
The fires have also prompted a “rethink” of how development has been carried out in the fire-prone areas surrounding Los Angeles.
