The architecture of John Lautner

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Long overshadowed by modernist contemporaries Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra, John Lautner (1911-94) and the homes he built in Southern California are set to receive unprecedented attention thanks to the publication this month of <a href="http://www.rizzoliusa.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780847830145">Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner.</a> The book, edited by historian Nicholas Olsberg, is being published by Rizzoli in conjunction with a Hammer Museum <a href="http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/139/ ">exhibition</a> opening July 13. The book details Lautners inspirations, philosophies and legacy, not the least of which is the 1960 Chemosphere, shown here, originally derided by some critics as a silly fantasy.

Chemosphere house, John Lautner

( Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times )

Long overshadowed by modernist contemporaries Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra, John Lautner (1911-94) and the homes he built in Southern California are set to receive unprecedented attention thanks to the publication this month of Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner. The book, edited by historian Nicholas Olsberg, is being published by Rizzoli in conjunction with a Hammer Museum exhibition opening July 13. The book details Lautners inspirations, philosophies and legacy, not the least of which is the 1960 Chemosphere, shown here, originally derided by some critics as a silly fantasy.