Lautner is in the details
Acclaimed Modernist John Lautner gave a Hollywood Hills house he designed in 1956 the name of its owner, Willis “Bill” Harpel. It was a common practice to name houses for their owners, but in this case, Harpel earned it.
Alongside master builder John de la Vaux, Harpel worked as a subcontractor, pouring “all the concrete himself,” Lautner wrote in “John Lautner, Architect,” published by Princeton Architectural Press.
Harpel spent eight hours a day on the radio as an announcer. Then he put in another eight hours on the job site as a builder. At the end of 16 hours, he would say, “This house is the most exciting thing in my life,” Lautner wrote.
Harpel and his wife had only a few requirements for Lautner, who apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright. They asked that the house be “large enough to entertain comfortably” and have two bedrooms, a swimming pool and an open kitchen with a bar.
In his book, Lautner, who died in 1994, described the site as “a filled, flat hillside property, very private with a view of the entire San Fernando Valley.” Because it was a filled lot, concrete caissons were used for the foundation. The caissons continued as columns for the roof frame.
The design concept was of a gigantic trellis covering the property, partly closed off for living and entertaining.
About this house: The Harpel residence is at the base of Lautner’s famed flying-saucer-like Chemosphere house.
Asking price: $2,995,000
Size: The home has two bedrooms and three bathrooms in 3,012 square feet. It sits on two parcels that make up more than an acre, or 51,000 square feet.
Features: The step-down living room has a geometric domed skylight. There is a kitchen island, a library, a den and a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest unit. Slate, stone and walls of glass are used extensively. The concrete post-and-beam house has mountain views.
Where: It is near Mulholland Drive and Laurel Canyon Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills.
Listing agent: Susan Rose, (818) 528-2240, and Barbara Bulen, (818) 516-2875, both of Coldwell Banker, Studio City.
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send color interior and exterior photos on a CD with caption information and a description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate section, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Send questions to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
