Yesterday I took my two sons to a small, tucked away park we had only been to once before for a birthday party. There is a plaque in the park that discusses the Dodge House, which at once stood next to the park, you can read more about it here…
from LA Times – The Dodge House in West Hollywood was considered one of the most architecturally significant American houses of the 20th century. Designed in 1914 and completed in 1916, the masterwork by architect Irving Gill made a profound break from the traditional pitched-roof, symmetrical house design. Gill had the radical notion to elevate reinforced concrete to the “architectural importance of stone,” but perhaps more important than the house’s form — a horizontal box lacking roof overhangs, surface details or other ornaments — was a revolutionary vision of what a modern Southern California house could, and would, be.
The Dodge House was demolished in 1970 under great protest, but left a legacy in its wake. What struck me the most was a quote on the plaque by forward-thinking architect Irving Gill
“If we wish to do great and lasting work we must dare to be simple…we must break through convention and get down to fundamental truths.”
