Introduction

Nestled into the hills of Echo Park, Los Angeles, the deeply imaginative Salkin House by John Lautner stands as a masterful example of early postwar modernism. Designed in 1948 for photographer Jules Salkin, the house was originally conceived as a prototype for a series of hillside dwellings. Much like the ambitions of its creator, this structure pairs bold architectural experimentation with a personal, livable scale. Following decades of neglect, the Salkin House has undergone a careful and respectful restoration—spearheaded by architect Barbara Bestor—that revisits Lautner’s radical vision while executing it to contemporary preservation and sustainability standards.

Historical Context and Significance

The Salkin House marks a formative moment in John Lautner’s early career. Having trained under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin, Lautner brought a deeply site-responsive and materially rich approach to Southern California housing. The Salkin House shares intellectual DNA with the Eames House (1949) and Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House (1946) in terms of structural experimentation and a desire to rethink domestic modernism in the American West.

Designed just after World War II, the house was a bold attempt to push midcentury ideals into the vernacular hillside conditions of Los Angeles. However, through the decades, it passed through various owners, accumulating unsympathetic alterations and eventually falling into a state of disrepair. By the early 2000s, it had largely fallen off the radar of architectural historians. It wasn’t until its rediscovery and listing in 2014 that preservation-minded designers and clients reignited interest in what is now considered a landmark of postwar architecture.

The turning point came in 2015 when design-conscious owners, Trina Turk and Jonathan Skow, acquired the house and collaborated with Bestor Architecture to reimagine the structure with restorative integrity. The results were so successful and sensitive that the project earned a Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award in 2018.

Architectural Design Principles

Scale and Spatial Planning

At just 1,100 square feet, the Salkin House embraces a compact footprint that maximizes quality over quantity. Its modest scale incorporates two bedrooms and open-plan living, kitchen, and dining areas, reinforcing the modernist ethos of pragmatic minimalism. The orientation of the house takes full advantage of its hillside location, opening dramatically to Pacific Ocean-facing views. Large planes of glass, minimal interior partitions, and a purposeful axial geometry help the home feel expansive despite its small scale.

Structural Innovation

Where most midcentury homes relied on straightforward wood framing or post-and-beam logic, Lautner devised a highly unorthodox structure for the Salkin House. The primary load-bearing system consists of wing-shaped steel bents spaced at regular eight-foot intervals. Central rows of slender columns hold up the expressive butterfly roof, allowing for an almost entirely non-load-bearing exterior wall composition. This liberated wall system made the use of full-height glazing not just possible, but ecologically and experientially necessary.

Materiality and Interior Detailing

Material expression plays a pivotal role in Lautner’s architecture. The Salkin House features redwood cladding that parallels Wright’s preference for natural finishes, while signaling California’s love for regional, renewable materials. During restoration, weathered redwood siding was meticulously refinished to match Lautner’s original vision, complete with horizontal board arrangements and battens that emphasize the building’s geometries.

The bold red concrete floor remains one of the home’s most dramatic interior elements. Aside from adding a lively chromatic base, the mass of the slab also serves as a thermal buffer—absorbing heat during the day and releasing it in the evening.

The interior maintains a textural and rustic character, activated through period-appropriate cabinetry, exposed ceiling rafters, and the curated reuse of vintage, bohemian furnishings. All new additions—especially in the kitchen and bath—were designed as subtle, functional upgrades rather than overt stylistic departures.

Roof Form and Environmental Response

The signature butterfly roof is both an architectural flourish and a practical environmental response. This each-wing-elevated shape helps collect and manage rainwater. Light enters from the clerestories, and the roof’s angle deflects excessive sun while preserving westward views. That said, the original design’s glass-to-roof junctions were poorly sealed and developed extensive water issues. These were remedied in the restoration with advanced waterproofing membranes and improved sills, all done while preserving the visual clarity of the glass junctions.

Restoration Approach and Processes

Structural Rehabilitation

Restoring a hillside house of this vintage posed unique engineering challenges. Over time, foundation shifts resulted in sloped floors and misaligned joints. Barbara Bestor’s team collaborated with structural engineers to realign the foundation and stabilize the hillside anchoring points. This ensured that the precise geometries of the roof and column lines were maintained and enhanced.

Sustainable Modernization

The restoration offered a chance not just to preserve but also to update the home with 21st-century performance standards. High-efficiency glazing replaced worn-out windows, enhancing insulation while maintaining the slender sightlines of the original house. New systems were installed behind the walls, and infiltration was minimized by bolstering the building envelope. These upgrades quietly enhanced thermal comfort and long-term durability.

Reversing Inappropriate Modifications

One of the most significant interventions was the removal of a poorly-conceived 1960s bedroom addition that compromised the spatial purity of the original plan. The restored carport and cleaned-up landscaping now echo Lautner’s modular ideas, with covered outdoor zones and openness to the terrain. This strategic subtraction was as important as any addition in returning the Salkin House to its conceptual origins.

Interior Revival

The interiors now exude what Bestor calls a “rustic bohemian” mood—a relaxed yet elevated interpretation of midcentury Southern California modernism. Custom millwork, vintage textiles, and handcrafted details evoke a tangible sense of place and time without falling into nostalgic mimicry. The house is once again a livable and luminous machine for modern life.

Technical Specifications

• Area: 1,100 square feet (approximately 102 square meters)
• Structure: Wing-shaped bents at 8’ intervals supported by a central grid of columns
• Roof: Butterfly form with clerestory openings; updated waterproofing at glass junctions
• Exterior Walls: Non-load-bearing, floor-to-ceiling glass and restored redwood paneling
• Floor: Exposed red-tinted concrete slab for thermal mass and color enhancement

Comparative Significance

Among midcentury modern icons, the Salkin House holds its own through technical bravery and elegant compactness. In the United States, it resonates with other light-framed structures such as the Eames House and Schindler’s Kings Road House (1922) in terms of adaptable space usage and structural ingenuity. Globally, it finds kinship with Australian designs by Harry Seidler—notably the Rose Seidler House (1950)—which used glass and concrete with equal brilliance. In Europe, parallels can be drawn to Alvar Aalto’s Villa Mairea (1939) in Finland and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (1951), due to their shared emphasis on blurring nature and architecture.

However, what distinguishes the Salkin House is its aspirational modesty and experimentality. It’s not merely a curated object but an idea—an alternate reality of better hillside housing that never materialized but remains relevant as an ecological and architectural blueprint.

Conclusion and Practical Takeaways

The restoration of the Salkin House is a definitive case study in how historical architecture can be preserved without compromise. For architects and builders, it reinforces the value of structural innovation and thoughtful detail—ideals that should guide all residential design, whether new or adaptive reuse. Homeowners engaged in restoration can draw lessons from the respectful blending of period and performance: upgrade what must be improved, but stay loyal to the spatial philosophy and material logic of the original.

As modernist houses age and face increasing pressure for redevelopment, projects like the Salkin House demonstrate that it is possible—and necessary—to protect these architectural ideas by investing in their future. In doing so, we honor not only the imaginations of past designers like Lautner but also the evolving needs of the people who continue to inhabit their spaces.