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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
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| John Lautner, Elrod House |
There's no shortage of Mid-Century Modern architecture in Palm Springs, California -- the city is the venue for a whole week of events devoted to the style every year -- but this house, built for interior designer Arthur Elrod, is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and famed examples of "the other Modernism" -- Organic Architecture.
It was built into a hillside in 1969, and the interior incorporates boulders from the site, exemplary of John Lautner’s ability to fuse nature and architecture. Over the living room is the home's signature concrete dome, which is set atop walls of retractable curved windows. An indoor-outdoor pool flows into the space.
The famous home's beginnings can be traced to a simple request that noted interior designer Arthur Elrod made to architect John Lautner. Elrod left planning the home entirely to the famed architect, asking only that the architect "give me what you think I should have on this lot." With scarcely a directive to go by, Lautner went to work designing a concrete work of art.
The four-bedroom, 8,901-square-foot home sits on a .64 acre lot, and includes a detached guesthouse. These are the kinds of things that are noted when a standard home is put on the market, but since the Elrod House is less a home and more a lair, several unusual amenities must be noted.
The home itself is built into a Palm Springs hillside, using the naturally occurring boulders as walls, stairwells, and partitions. Its circular living room is essentially a massive open-air patio, with views looking out into the Coachella Valley, and a swimming pool that cannot truly be defined as indoor or outdoor. The wood-paneled master bedroom includes a fireplace, large bathroom with its tub sunk right into the floor, and even a stone platform designed to hold a television. Its kitchen has been modernized, there's a gym on site -- the list goes on and on.
When I come into my own as an evil genius super-villain, THIS shall be my lair!
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