The building (with a capital of $ 100,000) was left by the widow of an architect to the Faculty of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, so that the house was always accessible to students and professionals and became the public domain. But the current situation around this monument of the heyday of modernism (the building is rebuilt after a fire in 1963 under the supervision of Neutr himself by its construction in 1932) shows that not only structures changing random owners are under threat of demolition or destruction from natural causes.
According to the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, which is the actual owner of the structure, interest on the initial capital does not cover even half of the cost of maintaining the house, which is at least $ 18,000 per year. As a result, the innovative building now requires immediate restoration. If funds are not found to insure and renovate the building, as well as - but by the end of 2009 - one million dollars is not raised to increase the fund's capital, "Experimental House VDL II" will have to be sold in the interests of its preservation. Undoubtedly, in this case, buyers, judging by many precedents, will be found quickly enough. You can also count on competent and prompt restoration, as well as maintaining the building in good condition in the future. But, most likely, the house will be forever closed to the public, namely, turning it into a kind of museum was the goal of both Neutr himself and his widow.
Therefore, while the fund urgently organized paid excursions around the monument complex, and also planned a number of fundraising events. However, this situation shows that public property is not always a guarantee of the preservation of an important building from the point of view of the history of architecture, although total privatization is also not an unambiguous solution to the problem.
In the meantime, the roof of the VDL II Experimental House is leaking, the foundation shrinks unevenly, the walls are damaged by termites, the glass sliding doors do not work, the asbestos used in the construction needs to be removed, etc.
The VDL Pilot House was built in the heart of downtown Los Angeles at the height of the Great Depression. The money for the construction was given to Neutra by the Dutch philanthropist Van Der Loew (the building got its name from his initials). The architect wanted to show by the example of his own home that it is possible to create houses of modest size (building plot 18 x 21 m, usable area - 195 sq. M) from inexpensive materials manufactured by an industrial method (many of which were issued by Neutra for testing), resulting in a high quality and highly artistic "product". The Neutra building was not only a two-family dwelling, but also the location of his workshop. The architect worked there all his life, and after his death, his son was engaged in architectural design in the premises of the house.
