"The purpose of Architecture is to improve human life. Create timeless, free, joyous spaces for all activities in life. The infinite variety of these spaces can be as varied as life itself and they must be as sensible as nature in deriving from a main idea and flowering into a beautiful entity." -- John Lautner

JOHN EDWARD LAUTNER, JR. FAIA
(1911-1994)

John Lautner was born in Marquette MI of academic parents at a local college now called Northern Michigan University. He first attended the University of Michigan but left soon after starting. In 1933, he graduated from Northern Michigan University in English and began a six-year job with Frank Lloyd Wright -- in the first class of Taliesin Fellows at Spring Green WI. His fiancée Mary (MaryBud) Faustina Roberts Lautner (1913-1995) was also an early Taliesin Fellow.  They married in 1934. 

For Wright, Lautner supervised Fallingwater in Pennsylvania and the Johnson Wax Building in Wisconsin. He also oversaw a Wright design for his mother-in-law Abby Beecher Roberts, the Deertrack house in Marquette MI.   The Lautners moved to California in 1937 for John to oversee the construction of Wright's Sturges and Oboler houses.  In 1943, he left Wright to work for Structon Company on military projects.

Lautner worked in 1944 for and became partner in 1945 with Douglas Honnold who was primarily an interior designer. In 1947, Lautner departed after an affair with Honnold's wife, Elizabeth Gilman (Gilly) Honnold. That put an end to the formal partnership although the two men remained friends. After divorcing MaryBud in 1950, he married Elizabeth.  MaryBud returned to Marquette MI with their children, Karol (born 1938), Michael (born 1942), and Mary Beecher (born 1944). 

Lautner did not receive his architectural license until 1952. His clients were "either rich bastards or poor geniuses," according to his stepdaughter, Elizabeth Honnold Harris.

Known for his residences, Lautner was also well-known for the commercial genre named for his design of Googie's Coffee Shop in Los Angeles. Distinctive for its expansive glass walls, arresting form, and exuberant signage oriented to automobiles, Googie became a fixture in 1950s America but was regularly ridiculed by the architectural community. Lautner's reputation suffered, despite that fact his designs were as good as ever.  Following some lean years, he rose again in the 1960s with the “Chemosphere” pedestal house and poured-concrete houses, notably the Elrod Residence in Palm Springs.

His wife Elizabeth died in 1978. In 1982 Lautner married her caretaker, Francesca Hernandez.  Lautner was named Architect for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Upon his death, brilliant Lautner protégé Helena Arahuete took over the firm - which continues today.  He was the subject of the documentary Infinite Space.

Please note that this list does not include: additions, remodels, or pools for houses Lautner did not design; or projects he did for Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Additional Resources:

• The John Lautner Foundation.

• 1986 Oral History.

• Unbelievably extensive bibliography by John Crosse.

• Hats off to Martin Daoust, who assembled an extraordinary online library of Lautner resources that went offline in 2008.  Mirror. 

1940 - The John Lautner House,  2007 Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles CA.  Commissioned 1939.  He lived here until the 1970's. 1244 square feet.  Built by Paul Speer.  As of 2007, the owners were Clare and Eric Frith.  Top photo by Edward Van Altena.

1940 - The Norman Springer House, a one-bedroom in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles CA.  Commissioned 1938.  This was his first attempt to start a solo practice.  Built by Paul Speer.   

1941 - The L. N. Bell House, 7714 Woodrow Wilson Drive, West Hollywood CA.  Built by Paul Speer.  Restorations were planned by Lautner in 1993 but not completed.  Architect John Ash completed an addition and remodel different from Lautner's.  As of 2007, sold to Larry and Laura Worchell.  Bottom photo by Jan-Richard Kikkert.

1942 - The Astor Farm Caretaker's Cottage, Indio CA.  Destroyed.

1946 - The Hancock House, 2107 West Silver Lake Drive, Los Angeles CA.  Designed with Doug Hannold.  Sold to the Todd family.  Remodeled by Lautner for the Todds in 1989.  Bottom photo by Tycho Saariste.

1947 - The Foster Carling House, 7144 Hockey Trail, Los Angeles CA.  Sold to Eicher.  Lautner did a remodel in 1991.  Sold to Steve Ramser.  Available for rent in 2010.

1947 - The Edgar and Allison Mauer House, 932 Rome Drive, Los Angeles CA. 
Built by the Mauers.  Bottom photo by Ezra Stoller/ESTO.

1947 - The Jacobsen Residence, 3544 Multiview Drive, Hollywood CA.  Sold to Daniel E. Schneider.  Sold in 2005 to Barbara Cangas and William Childers.  Photos by Melissa Gluck.

1947 - The Florence Polin House, next door to Jacobsen and very similar, 3542 Multiview Drive, Hollywood CA.  Sold in 2004 to Brent Bolthouse.  Rented for a few years.  For sale in 2011.

1947 - The Eisele Ski Cabin, Big Bear CA.  Unbuilt.

1947 - The Henry L. Jaffee House, built with Doug Honnold.  Probably not built.  Listed in Arts and Architecture, April 1947.

1948 - The Abbot Apartments.  Unbuilt.  This was to be a 4-unit repeatable apartment complex in which the cylinders were stacked into two stories.

1948 - The William Adams Residence, Pasadena CA.  Unbuilt.

1948 - The Ferber Residence, Altadena CA.   Unbuilt.

1948 - The Ross Residence, Los Angeles CA.   Unbuilt.

1948 - The Stiff Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1948 - The Salkin Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1948 - The Mayer Residence, Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles CA. Unbuilt.

1948 -The Arthur Eisele Guest House, Los Angeles CA.  Commissioned in 1946 for Eisele's mother, Hazel.  In 1956, Eisele sold the house to Lloyd Rigler, who over the years protected the amazing views by buying up surrounding lots and keeping them unbuilt.  Upon Rigler's death, the house transferred in 2003 to nephew Jamie Rigler who did a restoration.  Bottom photo by Jan-Richard Kikkert.

1949 - The W. F. and Dorothy Gantvoort House, 3778 Hampstead Road, La Canada Flintridge CA. Built by the owners. The engineer was Edgardo Contini.  Sold in 2004.  Two owners since.  Photos by Dorothy Tomlinson.  1804 square feet.  For sale in 2009.

1949 - The Schaeffer Residence, 527 Whiting Woods Road, Montrose area of Glendale CA.  Designed for the mother of one of Lautner's employees, Jim Langenheim.   Sold to Evelyn L. Ellis who lived there from the 1950's through the mid-1980's.  Sold to Michael O'Keefe.  Sold to David Zander.  For sale since 2006.  Featured in the films Happy Endings and A Single Man.  Bottom two photos by Tim Street-Porter.

1949 - The Grant Dahlstrom House, 780 Laguna Road, Pasadena CA.  1853 square feet.
As of 2007, owned by Raimund and Judith Brendel.  Was on the market in early 2009.

1950 - The Leo M. and Lena Harvey House, aka the Harvey Aluminum House, 2180 West Live Oak Drive, Los Feliz area of Los Angeles CA.  A variety of owners had worn the house to the point it was advertised as a teardown.  Sold to Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch, pictured above, in 1998 and restored from 1998 to 2001 by Lautner principal Helena Arahuete.  John de la Veaux was the original builder and came back for the restoration to work with general contractor Robin Poirier.  George Haney and Son did the mechanical.  Landscaping by Good Earth Enterprises.  Lighting by Gilbertson Electrical. House photos by Alan Weintraub.  Glazer and Lynch photo by the New York Times.

1950 - The Louise Foster House, 4235 Las Cruces Road, Sherman Oaks CA.  Owned by Richard and Marjorie Foster since approximately 1990.  Rented to actor Rex Linn for about 20 years.  Bottom photo by Tycho Saariste. 

1950 - The Monroe House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1950 - The Noerdlinger House, Playa del Ray CA.  Unbuilt.

1951 - The George and Grace F. Alexander House, 5281 East El Roble Street, Long Beach CA. 
 Bottom photo by Tycho Saariste.

1951 - The David Shusett House, 9340 Monte Leon Lane, Beverly Hills CA.  Top five photos by Jan-Richard Kikkert and Tycho Saariste.  According to the John Lautner Foundation, the house was built to curve around a major tree. The original plans were drawn by Louis Weihle who was in Lautner’s office at the time.  Although it has been remodeled extensively, the basic structure survived until the end.  Despite offers to buy the property or move the house, owners Enrique and Katalin Mannheim, who purchased it in 1987, destroyed the house in September 2010.  Demolition photos by Mark Haddawy.

1951 - The Baxter Hodiak Remodel, 8650 Pine Tree Place, Los Angeles CA.  Behind a Norman facade lives a Modernist interior designed for Frank Lloyd Wright's granddaughter, Anne Baxter.  Sold to agent Hal Gefsky in 1966, who owned it for over 40 years.  Sold in late 2009.  Photos by Scott Mayoral.

1952 - The Lester and Mildred (Millie) Bick Residence, 220 North Rockingham Avenue, Los Angeles CA.  Destroyed 1990.

1952 - The Ewing Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1952 - The Fern Carr House, Beverly Hills CA.  Landscape design by Jane Taylor.  Featured in a 1953 Sunset Magazine article.  Has been extensively remodeled.

1952 - The Nouard Gootgeld Residence, 1167 Summit Drive, Beverly Hills CA.  Built by Lautner and Gootgeld; Doug Hannold did the interiors.  Sold to the Cameo family in 1958 when Gootgeld passed away.  Sold to the Rothchild family.  There may have been yet another owner.  Sold around 1974 to Priscilla Presley, who restructured the house down to its beams to create a giant Italianate villa.  Photos from Carolyn Gootgeld Levine.  The shadow in the bottom two photos is John Lautner.

1952 - The Harry A. Williams Residence, 3329 Ledgewood Drive, Los Angeles CA.  Built by Kenneth V. Johnson.  Still owned by Williams.  Photos by Jan-Richard Kikkert.

1953 - The Tyler House, 3612 Woodhill Canyon Road, Studio City CA.  Sold to Peter Tangen in 1993.  In 1996 Tangen did a full restoration down to the studs with the oversight of Frank Escher, Helena Arahuete, and Tracy Stone; construction by Sid Loving.  A 2001 softcore film Aria was shot at the house without Tangen's consent.  In 2008, with the owner's approval, the house was used in The Human Contract.  For rent in 2010.  Bottom four photos by Peter Tangen.

1953 - The Ted Bergren House, 7316 Caverna Drive, Los Angeles CA.  Burned down in the late 1950's.  Lautner rebuilt it plus an addition.  Sold to Teri Sue Wolf.  Sold in 2004 to Robbie E. Brenner. Sold again in 2004 to Christian Lamb.  In 2009, it was a rental.  Photos 1,3,4,5 by Jim Simmons.  For sale in 2012.

1953 - The Howe Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Bottom photo by Tycho Saariste. 

1953 - 6144 Linforth, Los Angeles CA.  Advertised as a Lautner design in 2010;  needs verification.  Belongs to the Castagna family, the original owners.  Rented. 

1953 - The Pittenger House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1954 - The Lawrence E. Deutsch Residence, 7163 ????, Los Angeles CA.  Photo by Tycho Saariste.

1955 - The Coneco Corporation House, Sherman Oaks CA. 
Sold to the Thiele family.  Addition in 1962 by Lautner. 

1955 - The Harry C. Fischer House, 2487 Canyon Oak Drive, Los Angeles CA. 

1955 - The Baldwin House, 1949 Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles CA. Photo by Tycho Saariste. 

1956 - The Willis Harpel Residence I, 7764 West Torreyson Drive, Los Angeles CA. Sold to Annette Fulgelso.  Mark Haddawy bought it in 2006 and did a complete restoration, including ripping out a second story addition and recreating Lautner's original interior details.  Photos by Gary Friedman.

1956 - The Stanley and Jeanne Johnson Residence, 789 Pearl, Laguna Beach CA.  Has been sold. 
Top two photos by Jan-Richard Kikkert.

1957 - The Carl and Agnes Pearlman Cabin, 52820 Middleridge Drive, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA. 
Transferred to Pearlman's daughter, Nancy.  She opens it up a few times a year for visitors.

1957 - The Paul Zahn Residence, 2880 Hollyridge Drive, Los Angeles CA.  Built by Kenneth V. Johnson.  Sold in 1992 to Howard Rodman and Anne Friedberg, who had Lautner do a renovation that year.  Has been sold.  Larger photos by Jan-Richard Kikkert.   Featured in DWELL February 2002.

1958 - The George Hatherall House, 10160 Maude Avenue, Shadow Hills CA.  Sold in 1999 to Ted Sprague and Bill Hargate.  Has been extensively remodeled.  On the market in August 2009.  Top photo by Zachary Cornwell.  3.36 acres.

1958 - The Ernest S. and Mildred Lautner House, aka the Round House, 539 El Cerrito Place, Pensacola FL. The client was Lautner's cousin.  The house is circular with brick walls that taper, using 67 radial Douglas Fir beams and a 14-foot central pillar.  The home was featured in the Pensacola News Journal of November 2, 1958.   Sold to his son Max Lautner.  Addition in 1991 by John Lautner. The house today is in mint condition.  Stephen Lautner, nephew of Max, owns it as of 2012. An additional design by John Lautner was not built.  Bottom color photos by Tycho Saariste. 

1958 - The Pearlman House, Santa Ana CA.  Unbuilt.

1958 - The Sawyer House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1958 - The Sheanin House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1959 - The Glazier House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt. 

1958 - The Iwerks House, Sherman Oaks CA.  James Charlton was an architect in Lautner's studio.  He left the practice and took the client.  Remodeled by architect Tracy Stone.  Photo by Tycho Saariste.

1958 - The Lindenberg House, Sherman Oaks CA.  Unbuilt.

1960 - The Leonard J. Malin Residence, aka Chemosphere, 776 Torreyson Drive, Los Angeles CA.  Built by John de la Vaux.  Location for the movie Body Double.  In 1976, the house's second owner, Dr. Richard Kuhn, was stabbed to death there in a robbery. Sold in 2000 to Benedikt and Angelika (Lauren) Taschen, now divorced.  Restored in 2001 by Frank Escher of Escher Gunewarda.  Landscaping and railings by architects Nicholson Wirts.  Featured in the movie Visual Acoustics. 

1960 - The Concannon Residence, Angelo View Drive, Beverly Hills CA.  Sold to the Walters.  Remodeled by Lautner in the early 1980's.  Sold to neighbor James Goldstein in the 1990's.  Rented to Andrea Kreuzhage from 1995 to 2002.  She redesigned and updated the bedroom and kitchen.  Goldstein destroyed the house in 2002 to "perfect" the expansion of his other Lautner house next door.  New construction began in 2005 which was to include a nightclub, offices, home theater, patio deck, small pool, tennis court (on the roof) and guest house.  The new construction, according to Goldstein, is a blending of two structures that Lautner designed but were never built.  Bottom three photos by Andrea Kreuzhage.

1960 - The Alto Capistrano Sales Office, 34000 Via de Agua, San Juan Capistrano CA.  Orginally was a sales center/house for a planned development that never happened.  Has been sold.  Later owners converted the building to a public gym. 

1961 - The Akers House, Malibu CA.  Unbuilt.

1962 - The Russ Garcia House, aka Rainbow, 7436 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA.  Featured (and destroyed) in Lethal Weapon 2.  Sold to Vincent Gallo. Sold in 2002 to Bill Damaschke and John McIlwee. Once described by the New York Times as a "Quonset hut made of glass," the home was restored in 2008 by architects Marmol Radziner and by New York decorator Darren Brown.  Bottom photo by Benny Chan.

1962 - The Martel Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1963 - The Fell Residence, Beverly Hills CA.  Unbuilt.

1963 - The Mann Residence, Huntington Beach CA.  Unbuilt.

1963 - The Morris Residence, Los Angeles CA. Unbuilt.

1963 - The Paul and Helen Sheats House, aka the Sheats-Goldstein House, 10104 Angelo View Drive, Beverly Hills CA, high above Benedict Canyon. Billionaire and rabid Lakers fan James Goldstein bought the house in 1972 and has restored and renovated it since. The house has been featured in The Big Lebowski, Bandits, Charlie's Angels Part II: Full Throttle, and many many commercials.  2011 remodeling by architect Duncan Nicholson, formerly with Lautner's firm. 

1963 - The Marco Wolff House, 8530 Hedges Place, West Hollywood CA.  Guest wing and pool added by Lautner in 1963.  Bought by Vincent Gallo.  Sold to Michael La Fetra, who sold it in 2008.  The new owner put it on the market during 2009. 

1964 - The Reiner-Burchill Residence, aka Silvertop, 2138 Micheltorena Street,  Los Angeles CA.  Built ty Wally Niewiadomski.  Originally owned by Ken Reiner, who commissioned it in 1956.  Reiner's business got in trouble, his wife left him, and the house sat for a decade, mostly complete but still unfinished. Reiner never lived there.  It was sold in 1974 to Jacklyn and Phillip Burchill.

1964 - The Bay Cities Mortgages Residence, Palos Verdes CA.  Unbuilt.

1964 - The Bisherat Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1964 - The Fink Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1964 - The Goldsmith House, Sherman Oaks CA.  Unbuilt.  

1965 - The Clark Residence, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1966 - The Willis Harpel House #2, Stanford Drive, College Village, Anchorage, Alaska. 
Located on Lake Otis.  The builder was John de la Vaux.  Featured in Life Magazine in October 1967.

1966 - The Moser Residence, Oakview CA.  Unbuilt.

1968 - The Arthur Elrod House, 2175 Southridge Drive, Palm Springs CA.  Featured in the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever.  9000 square feet on 23.25 acres.  Five bedrooms and five and a half baths.  Lautner did remodels in 1971 and again in the late 1970's.  Photos by Joshua White.  In 2009, it was briefly part of a timeshare network of three iconic Palm Springs Houses but late in the year was put up for sale. 

  1968 - The Dan Stevens Residence, 23524 Malibu Colony Road, aka 78 Malibu Colony Road, Malibu CA.  No public access - gated community.   Named "House of the Year" by Architectural Record in 1971.  Lautner did a remodel in 1985.  Sold to Steve Austin in 2004.  Sold to Michael La Fetra in 2007. 

1968 - The Wayne Zimmerman Residence, 3848 Berry Drive, Studio City CA.  Lautner designed an addition in 1982 which was not built.  Photo by Tycho Saariste.

1968 - The Peters House, Thousand Oaks CA.  Unbuilt.

1968 - The Robertson House, Lake Hollywood CA.  Unbuilt.

1968 - The Walker House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1968 - The Marco Wolff Mountain Cabin Remodel, aka Windsong, 48700 Twin Pines Road, Banning CA. 

1969 - The Douglas and Octavia Walstrom House, 10500 Selkirk Lane,
Los Angeles CA.  Photos by Joshua White.

Around 1971 - The Garwood Residence, 28815 Grayfox, Malibu CA.  Was remodeled without Lautner. Owned in 2004 by Donald Sher.

1971 - The Lueck House, San Diego CA.  Unbuilt.

1971 - The Moen House, Laguna Beach CA.  Unbuilt.

1971 - The Gary and Elizabeth Familian House, 1011 Cove Way, Beverly Hills CA.  May have been owned by Rock Hudson (unverified).  Sold to Frederick M. Nicholas.  Lautner did a renovation in 1987.  Sold to Robert (Bobby) and Nina Kotick as of 2007.  Middle photo by Tycho Saariste.  Bottom photo by Lewis Schoeplein. 

1973 - The Jeronimo Arango House, aka Casa Marbrisa, Acapulco, Mexico.  25000 square feet.  Structural engineer, T.Y. Lin.  Helena Arahuete designed this with Lautner her first year at his firm.  She now runs the firm.  Second photo by Sarah Sackner. 

1973 - The Franklyn House, northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Unbuilt.

1973 - The Hurd Residence, Horseshoe Bay TX.  Unbuilt.

1974 - The Lautner Mountain Cabin, Three Rivers, Tulare CA.  Unbuilt. 

1974 - The Nichols House, Farmington NM.  Unbuilt.

1974 - The Lucy Residence, Horseshoe Bay TX.  Unbuilt.

1974 - The Rosenthal Residence, Las Vegas NV.  Unbuilt.

1974 - The Ann and Peter Tolstoy House, Hillside Road, Rancho Cucamonga CA.  Commissioned way back in 1961!  The Tolstoys did much of the construction themselves over 13 years.  The property is now used as a weekend barbecue house by the developers of the surrounding acreage.

1974 - The Doumani Duplex, Marina Del Rey CA.  Unbuilt.

1976 - The Curtiss Residence, Hunting Valley OH.  Unbuilt.  Recalled by Lautner associate Warren Lawson.  The project architect was Kay M. Henderson.

1976 - The Familian Beach House, Malibu CA.  Unbuilt.

1976 - The Starr Residence, Bell Canyon area of Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1976 - The Stephen (Steve) R. and Audrey Bosustow Cabin,
Lake Almanor, Chester CA.  Commissioned 1972.  Built.   Has been sold.

1976 - The Hellinger Residence, Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles CA. Unbuilt.

1978 - The Johanna and William Jordan House, 1617 Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach CA. Commissioned 1973.   Sold to Tricia and Mike Berns.  Lautner was working on a renovation when he died.  Top three photos by Jan-RIchard Kikkert. Bottom four photos by Brad Dunning, who did interiors for the renovation.

1978 - The Goldsmith Residence. Unbuilt.  Helena Aruhuete was the project architect.

1979 - The Joann and Gilbert (Gil) Segel Residence, 22426 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. The project architect was Warren Lawson.  Sold to David and Courtney Cox Arquette.  Sold in 2007 to Frank and Jamie McCourt.  The McCourts bought the three-bedroom, three bathroom house next door in 2008 as a guest house. Top photo by Julius Shulman.

1979 - The Bob and Dolores Hope Residence, Southridge Drive, Palm Springs CA.  Close to the Elrod House.  Has 17,531 square feet, has six bedrooms and nearly ten bathrooms.  Located in a gated community, no access.  Commissioned 1973.  The first design burned down in 1973 during construction.  Dolores Hope made sweeping interior changes to the second design - so much so that Lautner eventually distanced himself from the project.  Bottom photo by Tasya Van Ree. For sale in 2013.

About 1979 - The Ron Popeil Residence, Colewater Canyon area of Los Angeles CA, recalled by Lautner associate Warren Lawson.  Unbuilt.

 About 1980 - The DePortillo Residence, located near Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House, recalled by Lautner associate Roger Bennett.  The client, Mrs. DePortillo, wanted the most beautiful house in Los Angeles.  After many drawings, the client decided not to build.

1980 - The Robert and Marjorie Rawlins Residence, 804 South Bayfront, Newport Beach CA.  The project architect was Warren Lawson.  Built on the last bayfront lot on Balboa Island.  2100 sf.   Robert died in 1993 and Marjorie died in 2009.  The house was put on the market in 2010. 

1980 - The Bornstein House, Los Angeles CA.  Unbuilt.

1981 - The Turner Condominiums, Marina Del Rey CA.  Unbuilt.

1981 - The Lynn Residence, Santa Barbara CA.  A 5000-square-foot concrete house.  Unbuilt.

1981 - The Ellersieck Residence, Altadena CA.  Unbuilt.

1982 - The Allan Turner and Jude Risk-Turner Residence, 51 Heather Lane, Aspen CO.  Designed with William Poss.  Lautner described it as "creating a snowdrift in winter and a grass mound in summer".  Two million pounds of post-inch steel run under the house, holding it together like a bow and arrow. When snow piles on the house or when there's a change in humidity or heat, the roof moves up or down.   Sold in 2002 to Milton and Saralyn Sidley who have done some remodeling.  Bottom photo by Jan-Richard Kikkert.

1982 - The Alden Schwimmer Residence, 1435 Bella Drive, Beverly Hills CA.  Top two photos by Marissa Gluck.  Sold to Harriet Selling-Canepa who did renovations led by architect Duncan Nicholson. Sold in 2009 to Fred Droesch.

  1983 - The Shirlin and Stanley Beyer Residence, 6515 Point Lechuza, Malibu CA  Commissioned 1975.  Various disputes with the California Coastal Commission plus cost overruns took the project way over time and budget.  Architect Warren Lawson worked with Lautner on early versions but the project was finished by architect Richard Turner.  Sold by the Beyers in 1998 to Sam Zell. Third photo by Mike Burns.  Bottom two photos by Tycho Saariste.

1983 - The Krause House, 24444 Malibu Road, Malibu CA. According to Roger Bennett, the project architect, the original owners intended it as a spec house but loved it so much they stayed.  Has been sold several times.  Sold to Richard (Dick) and Cindy Troop.  Photos by Jan-Richard Kikkert. 

1984 - The Ring House, Malibu CA. Unbuilt.

1986 - The Roven House, Beverly Hills CA.  Unbuilt.

1988 - The Haagen Beach Residence, Malibu CA.  Unbuilt.

1990 - The Levy Residence, aka the Concrete Castle, aka the Pacific Coast house, aka the Concrete Contemporary, aka the Malibu Cliff House, 32402 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. Commissioned 1980.  Engineering by Andrew Nasser.  Built by Wally Niewiadomski.  Lautner had the rare client with pretty much an unlimited budget. This was Lautner's last major project.  As of 2007, owned by Iteco Ltd and Ken Hellie, a holding company for Levy.  Top two photos by Mike Burns.

Levy asked Lautner for a "whole new world, private, serene, and soundproof," folding the land into a huge discrete enclosure. All normal distinctions between roof and wall were forgotten. The house had "35-foot high, varying, curving, sloping concrete walls enclosing the entire property as living space and becoming the roof of the main house - all one idea."

A ramp leads up along the outside of one of the walls, crosses through the wall, and slips beneath the roof, folding out of the perimeter wall. A series of apertures in an irregular pattern bring light throught the shell and give the roof a visual lightness. The cavernous shell at its apex only four inches thick.

1990 - The Townsend Residence, Malibu CA. Unbuilt.

1990 - The Boli Residence, Los Angeles CA. Unbuilt.

1990 - The Yokeno House, Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles CA. 
7000 square feet.  Project stopped just after construction started.

1992 - The Shearing House, 15 Green Turtle Road, Coronado Cays, Coronado CA.  Was on the market for a while in 2007.  The 3675 sf house has four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.  For rent as of September 2009.

1993 - The Wood/Greenhouse Residence, Malibu CA.  Unbuilt.

1994 - The Whiting Residence, Sun Valley.  Unbuilt.

Sources include: John Lautner Foundation, vtrammel.com, Martin Daoust, Wikipedia, Blockshopper, Modern San Diego, LALife, YouAreHere, Pacific Coast Arch Database, Judith Lautner Remembers, Kay Henderson, Warren Lawson, Roger Bennett, The Architecture of John Lautner, by Alan Hess; Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner by Jean-Louis Cohen, Frank Escher, and Nicholas Olsberg; Lautner collection at the Getty Research Institute.