Here’s Why Chemosphere is the Most Modern House in the World

Immediately looking at this round frisbee-like structure might leave you thinking… Is it a spaceship that got stuck in the middle of a canopy? 

Perched like a mushroom atop 29 feet and 5 feet in width, the Chemosphere is known to even those who don’t know anything about the mid-20th century. John Lautner, the architect and designer of the structure, is a trailblazer. The house was designed for the young aerospace engineer Leonard Mullin.

If you had to build the most modern house that ever existed… What design will you come up with? Obviously, something that has never been created but also something that is possible to construct. Don't make doodles and expect it to make sense. 

About the Malin House

He was able to construct a home on his $30,000 tight budget on a steep site which was a difficult location to build on. He commissioned innovative architect John Lautner to build a large concrete structure. He built several structures supported by purlin. He was commissioned to design a one-story octagonal house supported by thick metal beams.Marin’s mansion is one of the strangest buildings in California.

Engineer Leonard had to work with something that was gifted by Marin’s father-in-law on the slopes. And we all know what they say about the gifts by father in laws- you accept it with a happy face!

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Marin vowed to build a home for his wife and children on an unconventional land gifted to him. Thanks to Lautner’s ingenious design and sponsorships from companies like ChemSeal, which provided the experimental coatings and gave the building its name, Marin’s wish was granted. Marin and his wife raised his four children at home.

Leave it to the aerospace engineers to fixate on building a flying saucer-shaped house on a dangerously steep slope. John Lautner wanted an anchored structure even at vertiginous angles of the Hollywood Hills.

This innovative design was the solution to a difficult site that was considered wipe out as it stood on a 45-degree slope. However, the house has withstood earthquakes and heavy rain because the concrete foundations with a diameter of about 6m that support the pillars are buried underground.

The plan behind the building was not to make it look like an alien UFO but something that is a unique and comfortable housing structure for the hills.

You can reach the location by cable car. The chemosphere is bisected by a central exposed brick wall with a central fireplace surrounded by quiet seating. The original decor was provided by John H. Smith, the first African-American elected to the National Institute of Interior Designers.

After Marin and his family had to move out of Los Angeles due to the high cost of living in the famous state, the Chemosphere was given out on rent to a wild party that wretched the place.

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Recognition of the Most Modern House of L.A

People are always left in awe after they see Marin's bohemian residence, often left wondering, why no one said there was an alien sighting in California with its impeccable scape of the San Fernando Valley. The mushroom building has been featured in a myriad of TV shows and movies. Debut of the house was in the movie 'The Duplicate Man', an episode of the ABC TV show 'The Outer Limits' ; the location was used in several scenes.

Another was in the 1984 film 'Body Double' directed by Brian De Palma, then the house made a huge mark by being a residence in 'Charlie's Angels' in the 2000.

Afterwards in The Simpsons as Phil Hartman's Springfield mansion who played Troy McClure and then lastly in the end credits of teh 2015 disney movie Tomorrowland which starred George Clooney. Chemosphere was designated as a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Landmark in 2004. It was also listed among the top 10 homes in Los Angeles in a December 2008 Los Angeles Times poll of professionals.

At Present

Since 1998, the house has been the residence of Benedikt Tascan, from the German publishing house Taschen. He got the house restored when he decided on moving in, as the house was left wretched after it was rented. The only issue with the house even today is the high cost of maintenance. During the restoration, the designers and architects revealed details that were unavailable when the Chemosphere came into existence 40 years back due to lack of modern technology.

The recent restoration that was done by Escher GuneWardena Architecture, received an award from the Los Angeles Conservancy. A book was published on Lautner, which was also the first book of the preservation architect Frank Escher. The Taschen's planned to authorise Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to construct a new big enough guesthouse at the base of the chemosphere. The new construction was planned to hold an art collection and a library that provided plenty of rooms for the four Taschen children. This plan was later banished due to fear of usurp that will happen with the chemosphere.