Site overview
Richard J. Neutra designed the split-level Hafley house, and the adjacent one-story Moore house, as an integrated architectural composition. These structures are modern and characteristically “Neutra,†yet harmonious with the neighborhood’s more traditional architectural character. The open-plan interiors are striking. The range of features that exploit the potential of a sloped roof reflects a command of complexity rare in Neutra’s comparable mid-century American designs.The Hafley House is not “typical Neutra,†usually experienced as an isolated flat-roofed example of the International or post-and-beam styles, standing amidst other homes less radically inclined. In contrast, this pair of houses combines aesthetic artistry and acumen with proscriptive rules, while furthering Neutra’s convictions about houses in a larger setting. Retaining a high degree of integrity, the Hafely house contributes a superb expression of modernist architecture to California’s cultural heritage.