designed by  John Lautner (1960), photo by Echo_29

“What was great about Lautner,” says Benedikt Taschen, “is that he had this dualism about nature and the city. On the other side, it’s very quiet,” he says of the home’s northern edge, which contains the bedroom and his office. “It’s pure nature, with all kinds of animals: skunks, bobcats, coyotes, deer. They are not shy; you almost have nose prints on the window. And here,” Taschen says, walking toward the living room window that faces the Valley’s homes and skyscrapers along the 101 Freeway, “it’s all city.”