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The fireplace with its two fireboxes, one indoor, one for outdoor entertaining, acts as the hub of the plan. Mrs. Alpha requested that it be laid in flagstone because "on the occasion of picnic parties, with youngsters about, there will probably be continuous traffic from one open air terrace to the other- root beer to be spilled and greasy sandwiches to drip." Coincidentally, a Mrs. George Wilkins- a real client who with her husband purchased a quiet, wooded double lot in South Pasadena in 1947- has the exact same concerns about root beer and greasy sandwiches. And like Mrs. Alpha, it was her "specific wish" that there be a "psychological connection" between the two terraces. So Neutra designed identical breezeways for both women.... The detailing of the house included a little-seen but elegant ventilation strategy in the living and master bedroom, with screened birch panels placed below a row of casement windows. Hinged from the top, they introduced air inside when curtains were drawn. It also allowed the casements to be without screens, which Neutra avoided where possible because they compromised the outdoor view.
Excerpt: Neutra; Complete Works. Barbara Mac Lamprecht. pp 216, Gordon E. and Mary D. Wilkins House, 1949.
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