At last, some good news in the world of residential architecture: R.M. Schindler’s Fitzpatrick House (1936), in Los Angeles, has been donated to the MAK Center for Art and Architecture by real estate investor Russ Leland, who bought the home in 1990 and spent 15 years restoring it.
The rechristened Fitzpatrick-Leland House is now being used for the newly launched MAK Urban Future Initiative (UFI), which allows researchers from Asia, Latin American, Africa, and the Middle East to dwell in the house for two-month periods as they investigate immigration, sustainability, and other urban issues.
“This is a huge move for us,” says MAK director Kimberli Meyer. The building—Schindler’s only spec house—is the third property by the architect operated and occupied by the nonprofit. “The challenge is, how do you invigorate and engage a historic piece of architecture? We’re not interested in making house museums.”
