El Pueblo Ribera Court L O C A T I O N : L A J O L L A, C A L I F O R N I A
A R C H I T E C T : R. M. S C H I N D L E R
YEAR:1923-1925
El Pueblo Ribera Court was a multi-dwelling complex, designed by Rudolph Schindler as 12 individual units to be rented out as vacation homes in the 1920’s. Schindler argued there should be no separation between the interior and exterior environment. In Pueblo Ribera it is clear to see the integration of environment and architecture. The roof terraces were covered with a suspended trellis; it’s accessed by an outdoor stairway and was meant to be used as a living and sleeping space and for viewing the ocean. The units of the Pueblo Ribera were composed through hierarchical circulation diagrams, the main objective was to have the most privacy between the units. The units all include a private outdoor patio/ garden space. The first concept for the Pueblo Ribera is the creation and composition of the units through hierarchical circulation diagrams. Each unit has a main central area with two lateral masses on either end. The stairs are outdoors suggesting south western influences from pueblos occupied by Native Americans such as the Sinagua tribe; In the same manner that these villages had their ladders on the outside connecting rooms the Pueblo Ribera circulation mimics this gesture. Another concept was to design a unit with the most privacy and still have great views. Each unit is U-shaped with a roof terrace, which provides the most privacy and still offers views to the ocean. Because of the topography, the roof terraces don’t get in the way of each other. The final concept for the Pueblo Ribera is the application of the architecture as landscape and the integration between site and structure. The architectural gestures and materials applied compliment each others tonality of site and structure. The complex nestles into the topography and the as already stated, each unit has a private garden and consisted of suspended trellises which further help in blending with the landscape. The materials that were applied in these units were concrete, (local sand for some aggregate), redwood and glass.