The Full CGI Kaufmann Desert House
Completed in 1947, the Kaufmann Desert House is arguably the finest example of mid-century modernist architecture. The single-family residence was designed by master architect Richard Neutra in 1946 for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr, a Pittsburgh businessman that had commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater a decade prior. The house was immortalised by the timeless black and white photography of Julius Shulman, now considered the most influential architectural photographer since the modern era.
Many of the compositional techniques photographers and artists adopt now were pioneered by him in the middle of the 20th century. Shulman's photography shaped the way that architects, photographers and the public perceived the built environment and he possessed the unique ability to distil the character and atmosphere of a building and its surroundings through his lens. He was able to bring the outside in and extend the inside out with striking perspectives, wide angles and diagonal forms.
The following set of CGI's are the result of my studies, experimentation and desire to better understand both Neutra's masterpiece and the photographic and compositional excellence of Shulman. I wanted to experience the house from Shulman's perspective, see it from within his lens in an attempt to better understand his process of developing compositions and why he made the photographic decisions he did.
