Frank Gehry, David Cabin 1958
The David Cabin was designed and built by Frank Gehry along with his USC friend and fellow architect C. Gregory Walsh, in 1958. The 2,100 square foot home was built for client Melvin David, a family friend of Gehry's first wife Anita Snyder, for vacationing. It was made with wood frame, concrete block and redwood siding. According to biographer Paul Goldberger, Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry, the house "was s sad chapter in Frank's troubled relationship with his father. It is the only house that Irving saw and his recollection is that Irving was not impressed."
The house actually has quite a bit of evidence of a creative and talented architect of 1958. The home shows many influences of Asian, craftsmen, modern styles and characteristics of many of Gehry's future works. Original pictures show protruding beams that extend outward 4-5 feet from each side (currently a deck resting on top of original beams) and act as the basis for the interior, modern box design. A faux structure with windows sits on the top-center of the home, emphasizing balance and harmony, a symbol of Asian architecture. Overlaying redwood, craftsman-like trimming and siding show attention to great detail surrounding windows and door frames. Within the interior of the home, the use of plywood covered walls are throughout the entire upstairs, showing this earliest "Gehryesque" attribute in his designs. Wood columns create continuous flow, framing built-in sliding wood cupboards/counters and large windows, Exposed, On the bottom floor, unfinished wood ceiling beams are visible downstairs and concrete block walls. A large stone chimney for two fire places, one each upstairs and down stairs, is flanked upstairs by expansive viewing windows. Creative storage is ample and quite abundant for a 1958 home. A high level of an attention to detail is obvious and the home is strong and extremely well built.