We continue our Eichler theme here on the Journal with a superb trailer for a very exciting documentary project by California realtor, Monique Lombardelli: “People In Glass Houses – The Legacy Of Joseph Eichler”.
Monique became a true Eichler fan when driving along the streets of Sunnyvale for this first time back in 2009 and found herself in an Eichler development surrounded by low-slung, sleek homes of such beauty that she had to slam on the brakes and stop the car in awe!
Understandably captivated, she has gone on to undertake a remarkable project collating the history of the properties, combined it with interviews and anecdotes from present-day Eichler owners and their midcentury communities, and set all this against the lifestory of their visionary developer Joseph Eichler.
As the trailer shows, the film offers a clear insight into how the post-and-beam construction method gave the framework for key Eichler characteristics: the open floorplans, flat or gently sloping roofs, internal atria… and of course, those expansive walls of glass which give rise to the film’s title.
‘People In Glass Houses’ promises to be an important timepiece, documenting one of the key proponents of the mid- 20th century movement in domestic architecture whose legacy continues to inspire, uplift and provide ultracool roofs over the heads of their lucky owners.
Check out the behind-the-scenes footage too… (and see if you can spot the X-100)… there’s not long to wait until the film is formally released this coming May!
Behind the Scenes:
…And just as a comic footnote: those walls of glass can sometimes have slight downsides, as pointed out in this advertisement for Windex which features a particularly lovely Eichler home…
Windex and the Walls of Glass:
Chairsmith
Design Milk
Manhattan Nest
Obsessilicious
Plastolux
Take Sunset
The Brick House
The Mid-Century Modernist
Walnut Grey
WowHaus