#chemosphere

The Chemosphere, 7776 Torreyson Dr. Los Angeles

Perched on the Hollywood Hills like an observatory, designed by architect John Lautner, Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentice. In 1960, Leonard Malin, an aerospace engineer, was given a plot of land by his father-in-law to build a family house. The land turned out to be on steep hills and thus highly inhospitable to any type of development. Malin, who had a tight budget of $30,000, offered the challenge to Lautner, who came up with a one-story octagonal house design, which would be supported by several beams resting on a large concrete slab 30 feet high.