Harwell Hamilton Harris
Architecture - 1923
Born in Redlands, California in 1903, Harwell Hamilton Harris ('23) created a very
personal Southern California architectural style that carefully modulated interior
and exterior space. He began his studies at Pomona College but dropped out to study
sculpture at the Otis Art Institute. In 1928, he began working with architect Richard
Neutra with whom he was associated until 1932. ...
Adopting Neutra's modernist sensiblity, Harris merged the vernacular of California
with a sensitivity to site and materials characteristic of the American Arts & Crafts
movement. In his residential work of the 1930s and 1940s, Harris created a tension
and a continuum between exterior and interior with continuous rooflines. Learning
from Frank Lloyd Wright, he designed interior spaces that are often based on the cruciform
plan. His work is characterized by a careful use of materials and clean, fluid spaces.
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