Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract

Architect Gregory Ain envisioned modern, high-quality housing at affordable prices. In 1948, he constructed a series of 52 houses in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles—a project marketed as "Modernique Homes."



Ain’s philosophy was simple but radical: modern architecture makes for better living and should be available to everyone, not just the elite. Unlike his contemporaries in the Case Study House program, Ain focused on the working class.

What makes these houses unique:

  • The Flexible Floorplan: Through the use of sliding wooden panels, a resident could create a massive living room for entertaining or divide the space into three private bedrooms depending on the family's needs.

  • Individuality Through Rotation: To avoid the "cookie-cutter" look of post-war suburbs, Ain rotated the same floor plan in different directions and varied the garage placements.

  • Landscape as Social Glue: Working with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo, the tract was designed without fences. They even planted different varieties of fruit trees in each backyard to encourage neighbors to trade fruit and build community.


Advertisement from the LA Times 1948

Today, the Mar Vista Tract is protected as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). It was the first post-WWII modern district in Los Angeles to receive this status, ensuring that Ain’s vision of a "park-like" neighborhood remains intact for future generations.

The "Modernique" Strategy: A Utopian Marketing Bridge

The name "Modernique"—a blend of Modern and Unique—was a calculated move to sell a radical lifestyle to the post-war middle class. While the houses shared a single, cost-effective floor plan, Ain’s marketing emphasized that no two homes felt the same due to his clever use of rotation and garage placement. It was an early attempt to solve the "suburban monotony" problem before it even fully began. By branding the tract as "Modernique," Ain was promising the efficiency of the industrial age with the soul and individuality of custom architecture. He wasn't just selling a roof and four walls; he was selling a "social experiment" where flexible walls and shared fruit trees were the primary amenities. Today, as we look back from 2026, it remains a rare example of a housing development that prioritized human interaction over private boundaries—a truly "unique" modern vision that still resonates.







Comments

  1. up_today_archNovember 6, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    every style has it's own utopya... so and modernism, but I think it contains a lot of brilliant ideas about the rational way of life!

    ReplyDelete
  2. James PerryNovember 7, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    yes, definitely some ideas are contained within, and i like the mass production approach to reduce the cost.

    ReplyDelete

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