The Treetops Apartments were built in 1980 as Dion Neutra's independent commission, built on a steep, vacant lot on Earl Street that he had acquired fourteen years earlier. Unlike the glass-and-steel modernism associated with his father Richard, this three-unit complex was designed as a speculative response to urban density on the challenging hillside site.
The building breaks dramatically from the Neutra canon with its wood-shingled exterior, surrounded by tall trees and dense shrubbery that evoke a mountain retreat rather than sleek modernist principles. Each unit spans approximately 1,200 square feet with two bedrooms, two full baths, and a large master bedroom offering mountain and lake views. The complex incorporates natural materials extensively alongside walls of glass, representing his signature approach that combined Richard's biorealist philosophy with a warmer, more organic material palette.
