Frank Gehry’s landmark Schnabel House, updated oh so carefully

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Frank Gehry’s Schnabel House in Brentwood has been called many things: deconstructivist design (which Gehry says is inaccurate). Free-form architecture. Career watershed. Status symbol. Family home. Sculpture.

When Jon Platt, Tony Award-winning producer of ‘Angels in America’ and a current producer of ‘Wicked’ on Broadway, moved into the residence in 2006, it became something else: passion project. He went on to spend four years ‘invisibly shepherding this house into the 21st century,’ but in a way that he hoped would please Gehry.

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-- Lizzie Garrett Mettler

Photo, top: A new wading pool wraps around the Schnabel House, which actually consists of several structures on a 25,000-square-foot Brentwood lot. Credit: Nick Springett

Photo, middle: Jon Platt shows Frank Gehry how the home’s controls for television, cooling, lighting, security and other functions are now tied into a single system controlled by iPad. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Photo, bottom: Homeowner and architect take a breather in the living area during a recent party at the house, a canvas of wood, glass and copper. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

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