Restoring the Chemosphere

Benedikt Taschen, the German publisher turned Angeleno, fell in love with architect John Lautner's famous Chemosphere house that hangs over the Valley near Laurel Canyon. After being rented out as a party house for a decade, it was pretty worn out and languished on the market for so long it got into an episode of "The Simpsons." Still, Taschen and his (soon to be ex-) wife Angelika bought it, and with direction from architect Frank Escher of the Lautner Archives the Chemosphere has been restored to its original 1960 grandeur and then some. Scott Timberg has the background on the house and its remodel in Thursday's LAT Home section.