out and up, supporting and stabilizing the outer rim of the house, and the center of the pillar also houses the utility cables and pipes. Lautner provided access from the driveway up the steep hillside by installing a funicular, which terminates at a short sloping gangway that leads up to the entrance. The house is octagonal in plan and lozenge-shape in section, and is often described as a "flying saucer". Since there are effectively no solid external walls – the entire outer "face" of the house is eight large picture windows – the Chemosphere enjoys a panoramic view over the San Fernando Valley. The massive, radiating glued laminated timber roof bearers and crossbeams, which echo the keel and ribs of a ship hull, were built by de la Vaux using the same type of mortise joints he had used in his boat building. Construction of the highly unusual project saw the initial $30,000 budget blow out to over $100,000, but fortunately, Malin and Lautner were able to cover the shortfall by obtaining corporate sponsorship, including funding from the Southern California Gas Company and support from the Chemseal Corporation of America, who provided sealants, plastics and other materials, in return for use of the house for promotions and the right to name the house the "Chemosphere" for advertising purposes. After passing through a succession of owners, the building was rented out and occasionally used as a party venue and by the 1990s the interior was considerably degraded. German publisher Benedikt Taschen purchased the house in 2000 and restored it in collaboration with architects Frank Escher and Ravi Gunewardena, earning them an award from the Los Angeles Conservancy. The Chemosphere is now a Los Angeles landmark and in 2008 a panel of experts commissioned by the Los Angeles Times rated the Chemosphere as one of the "Top 10 houses of all time in L.A.". It is one of the most unusual and distinctive houses in the Los Angeles area and its unique design has led to it being featured or referenced in many media productions. Reiner Residence ("Silvertop") () As his career developed. Lautner increasingly explored the use of concrete and he designed a number of homes for his more affluent clients that featured major structural elements fabricated from reinforced concrete. A commission by industrialist Kenneth Reiner, the 4,721 square feet Reiner-Burchill Residence, "Silvertop" (1956–76), was his first major exploration of the