James Bridges wrote parts of the China Syndrome, Urban Cowboy and other films on a manual Underwood typewriter in a relatively cramped, windowless studio office in the basement of the Sturges house.  Since the main floor is so small, Bridges must have felt a need to "hide out" below (a somewhat curious choice given the huge primary deck and expansive roof deck, but certainly a place to get away and focus).

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Debbie Getlin, Bridges long-time assistant recounts that he would wake up at 5am, draft a series of pages on his Underwood and leave them for her on the Lautner dining table, where she would plug-in and retype on her electric typewriter.

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Without a doubt, Wright didn't contemplate the basement as finished space. Tucked under and accessed by a narrow stair, the basement is primarily an artifact of the prodigious cantilver.  And  the basement was an extremely unusual feature in a Los Angeles house of the era.  

 

That said, the basement has a surprising charm.  Briges also used the basement as a dark room to develop film.