Case Study Houses
Encyclopedia
The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by Arts & Architecture
magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra
, Raphael Soriano
, Craig Ellwood
, Charles and Ray Eames
, Pierre Koenig
and Eero Saarinen
, to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the United States residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II
and the return of millions of soldiers.
The program ran intermittently from 1945 until 1966. The first six houses were built by 1948 and attracted more than 350,000 visitors. While not all 36 designs were built, most of those that were constructed were built in Los Angeles
; a few are in the San Francisco Bay Area
, and one was built in Phoenix, Arizona
. A number of them appeared in the magazine in iconic black-and-white photographs by architectural photographer Julius Shulman
.
Arts & Architecture
Arts & Architecture was an American design, architecture, landscape, and arts magazine. It was published and edited by John Entenza from 1940–1962 and David Travers 1962–1967. Arts & Architecture played a significant role both in Los Angeles's cultural history and in the development of American...
magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
, Raphael Soriano
Raphael Soriano
Raphael S. Soriano, FAIA, was an influential architect and educator who helped define a period of 20th century architecture that came to be known as Mid-century modern...
, Craig Ellwood
Craig Ellwood
Craig Ellwood was an influential Los Angeles-based modernist architect whose career spanned the early 1950s through the mid-1970s. Although untrained as an architect, Ellwood fashioned a persona and career through equal parts of a talent for good design, self-promotion and ambition...
, Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
, Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig was an American architect.Born in San Francisco, he received his B.Arch. in 1952 from the University of Southern California. Koenig apprenticed under Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the west coast and was most notable for...
and Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
, to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the United States residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the return of millions of soldiers.
The program ran intermittently from 1945 until 1966. The first six houses were built by 1948 and attracted more than 350,000 visitors. While not all 36 designs were built, most of those that were constructed were built in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
; a few are in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, and one was built in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. A number of them appeared in the magazine in iconic black-and-white photographs by architectural photographer Julius Shulman
Julius Shulman
Julius Shulman was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph "Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as The Stahl House. Shulman's photography spread California Mid-century modern around the world...
.
List of Case Study Houses
Number | Name | Architect(s) | Publication | Constructed | Status | Address | City | Arts & Architecture PDF link | Virtual Globetrotting link |
1 | J. R. Davidson | February 1945 | 1945 | Unbuilt | CSH#1 | ||||
1 | J. R. Davidson | February 1948 | 1948 | Extant | 10152 Toluca Lake Avenue | North Hollywood | CSH#1 | VGT | |
2 | Sumner Spaulding and John Rex | August 1947 | 1947 | Extant | 857 Chapea Road | Pasadena Pasadena, California Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet... |
CSH#2 | VGT | |
3 | William Wurster William Wurster William Wilson Wurster was an American architect and architectural teacher at the University of California, Berkeley and at MIT, best known for his residential designs in California. - Biography :... and Theodore Bernardi |
March 1949 | 1949 | Extant | 13187 Chalon Road | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
CSH#3 | VGT | |
4 | Greenbelt House | Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson was the head of architecture at the University of Minnesota for many years... |
September 1945 | Unbuilt | CSH#4 | ||||
5 | Loggia House | Whitney R. Smith | April 1946 | Unbuilt | CSH#5 | ||||
6 | Omega | Richard Neutra Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family... |
October 1945 | Unbuilt | CSH#6 | ||||
7 | Thornton Abell | July 1948 | 1948 | Extant | 634 North Deerfield Avenue | San Gabriel San Gabriel, California San Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913... |
CSH#7 | VGT | |
8 | Eames House Eames House The Eames House is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture located at 203 North Chautauqua Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles... |
Charles and Ray Eames Charles and Ray Eames Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in... |
December 1949 | 1949 | Extant | 203 Chautauqua Boulevard | Pacific Palisades | CSH#8 | VGT |
9 | Entenza House | Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,... |
July 1950 | 1949 | Extant | 205 Chautauqua Boulevard | Pacific Palisades | CSH#9 | VGT, VGT |
10 | Kemper Nomland and Kemper Nomland, Jr. | October 1947 | 1947 | Extant | 711 San Rafael Avenue | Pasadena Pasadena, California Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet... |
CSH#10 | VGT | |
11 | J. R. Davidson | July 1946 | 1946 | Demolished | 540 South Barrington Avenue | West Los Angeles | CSH#11 | ||
12 | Whitney R. Smith | February 1946 | Unbuilt | CSH#12 | |||||
13 | Alpha | Richard Neutra Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family... |
March 1946 | Unbuilt | CSH#13 | ||||
15 | J. R. Davidson | January 1947 | 1947 | Extant | 4755 Lasheart Drive | La Cañada Flintridge | CSH#15 | VGT | |
16 | Rodney Walker | February 1947 | 1947 | Demolished | 9945 Beverly Grove Drive | Beverly Hills | CSH#16 | ||
17A | Rodney Walker | July 1947 | 1947 | Demolished | 7861 Woodrow Wilson Drive | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
CSH#17 | VGT | |
17B | Craig Ellwood Craig Ellwood Craig Ellwood was an influential Los Angeles-based modernist architect whose career spanned the early 1950s through the mid-1970s. Although untrained as an architect, Ellwood fashioned a persona and career through equal parts of a talent for good design, self-promotion and ambition... |
March 1956 | 1956 | Remodeled Beyond Recognition | 9554 Hidden Valley Road | Beverly Hills | CSH#17 | ||
18A | West House | Rodney Walker | February 1948 | 1948 | Extant | 199 Chautauqua Boulevard | Pacific Palisades | CSH#18 | VGT |
18B | Fields House | Craig Ellwood | June 1958 | 1958 | Remodeled Beyond Recognition | 1129 Miradero Road | Beverly Hills | CSH#18 | VGT |
19A | Don Knorr | September 1947 | Unbuilt | CSH#19 | |||||
20A | Stuart Bailey House | Richard Neutra Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family... |
December 1948 | 1948 | Extant | 219 Chautauqua Boulevard | Pacific Palisades | CSH#20 | VGT |
20B | Bass House | C. Buff, C. Straub, D. Hensman | November 1958 | 1958 | Demolished | 2275 Santa Rosa Avenue | Altadena Altadena, California Altadena is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center, and directly north of the city of Pasadena, California... |
CSH#20 | |
21A | Richard Neutra Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family... |
May 1947 | Unbuilt | CSH#21 | |||||
21B | Walter Bailey House | Pierre Koenig Pierre Koenig Pierre Koenig was an American architect.Born in San Francisco, he received his B.Arch. in 1952 from the University of Southern California. Koenig apprenticed under Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the west coast and was most notable for... |
February 1959 | 1958 | Extant | 9048 Wonderland Park Avenue | West Hollywood | CSH#21 | VGT |
1950 | Raphael Soriano Raphael Soriano Raphael S. Soriano, FAIA, was an influential architect and educator who helped define a period of 20th century architecture that came to be known as Mid-century modern... |
December 1950 | 1950 | Remodeled | 1080 Ravoli Drive | Pacific Palisades | CSH1950 | VGT | |
1953 | Craig Ellwood Craig Ellwood Craig Ellwood was an influential Los Angeles-based modernist architect whose career spanned the early 1950s through the mid-1970s. Although untrained as an architect, Ellwood fashioned a persona and career through equal parts of a talent for good design, self-promotion and ambition... |
June 1953 | 1953 | Extant | 1811 Bel Air Road | Bel-Air | CSH1953 | VGT | |
22 | Stahl House Stahl House Case Study House #22, aka Stahl House, is a modernist styled house in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, California that was designed by Pierre Koenig... |
Pierre Koenig Pierre Koenig Pierre Koenig was an American architect.Born in San Francisco, he received his B.Arch. in 1952 from the University of Southern California. Koenig apprenticed under Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the west coast and was most notable for... |
June 1960 | 1960 | Extant | 1635 Woods Drive | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
CSH#22 | VGT |
23 | Triad | Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth, FAIA was an American architect. He is best known as a participant in Arts & Architecture's Case Study program in the mid-1950s. He designed and built Case Study House #25, "The Frank House," in Naples, California. He also designed numerous luxury hotels all over the world and... , Brady, Smith & Assoc. |
March 1961 | 1960 | Extant | Rue de Anna | La Jolla La Jolla, San Diego, California La Jolla is an affluent, hilly seaside resort community, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California within the northern city limits of San Diego. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009; the average price of a standardized... |
CSH#23 | VGT |
24 | A. Quincy Jones A. Quincy Jones Archibald Quincy Jones, FAIA was a prolific Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design.-Childhood and early career:... and Frederick E. Emmons |
December 1961 | Unbuilt | CSH#24 | |||||
25 | Frank House | Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth, FAIA was an American architect. He is best known as a participant in Arts & Architecture's Case Study program in the mid-1950s. He designed and built Case Study House #25, "The Frank House," in Naples, California. He also designed numerous luxury hotels all over the world and... , Brady, Smith & Assoc. |
December 1962 | 1962 | Extant | 82 Rivo Alto Canal | Long Beach Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257... |
CSH#25 | VGT |
26 | Harrison House | Beverley "David" Thorne | January 1963 | 1963 | Extant | 177 San Marino Drive | San Rafael San Rafael, California San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area... |
CSH#26 | VGT |
27 | Campbell and Wong | June 1963 | Unbuilt | CSH#27 | |||||
28 | C. Buff and D. Hensman | September 1965 | 1966 | Extant | 91 Inverness Road | Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak.... |
CSH#28 | VGT | |
Apt 1 | Alfred N. Beadle Al Beadle Alfred N. Beadle V was an American modernistic architect active in Phoenix, Arizona.During his lifetime Beadle was best known for designing Case Study Apartment #1, a three-unit apartment development in Phoenix, AZ, which was part of the Case Study House program of Arts & Architecture magazine... and Alan A. Dailey |
September 1964 | 1964 | Extant | 4402 28th Street | Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... |
CSApts#1 | VGT | |
Apt 2 | Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth Edward Killingsworth, FAIA was an American architect. He is best known as a participant in Arts & Architecture's Case Study program in the mid-1950s. He designed and built Case Study House #25, "The Frank House," in Naples, California. He also designed numerous luxury hotels all over the world and... , Brady, Smith & Assoc. |
May 1964 | Unbuilt | CSApts#2 |