Koenig’s Case Study House 22

Architect: Pierre Koenig
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Project Year: 1957-1959

The house was built part of the Case Study House experiments for residential housing sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine, which hired major architects including Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig and Eero Saarinen, to design and build inexpensive model homes for the housing boom caused by the end of World War II.

There were in total over 30 houses built and no. 22 is without a doubt the most stylish and famous one. Located on a hill in West Hollywood, overlooking downtown LA it features large windows, a pool and design to die for. For anyone who is in or near Los Angeles, don’t miss out on this opportunity to travel back in time to a iconic architectural landmark.

The Case Study House Program produced some of the most iconic architectural projects of the 20th Century, but none more iconic than or as famous as the Stahl house, also known as Case Study House #22 by Pierre Koenig.  The modern residence overlooks Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills. It was completed in 1959 for Buck Stahl and his family. Buck Stahl had envisioned a modernist glass and steel constructed house that offered panoramic views of Los Angeles when he originally purchased the land for the house in 1954 for $13,500.  Stahl had originally begun to excavate and take on the duties of architect and contractor; it was not until 1957 when Stahl hired Pierre Koenig to take over the design of the family’s residence.

The two-bedroom, 2,200 square foot residence is a true testament to modernist architecture and the Case Study House Program.  The program was set in place by John Entenza and sponsored by the Arts & Architecture magazine.  The aim of the program was to introduce modernist principles into residential architecture, not only to advance the aesthetic, but to introduce new ways of life both in a stylistic sense and one that represented the lifestyles of the modern age.