Edward Killingsworth

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Edward Killingsworth (1917-2004) was an American architect. He is best known as a participant in Architecture Digest's Case Study program in the mid 1950's. 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 a large part of the California State University Long Beach campus. In the architecture world, "Killingsworth" is synonomous with ultra cool Southern California Post and Beam Mid-Century Modern.

Killingsworth was discovered in 1950 as John Entenza, creator of the Case Study Program, drove by Killingsworth's in-laws' recently built house in Los Alamitos, California. When Entenza found out Killingsworth was the architect, he invited him to participate in the program. This house was Killingsworth's first solo project and was one of Southern California's first post and beam structures.

He went on to design many highly acclaimed projects in Long Beach. One of them, the Opdahl House, also in Naples and just blocks away from Case Study House #25, stands as a monument to Mid-Century architecture. By the early 1960's, Killingsworth also went on to design civic and commercial buildings including much of the CSULB campus.

Philosophically, like many of his contemporaries, Killingsworth believed in open spaces and floor plans. He preferred high ceilings and glass walls that invited nature in.