Case Study Houses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Case Study Houses were experiments in residential architecture sponsored by John Entenza's (later David Travers') Arts & Architecture magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood, Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II and the return of millions of soldiers. The Eames' CSH #8 was assembled by hand labor in about three days.

The program ran 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 appear in iconic black and white photographs by architectural photographer Julius Shulman.

A partial list of the houses and their architects:

  • #1 Julius Ralph Davidson, North Hollywood. (Esther McCoy in her Case Study House book has this house built in 1946 in West Los Angeles and duplicated two years later in North Hollywood.)
  • #2 Sumner Spaulding and John Rex, built in Arcada in altered form
  • #3 William Wurster and Theodore Bernardi, built in Brentwood and Pacific Palisades
  • #4 The Greenbelt House (unbuilt), Ralph Rapson
  • #5 (unbuilt), Whitney R. Smith
  • #6 (unbuilt), Richard Neutra
  • #7 Thornton Abell, built in San Gabriel in altered form
  • #8 The Eames House, Charles and Ray Eames
  • #9 The Entenza House, Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen
  • #10 Kemper Nomland and Kemper Nomland Jr., in Pasadena
  • #11 Julius Ralph Davidson
  • #15 Julius Ralph Davidson

Note that Numbers 16-20 were assigned twice for reasons unknown. #16-#18 in the original series were designed and built by Rodney A. Walker.

Other participating architects: Raphael SorianoCase Study House 1950 and Rodney A. Walker.

For more in the CSH Program and Arts & Architecture magazine go to artsandarchitecturemag.com.

[edit] References

  • Smith, Elizabeth and Peter Goessel (2002). Case Study Houses: The Complete CSH Program,. Taschen. ISBN. 
  • Smith, Elizabeth A. T. (1989). Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses. Cambridge: MIT Press. ISBN. 
  • McCoy, Esther. "Case Study Houses,". 2nd edition. 1977, ISBN, Hennessey & Ingalls