CALIFORNIA CASE STUDY HOUSES

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CALIFORNIA CASE STUDY HOUSES
by Nate Eudaly // courtesy of COLUMNS magazine

The Case Study Houses Program (1945-1966) was an innovative and unique
development in the history of American architecture and it remains so to this
day. The program, focused in the greater Los Angeles area, created designs
for thirty-six prototype houses. It also sought to make those house plans
available so they could be easily constructed during the building boom
that followed World War II. The program’s main driving force was John
Entenza, editor of the cutting-edge magazine, Arts & Architecture. Entenza,
a champion of modernism, had the connections to attract architects such as
Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eero Saarinen to participate
in the program. Their highly experimental designs, both built and unbuilt,
redefined the modern home and continue to influence architects—both in
America and internationally. Entenza’s vision for the program was to offer the
public and the building industry models for low-cost housing in a modern
architectural “language.” He foresaw an inevitable building boom in the
wake of drastic housing shortages created during the depression and
ensuing war years.

Using the magazine to reach potential clients, and using donated materials
whenever possible, Entenza promoted the program in his monthly magazine.
Prior to the program’s official beginning in 1945, Entenza had sponsored
competitions in the magazine for small house designs, providing a greater
awareness for such designs. His focused and consistent emphasis on modernism,
in architecture as well as in design and literature, made Arts & Architecture a
well-suited forum for the promotion of what became the Case Study Houses
Program. Entenza capitalized on this era in which social and artistic concerns
combined to create a new and innovative body of work of historical
importance. Elizabeth Smith, in her definitive book, Case Study Houses:
The Complete CSH Program, 1945-1966, documented that participants in
the program included well established architects with international reputations
as well as those previously known only in the Los Angeles area.
Her extensive research for that book provided much of the
source material for this article. Well known architects participating
in the program included the previously referenced Neutra, Eames, and
Saarinen, as well as others including Craig Elwood and Pierre Koenig.

Those primarily known only in L.A. until catapulted to greater recognition by
their Case Study designs included Whitney Smith, Thornton Abell, and
Rodney Walker. Entenza personally invited all participants, based on his
judgment of their ability to make key, innovative contributions to the
program. Thus, the program is in many regards a subjective roster of
Entenza’s choices rather than a comprehensive overview of architects
in practice during the time period. Architects including R. M. Schindler,
Harwell Harris, and John Lautner did not participate in the program as
Entenza did not include them in his selected roster of architects for the
CSH Program. Many of the early conceptual projects, such as Neutra’s
“Alpha” and “Omega” houses were never built due to lack of actual
clients and sites. Many of the built projects had major differences in final
design and materials due to building material shortages in the post-war
years. At times, to continue the progression of the Case Study Houses,
Entenza and architects such as Charles and Ray Eames also became
clients of the program. As the program evolved, materials used in
construction became more experimental due to advances in
technology and availability. Due to these advances, as well as
economic pros-perity in the 1950s, more projects were actually
realized in an expanding geography including Long Beach,
Thousand Oaks, and La Jolla for affluent clients. Toward the end
of the program, fewer designs were unbuilt and the program was
expanded to include some tract housing and apartments.

Today, the term “case study houses” almost has a generic implication of
modestly designed and constructed modern architecture. However,
the actual program covered a wide range of design sensibilities in cost,
scope, and materials. Some of the program’s best known homes
by Eames, Ellwood, and Koenig are similar in many regards to the
spirit of International Style modernism, using industrial construction
methods and materials for residential projects. However, a substantial
portion of the case study houses involved more traditional, though
still modern, residential construction. Architects designing in this style
included Thornton Abell,Julius Ralph Davidson, Richard Neutra,
Rodney Walker, and the firms of Bluff, Straub & Hensman, and
Killingsworth, Brady & Smith. The Case Study Houses Program
ended in 1966 when Arts & Architecture ceased publication.
The program had become almost iconic for many architects by
this time. Reyner Banham, in his article for the Blueprints for Modern
Livingpublication, credits the CSH program as being a driving factor
in the development of the HighTech style. A great number of architects
in practice today continue to draw inspiration from the spirit of the
CSH program. This innovative program, and the designs it produced,
both built and unbuilt, serve as key building blocks for the design
of many of the most highly-acclaimed contemporary residences
being constructed today. For that, we will continue to owe the
Case Study Houses Program a debt of gratitude.

Elizabeth Smith, author of the Case Study Houses:
The Complete CSH Program.