californiacasestudyhomes

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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 Living
publication, credits the CSH program as being a driving factor in the development of the High
Tech 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.

Nate Eudaly is executive director of the Dallas Architecture Forum.
Elizabeth Smith, author of the Case Study Houses: The Complete CSH
Program, lectured in Dallas on February 19, 2009.

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