case study house 20 b

Etan Does LA

#26: case study house 20b (buff, straub & hensman – altadena), buff, straub & hensman’s post & beam home for one of hollywood’s all-time great graphic designers, saul bass.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 2013

Completed in 1958, this was one of the later houses in the Case Study program begun by Arts & Architecture Magazine in the late ‘40s as a sort of incubator for new residential architecture. It was designed by the respected firm of Buff, Straub & Hensman, who made a name for themselves building post-WWII housing in SoCal (They’ve got several other houses on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Norton and Frank residents in San Rafael Heights, just west of Pasadena).

The original owners were Saul Bass , a graphic designer responsible for iconic title sequences and posters for Hitchcock, Wilder, Kubrick & Scorsese, and his first wife Dr. Ruth Bass, a biochemist.

+ Read about Buff, Straub & Hensman @ LA Conservancy website

Fun fact: the house is located on a stretch of Santa Rosa Ave. known as Christmas Tree Lane ( see visit #27 ), another Altadena landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

Watch the below video to see my dad, a former architect, explain what’s special about the Bass House’s construction!

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The Case Study houses that made Los Angeles a modernist mecca

Mapping the homes that helped to define an era

Los Angeles is full of fantastic residential architecture styles, from Spanish Colonial Revival to Streamline Moderne. But the modernist Case Study Houses , sponsored by Arts & Architecture and designed between the 1940s and 1960s, are both native to Southern California and particularly emblematic of the region.

The Case Study series showcased homes commissioned by the magazine and designed by some of the most influential designers and architects of the era, including Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra, and Pierre Koenig. The residences were intended to be relatively affordable, replicable houses for post-World War II family living, with an emphasis on “new materials and new techniques in house construction,” as the magazine’s program intro put it.

Technological innovation and practical, economical design features were emphasized—though the homes’ scintillating locations, on roomy lots in neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and the Hollywood Hills , gave them a luxurious allure.

With the help of photographer Julius Shulman , who shot most of the homes, the most impressive of the homes came to represent not only new styles of home design, but the postwar lifestyle of the booming Southern California region.

A total of 36 houses and apartment buildings were commissioned; a couple dozen were built, and about 20 still stand in the greater Los Angeles area (there’s also one in Northern California, a set near San Diego, and a small apartment complex in Phoenix). Some have been remodeled, but others have been well preserved. Eleven were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Here’s a guide to all the houses left to see—but keep in mind that, true to LA form, most are still private residences. The Eames and Stahl houses, two of the most famous Case Study Houses, are regularly open to visitors.

As for the unconventional house numbering, post-1962 A&A publisher David Travers writes that the explanation is “inexplicable, locked in the past.”

Case Study House No. 1

J.R. Davidson (with Greta Davidson) designed this house in 1948 (it was actually his second go at Case Study House No. 1). It was intended for “a hypothetical family" with two working parents and was designed to require "minimum maintenance.”

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The exterior of a house that is only one level. The roof is flat. There is a lawn and a path leading to the front door. There is a garage with a driveway.

Case Study House No. 2

Case Study House No. 2 was designed in 1947 by Sumner Spaulding and John Rex. Arts & Architecture wrote that the home’s layout “achieves a sense of spaciousness and flexibility,” with an open living area and glass doors that lead out to adjoining terraces.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samuel Dematraz (@samueldematraz) on Oct 28, 2018 at 1:07am PDT

Case Study House No. 7

Case Study House No. 7 was designed in 1948 by Thornton M. Abell. It has a “three-zone living area,” with space for study, activity, and relaxation/conversation; the areas can be separated by sliding panels or combined.

The aerial view of a group of buildings. All the buildings have flat roofs. There is a yard in the center of the group of buildings.

Eames House (Case Study House No. 8)

Legendary designer couple Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames House in 1949 and even Arts & Architecture seemed kind of blown away by it. The home is built into a hillside behind a row of Eucalyptus trees on a bluff above Pacific Palisades. It's recognizable by its bright blue, red, and yellow panels. The Eameses lived in the house until their deaths. It’s now open to visitors five days per week, though reservations are required.

The Eames house with blue, red, and yellow panels on the exterior. There is a large tree outside of the house.

Entenza House (Case Study House No. 9)

The Entenza House was built in 1949 and designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen for Arts & Architecture editor John Entenza. According to the magazine, “In general, the purpose was to enclose as much space as possible within a reasonably simple construction.”

The Entenza House exterior. The roof is flat and the exterior has floor to ceiling windows. There are trees surrounding the house. There is an outdoor seating area.

Case Study House No. 10

Case Study House No. 10 was designed in 1947 by Kemper Nomland. The house is built on several levels to mold into its sloping site. Recently restored, the home sold to Kristen Wiig in 2017.

The exterior of Case Study House Number 10. There is a wide staircase leading up to the house. The house has floor to ceiling windows. There are lights on in the house.

Case Study House No. 15

Designed by J.R. Davidson in 1947, Case Study House No. 15 has south walls made of huge glass panels. Its flagstone patio and indoor floor are at the same level for that seamless indoor-outdoor feel. According to the magazine, the floorplan “is basically that of another Davidson house, Case Study House No. 11,” which has been demolished.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samuel Dematraz (@samueldematraz) on Nov 15, 2018 at 6:13am PST

Case Study House for 1953

Craig Ellwood’s Case Study House for 1953 is usually numbered as 16 in the Case Study series . It has a modular steel structure and “the basic plan is a four-foot modular rectangle.” But the interior walls stick out past the exterior walls to bring the indoors out and the outdoors in. The Bel Air house hit the market in November with a $3 million price tag.

A photo of a single-story house with frosted panels of glass in front, shielding the house from the street.

Case Study House No. 17 (A)

Case Study House No. 17 (A) was designed by Rodney Walker in 1947. A tight budget kept the house at just 1,560 square feet, “but more space was gained through the use of many glass areas.” The house also has a large front terrace with a fireplace that connects the indoor living room fireplace. The house has been remodeled .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Case Study House #17, 1947 (@casestudy17) on Jun 11, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT

Case Study House No. 17 (B)

Case Study House No. 17 (B) was designed in 1956 by Craig Ellwood, but “governed by a specific program set forth by the client.” Ellwood took into account the clients' collection of contemporary paintings and made the living room “purposely undersized” to work best for small gatherings. The house was extensively remodeled in the sixties by Hollywood Regency architect John Elgin Woolf and his partner, interior designer Robert Koch Woolf.

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West House (Case Study House No. 18 [A])

Case Study House No. 18 (A) was designed by Rodney Walker in 1948. The house is oriented toward the ocean, but set back from the cliff edge it sits on to avoid noise issues. As A&A says, "High above the ocean, the privacy of the open south and east exposures of Case Study House No. 18 can be threatened only by an occasional sea-gull." The house features a "bricked garden room" separated from the living room by a two-sided fireplace.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by CaseStudyHouse18A (@casestudyhouse18a) on Oct 6, 2018 at 8:44pm PDT

Fields House (Case Study House No. 18 [B])

Case Study House No. 18 (B) was designed by Craig Ellwood in 1958. Ellwood didn’t attempt to hide that the house was prefabricated (the magazine explains that he believed “that the increasing cost of labor and the decline of the craftsman will within not too many years force a complete mechanization of residential construction methods”). The components of the house, however, are “strongly defined with color: ceiling and panels are off-white and the steel framework is blue.” According to A&A' s website, the house has been remodeled.

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Case Study House No. 20 [A])

This two-bedroom house was meant “to serve young parents who find they can afford just that much,” according to architect Richard Neutra’s description. He also wrote that he used several different kinds of natural wood in the house.

A living room that opens out to a patio, where a woman watches a young child ride a tricycle

Bass House (Case Study House No. 20 [B])

The Bass House was designed in 1958 by Buff, Straub, and Hensman for famed graphic designer Saul Bass. It's “unique in that it was based upon the experimental use of several prefabricated Douglas fir plywood products as part of the structural concept,” including hollow-core plywood vaults that covered the central part of the house.

A house with glass walls and a canopy with an opening to let in sunlight

Case Study House No. 21

Pierre Koenig designed Case Study House No. 21 in 1958. It was originally completely surrounded by water, with a walkway and driveway spanning the moat at the front door and carport, respectively. The house was severely messed with over the years, but restored in the ’90s with help from Koenig.

A woman sits on a black sofa in a sparsely furnished room. A man standing at a long bureau looks at her.

Stahl House (Case Study House No. 22)

Pierre Koenig's Stahl House , designed in 1960, is probably the most famous house in Los Angeles, thanks to an iconic photo by Julius Shulman . The house isn't much to look at from the street, but its backside is mostly glass surrounding a cliff's-edge pool. Tours are available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday—but book well ahead of time, as they sell out quickly.

The exterior of the Stahl house in Los Angeles. There is a swimming pool next to the house with a lounge area. The pool is situated on a cliff edge.

Case Study House for 1950

The unnumbered Case Study House for 1950 was designed by Raphael Soriano. It's rectangular, with living room and bedrooms facing out to the view. However, in the kitchen and eating areas, the house “turns upon itself and living develops around a large kitchen-dining plan opening upon a terrace which leads directly into the living room interrupted only by the mass of two fireplaces.” According to A&A 's website, the house has been remodeled.

A simple, rectangular house with a long flat roof under construction.

Frank House (Case Study House No. 25)

The two-story Frank House was designed by Killingsworth, Brady, and Smith and Associates in 1962 and it sits on a canal in Long Beach. A reflecting pool with stepping stones leads to its huge front door and inside to an 18-foot high courtyard. The house sold in 2015 with some unfortunate remodeling .

A white living room furnished with a rectangular sofa and a grand piano. A glass sliding door leads outside.

Case Study House No. 28

Case Study House No. 28 was designed in 1966 by Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman. According to the magazine, “the architects were asked to design a house that incorporated face brick as the primary structural material to demonstrate its particular advantages.” They came up with a plan for two symmetrical wings joined by glass galleries.

A living room furnished with a green sofa and yellow chairs. A woman on the outside patio looks through the glass doors.

Case Study House 20. Buff, Straub and Hensman

Case Study House #20, dubbed ‘The Bass House” was constructed in 1958 and can be found on Santa Rosa Avenue in Altadena, California. The house itself represents a departure from the norm with regards to the Case Study program as it was built primarily out of wood, rather than steel as the majority of the other Case Study Houses.

The structure’s architects, Buff, Straub and Hensman, wanted the house to reflect the American Craftsman style that began in the last years of the 19 th century . In order to create this effect, the design of the house heavily utilizes wood. As well as pleasantly reflecting the local regions artisan heritage, the use of wood also enabled the architects to explore the possibilities and positive aspects of wooden construction that were made increasingly possible by the advances in mass production happening in the early to mid-1900’s.

Case Study House #20 was the perfect vehicle, in the perfectly appropriate location of Pasadena, through which to experiment with this age-old building material.

In order to impart on the construction the American Craftsman style design that so accurately and lovingly reflects the artisan background of the local region in which the house is situated, the architects utilized the smooth curving forms of barrel vaults and broad roof overhangings in the structure’s design. This enables the house to exude the modesty of a carpenter’s abode while still retaining the sleek, sophistication that flows so naturally through the domestic designs of Buff, Straub and Hensman.

In the case of The Bass House, the architects shared with their clients, a designer and a biochemist, a preference for plasticity and sculptural forms that were not only introduced in the ovular ceiling spaces and smooth structural curves but also in other forms.

Inside the house a circular brick fireplace retains the undulating lines that permeate the structure’s design while still maintaining the characteristics of a craftsman’s home whereas, outside, a large ovoid pool reflects the subtle luxury and attention to easy living so common throughout the Case Study House project. Alongside the pool, the lean of a large pine tree, incorporated within an open eave of the house’s rear overhang, dictates a certain harmony marriage between structure and nature.

As with all Buff, Straub and Hensman designs, practicality is not substituted in the place of aesthetics and contemporary design. The house utilizes a sophisticated roof system that employs lightweight, prefabricated plywood components that showcase a way in which traditional building materials like wood can be used in a contemporary context. Certain other elements of the structure were also made out of plywood including the box beams, barrel vaults and flat stressed skin panels which, not only work as a testament to the practicality of wood as a building material but also as a testament to its affordability.

Case Study House #20, like so many of its counterparts, proves that innovative and intelligent domestic design can work towards improving quality of life while still remaining aesthetically joyous.

The Case Study Houses Program: Richard Neutra’s Bailey House

The case study houses program: craig ellwood’s case study house 18.

Case Study House #20 was designed by Conrad Buff, Calvin Straub, and Donald Hensman. This house was built in 1947 for Saul Bass and is located in Altadena, California.

In the case study house #20, the architects choose to use traditional and innovative material for its construction. Wood was used for framing the house while they choose stressed skin fir plywood panels for continuous light weigh beams. The roof was all plywood except for the hollow core plywood vaults. The panels, vaults and box beams were trucked to the site and handled by forklift hoist, which made rapid erection possible. The vaults covering the central area of the house were positioned and initially secured in less than an hour and a half. No special difficulties were encountered other than assembling the components together. The beams were made of plywood forming a 12-inch hollow box. They span 16 feet and formed a series of 8-foot bays. The bays are roofed with sandwich panels and factory-formed vaults.

The vaults were custom-built for the job to the same 2-inch thickness as the panels, and were pressure-glued and bent into the required forms.

"We wonder for a while about the validity of detaching the roof and denying the system already established in the rectangle," Straub said: "But for this particular client we wanted to break down the uniformity and arrive at a new expression."

Posts, beams and connecting plywood panels were constructed in Berkeley, California, of Douglas fir plywood and brought to Altadena where workers awaited them. The house was one of the first to be prefabricated; not for mass production, but for ease of construction.

Conrad Buff III, Calvin Straub and Donald Hensman, still young faculty member at the University of South California, had become interested in the factory-formed plywood vault while designing a vacation house project for "Look" magazine. Saul Bass found the vault concept stimulating; the architects were invited to experiment.Although the architects were the first to use the vaults, they consider the space relationships more radical in nature than the factory products. Nevertheless, they had their difficulties in obtaining a permit from the city building department.

"We presented them all sorts of calculations-so did the plywood engineers-but the city wasn't satisfied until one vault was erected and jumped on," the architects recalled.

The house differed from others designed by the firm in two respects, according to Straub: "The character of space was very precise, and there were no overhangs. Overhangs were omitted because of the numerous trees on the property and adjoining lots, while the preciseness is a consequence of the engineered house." The 1/8-inch tolerance was the closest ever used in a wood house.

The house plan was planned and design inward and organized into social living. It is devised as kitchen, formal in informal dining, children's wing and adult wing, the latter including but separated from Saul Bass's studio. All major rooms open directly onto courts and decks.

Obviously, Saul Bass was impressed with the architects work: "It is my business to visualized," he said, "but the house was full of surprises. The architects must take full credit."

About the vault he said: " They are an important visual aspect, but the beauty of the spaces does not depend upon them. They add the richness of curved space, and the sensuous satisfaction of curved volumes, but what was most pleasing were the vistas from every point. As in the piazza system of European cityscapes, you move around a bend and space are revealed. You wander through space." Although he collaborated very little on the actual design, he did install the tiles in the pool in the rear yard, and created the white tile mural at the front of the house that softens the starkness of the carport. Unfortunately Saul Bass didn't live in the house very long. His divorce forced its sale.

One important visual aspect of the house was the giant Italian pine tree. The architects used it as an umbrella. Unfortunately the tree had to be cut down which sadden Calvin Straub very much. On a visit in the late 80's for a documentary, Straub discovered that only an enormous stump remained (cut clean as of today). It had been a victim of itself, beginning to displace the house and threaten the windows during windstorm. "You could hear its branches hit the glass, and during parties people would literally jump over the sofas when they heard the tree sway," said a former owner.

Elizabeth Smith and her crew from MOCA museum (The Museum of Contemporary art, Los Angeles) studied, photographed and filmed the house in the late 80's. It resulted in an exhibit presented at the MOCA museum from 17, 1989 - Feb. 18, 1990: "Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses." Calvin Straub and Saul Bass were reunited for the first time in 30 years.

Like many experimental project, saving cost is almost impossible when testing new technologies and method of construction. Many hours was spent on studying the sandwich panels, vault and box beams to make them compatible with architecture. Meeting with city building department was also time consuming. Although foundation and frame was built using traditional techniques and skill construction worker, real craftsmen were used to take over the frame. All this raises the cost of construction considerably. The only way plywood elements could have been proven an economy was for the architects to carry their knowledge into tract housing.

However this was not done.

Case Study Houses 1945-1962, by Esther McCoy, Hennesey & Ingalls Editiors, Altadena Weekly July 27- August 2 1989 casestudyhouse20.blogspot.hu

All our texts and many of our images appear under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License ( CC BY-SA ). All our content is written and edited by our community.

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Buff, Straub & Hensman

Buff, Straub & Hensman created hundreds of contemporary homes during the postwar housing boom in Southern California. But it was Case Study House #20 , designed in 1958 for Saul and Ruth Bass, that cemented their legacy in the celebrated Case Study Program and Los Angeles’ Modernism movement.

The home’s clean lines, use of prefabricated, cost-effective materials, and integration of indoor/outdoor living perfectly captured the Modernist philosophy. Yet unlike other steel Case Study homes fashioned by design luminaries in the late 1950s, the Bass House was built of wood. The post wood and beam design was admired as the partnership’s mid-twentieth-century trademark.

The Pasadena-based firm was born out of pragmatism. As gifted undergraduate students at USC’s School of Architecture, Conrad Buff (1926-1989) and Donald Hensman (1924-2002) were already designing hundreds of affordable tract homes for a prominent California builder before starting their own practice, Buff & Hensman (1952-1957).

While still undergraduates, both students were invited by the dean of the architecture school to start teaching in the department. Calvin Straub (1920-1998) was already an established architecture professor at USC when he asked the young and talented twosome to join forces.

Rather than compete for the same residential commissions, the three Trojans formed the award-winning firm of Buff, Straub & Hensman (1958-1963). The practice was prolific, creating classic Modern dwellings throughout Los Angeles, including the notable Poppy Peak Historic District in Pasadena.

As U.S. Navy veterans and longtime residents of Los Angeles, all three partners had a profound understanding of the economic and environmental needs of postwar Southern California. As USC architecture professor Victor Regnier told the Los Angeles Times in 2002, “Almost every California architect educated since the early 1950s has been influenced by the work of Hensman, Buff and Straub in one way or another.”

After Calvin Straub relocated to accept a professorship at Arizona State University in 1963, Buff & Hensman & Associates was formed (1964-1988). The dynamic duo continued to garner significant commissions, including the Governor’s Mansion for Ronald Reagan.

In 1988, associate Dennis Smith was made partner and the firm was renamed Buff, Smith & Hensman. Led by Smith, the firm still practices today, continuing the legacy started by Buff, Straub & Hensman.

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Poppy Peak National Register Historic District

Bass House (Case Study House #20B)

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Case Study House 20(B) - Bass House, USA (1957-58) by Buff, Smith and Hensman

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Buff, Straub & Hensman, FAIA

Case study house #20b.

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Historic, Single Family Home
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The Internationally recognized Case Study House Program was founded to demonstrate that well designed, affordable housing could be built using technologies and materials developed during W.W.II. Designer Saul Bass commissioned #20 of the 24 houses completed. The Bass House’s integrated indoor/outdoor space “achieved a level of sophistication not seen in other Case Study Houses”. The zoned open plan incorporates: owner’s zone with studio office, garden, master bedroom & bath; the formal zone with living and dining rooms and entry atrium; and the family zone with kitchen, family room, dining terrace, 2 additional bedrooms and swimming pool. The house is original, but in need of restoration.

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Richard Neutra’s Bailey House Hits the Market—Along With a Lavish Mansion—for $20M

Set on a lush, 1.53-acre lot in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Case Study House #20 was designed by Richard Neutra in 1948. The pioneering architect was approached by the Baileys, a young couple, to build an affordable house that could easily be expanded as their family (and wallets) grew with time. Today, it’s not only the house, but also the site that has grown—a contemporary mansion now sits behind the renovated midcentury residence.

Richard Neutra built the Bailey House in 1948 as an affordable house for a young couple on a tight budget.

Sam Simon, co-creator of the popular animated show The Simpsons, originally purchased the Bailey House in 2004 and built the second house in 2010.

Working with limited square footage and a low budget, Neutra designed the Bailey House with flexible living areas that could expand into the large lot. Inside, natural materials clad the walls and ceilings, helping to reduce decorating costs and maintenance.

The Bailey House and the larger home are currently for sale, and both come fully furnished.

Behind the Bailey House lies a contemporary LEED Gold-certified mansion that spans nearly 9,000 square feet with three expansive bedrooms. Other notable features include a chef’s kitchen, and living areas with double-height ceilings and curved archways. Manicured lawns cover the entire compound, and the shared grounds also feature a large swimming pool and koi pond.

The Bailey House features wood-paneled walls and numerous windows throughout. The entire home is fully modernized and restored thanks to the work of Marmol Radziner.

The firm kept some original details, including wooden cabinets in the kitchen, while replicating others—such as the vintage-style fridge that is similar to the original one seen in photos from the ’50s.

The Bailey House has two bedrooms. Here, one of the bedrooms features an original brick fireplace and windows overlooking the lush property.

Today, the property is owned by Lorna Jane Clarkson and her partner, Bill, the founders of the Australian activewear brand Lorna Jane, who enlisted the firm Marmol Radziner to restore the Bailey House.

In a previous Dwell interview , Lorna explains how they sought to stay close to Neutra’s original vision. "We wanted to showcase the midcentury design while creating a relaxed and inspiring space for me to work," she notes. "It was also important we create an active living space to share with our team and our customers."

Ready to turn the keys over to new owners, the duo recently listed the fully furnished, two-home property for $20,000,000. Keep scrolling to see more of both structures.

The original paved terrace outside the Bailey House was also restored. The modern residence can be seen in the background.

Surrounded by over an acre of lush vegetation, multiple walkways connect the two homes.

Steps away from the Bailey House, the larger residence opens to the patio via a wall of folding glass doors. Curved archways lead into the double-height living area.

A mezzanine and several interior balconies overlook the living and dining areas. A large kitchen sits in an alcove at the back.

Each of the larger home’s bedrooms offer spaces for sleeping and relaxing. Here, a look at the sunny master bedroom.

A curved glass door mimics arched features throughout the home while providing access to a balcony overlooking the backyard and pool.

The grand master bathroom features a large vanity, shower, and tub.

An office space also overlooks the backyard, with glass doors providing direct access to a patio.

A long swimming pools runs the length of the home. Spiral staircases provide access to the second level, as well as a rooftop terrace.

A nighttime view of the Bailey House right behind the pool and patio.

14800 Corona Del Mar in Pacific Palisades, California, is currently listed for $20,000,000 by Jacqueline Chernov and Kristin Alexander of Compass.

Know of a home for sale or rent that should be featured on Dwell.com? Find out how to submit to Dwell.

Related reading: Inside Fitness Mogul Lorna Jane's Elegant L.A. Retreat

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Case Study House #20, Altadena, CA (1958)

AKA: Bass, Saul House, Altadena, CA

Structure Type: built works - dwellings - houses

Designers: Buff, Straub, and Hensman, Architects (firm); Eckbo, Dean and Williams, Landscape Architects (firm); Conrad Buff III (architect); Francis Dean (landscape architect); Garrett N. Eckbo (landscape architect); Donald Charles Hensman (architect); Calvin Chester Straub (architect); Edward Augustus Williams (landscape architect)

Dates: constructed 1958

1 story, total floor area: 2,200 sq. ft.

The Bass House had a U-shaped plan, shaped around the carport and a central courtyard. One side of the U was occupied by a work room and the master bedroom; the other side wing contained 2 more bedrooms, the kitchen and an adjoined family room. A deck led off the family room. The middle of the U contained a large living/dining space highlighted by a round hearth. The landscape plan--by Eckbo, Dean and Williams--was carefully integrated with the interior configuration to maximize the number of outdoor living areas.

Designed for the noted graphic designer, Saul Bass, on a wooded lot in Altadena, CA; Bass worked closely with the architects on the design of his house and even produced a ceramic tile screen for the entryway that he called "Bass Relief." in 2002, the house had been for sale for some time and was in a state of mild dilapidation; the Bass House possessed 2,220 square feet of enclosed space and cost $35,000, excluding supplier subsidies.

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AD Classics: Stahl House / Pierre Koenig

Written by Andrew Kroll

Architects: Pierre Koenig
Year Completion year of this architecture project Year: 1959
Photographs Photographs: Flickr User: dalylab

Text description provided by the architects. 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.

Pierre Koenig was able to hone in on the vision of Buck Stahl and transform that vision into a modernist icon. The glass and steel construction is understandably the most identifiable trait of architectural modernism, but it is the way in which Koenig organized the spatial layout of the house taking the public and private aspects of the house into great consideration. As much as architectural modernism is associated with the materials and methods of construction, the juxtaposition of program and organization are important design principles that evoke utilitarian characteristics.

The house is “L” shaped in that the private and public sectors are completely separated save for a single hallway that connects the two wings. Compositionally adjacent is the swimming pool that one must cross in order to get into the house; it is not only a spatial division of public and private but its serves as the interstitial space that one must pass through in order to experience the panoramic views.

The living space of the house is set back behind the pool and is the only part of the house that has a solid wall, which backs up to the carport and the street. The entire house is understood to be one large viewing box that captures amazing perspectives of the house, the landscape, and Los Angeles.

Oddly enough, the Stahl house was fairly unknown and unrecognized for its advancement of modern American residential architecture, until 1960 when Julius Shulman captured the pure architectural essence of the house. It was the night shot of two women sitting in the living room overlooking the bright lights of the city of Los Angeles.

That photo put the Stahl House on the architectural radar as being an architectural gem hidden up in the Hollywood Hills.

The Stahl House is still one of the most visited and admired buildings today. It has undergone many interior transformations, so you will not find the same iconic 1960s furniture, but the architecture, the view, and the experience still remain. You can make reservations and a small fee with the Stahl family, and even get a tour with Buck Stahl’s wife, Carlotta, or better recognized as Mrs. Stahl.

This building is part of our Architecture City Guide: Los Angeles . Check all the other buildings on this guide right here.

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Case Study House #20-The Bass House

This is a blog about case study house #20 (the Bass house) built in 1958. The house was part of the case study house project launched by the Arts and Architecture magazine.

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Case study house n°20′, by c.buff, c.straub, d.hensman, constructive options:.

In this villa, architects use a wooden structure. They still retain the idea common to all of the Case Study Houses of this period is the use of factory-prefabricated elements.
The basic structural element of this home consists of scales-beams (box-beam …) against light in plywood. These beams are covered with waterproof panels made themselves to base plates against plywood. They also use to cover the common areas of curved panels. These panels are entirely prefabricated in the factory … The architects will speak about the use of these vaults “They are an important visual aspect, but the beauty of the spaces does not depend upon them. They add the richness of curved space, and the sensuous satisfaction of curved volumes, but what was more pleasing were the vistas from every point. As in the piazza system of European cityspaces, you move around a bend and the spaces are revealed. You wander rough space. “
The panels and vaults were taken and assembled on site. Assembling the set of “panels-vaults” of the central area of the home require half past one …
This unconventional and light build, has made it difficult to obtain various permits required for construction. The services are very skeptical about the viability of the project and require prototypes testing …
These reasons and others related to the scale have not really helped to make substantial savings compared to traditional construction, although the villa was partially industrialized … This is generally the case in all experimental approaches.
Another point that is worth noting is that the construction of the villa required no hoist, crane etc …
“The character of the space was very precise, and there no overhangs. Overhangs were omitted because of the numerous trees on the property and adjoining lots, while the preciseness is a consequence of the engineered house ”. (Straub)
The plan is organized around common rooms: living room, kitchen, dining room formal and informal.
A first extension includes the children’s bedrooms, a second one of the parents. Finally, a third more isolated extension includes a desk. – All the main rooms open onto courses or outdoor terraces.
The space of this villa consists of parallel strips highlight continuities. In the center, a life strip is surrounded by either side of two strips of circulations. Other areas are distributed sequentially around these two bands.
The structure is composed of a spaced scales beams frame eight feet. It is organized perpendicular to the horizontal distribution of the house as described above. The structure is in pre-existing building. It exists all over the square, or is part of the villa. She has slipped between the many large trees that make up the field. The perimeter fence, opacities and then coming translucencies Sign on freely in this frame …
The house is limited on three sides: north, south and east by large continuous opacities. (In fact, it is completely opaque the north and east with some south side openings). It is completely focused on protected areas: the patio and garden.
The architects have treated this villa in this way, thinking that sooner or later the adjacent land would be occupied by other villas. It is therefore to treat a common ownership “in advance” …
The location of the poles is determined by the meeting of the first frame (East-West), which is the frame with the second operation (North-South), which is the structural frame.
The game of opacity, transparency, translucency next, freed from all functional or structural constraints, define spaces, trapping voids or leaving free outdoor spaces.
Figure 2 shows the east-west spatial sequence of the plant life band. When the cross in its length is known a very varied course.
The rear garden of the house, which separates it from the street is happening in overcast but outdoor space that allows to park cars.
Then crosses an opaque screen, while passing a covered non-enclosed space (porch) with an open area closed (the patio). This situation is recurrent in the Case Study Houses: the symbolic and spatial entrance of the house actually corresponds to an output to an outside area. This will toggle a covered area and not closed to an open area and closed, closed to the inside of the house. The physical and symbolic entries are separated.
Continuing our journey, we finally entered the house physically by dragging a covered and enclosed space. This space symmetrical but covered patio is in continuity. It corresponds to the dining room. This space is separated from the next by a fabric filter, translucent. So there has two separate areas but the translucency of the filter introduce some porosity.
Continuously our journey by another covered area and closed but resolutely open to the outside, the abode.
Finally, in a last time one enters a covered outdoor area: terrace; then discovered the garden.

Category : Case Study House 20B

This is a category about a place or building that is listed on the in the . Its reference number is .

Instance of

Location

, , , Pacific States Region

Street address

Architect

Heritage designation

(Case Study House Program MPS, A, C, NRHP building, Case Study House No. 20, 2013–)

Inception

Authority file
NRHP reference number:

Media in category "Case Study House 20B"

The following 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total.

Altadena, California
Case Study Houses
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California
Houses built in California in 1958
National Register of Historic Places with known IDs
Uses of Wikidata Infobox
Uses of Wikidata Infobox with maps
Pages with coordinates

The Last Case Study House

Architecture
case study house
photography

case study house #28 mid cnetury modern julius shulman art architecture magazine

Above: Designed by Buff & Hensman and located in Thousand Oaks, California is CSH #28, the last house of Art & Architecture magazine’s Case Study House program. Photo: Julius Shulman / Getty Archives

Located in Thousand Oaks, California Case Study House #28 was the last of the program that began in 1945 by Art & Architecture magazine. The Case Study program was an experiment in American residential architecture whose goal was to create show homes that showcased affordable, modern housing in response to the sudden increase in housing demand created with the return of millions of soldiers after the end of the Second World War. Designed by architect Jack W. Buktenica of the firm of Buff, Hensman and Associates Case Study House #28 was completed in 1966 and demonstrates that after 20 years of the Case Study Program the goal of affordable and modern housing had given way to simply showcasing innovations in modern architectural design and materials. The home is still around today and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Designed by Buff & Hensman and located in Thousand Oaks California is #28, the last house of Art & Architecture’s Case Study House program. Photo: Julius Shulman / Getty Archives

Here is the text of the article introducing Case Study House #28 as it appeared in Art & Architecture Magazine in 1966.

CASE STUDY HOUSE NO. 28 BY BUFF, HENSMAN & ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS

Co-Sponsored by Pacific Clay Products and Janss Corporation

Interiors by Robert P. D’Amico of Ecological Design Associates with Marge Peterek Landscape

Architect: Jack W. Buktenica.

Photographed by Julius Shulman

This Case Study project grew out of a concern with the problems and advantages of face brick as the basic structural material in contemporary single-family residential construction. Despite its wide use in large scale building, face brick is used on the West Coast for its decorative rather than its structural properties, largely because of cost factors, which in turn are the result of stringent reinforcing requirements in building codes and resistance by labor to improved, more efficient construction methods. The architects were asked to design a house that incorporated face brick as the primary structural material to demonstrate its particular advantages. The solution introduces reinforced grouted walls and piers, laid in a standard one-third bond, and designed to take both horizontal and vertical loads and spanned by concealed steel beams. Joining the brick with glass results in a combination of materials requiring no finish and little maintenance during the life of the building.

The site is a knoll overlooking the Conejo Valley development of Janss Corporation 40 miles north of Los Angeles near Thousand Oaks. The house utilizes the site in its entirety, the overall periphery approximating a square and following the boundaries of the usable portion of the lot. In plan the house is composed of two symmetrical wings connected by glass-enclosed galleries. Living, dining, kitchen and study are in one, the five bedrooms in the other of the two parallel 95′ by 19′ wings. The major spaces and the galleries open onto a 54′ by 54′ central court, paved in brick and containing a swimming pool and planted areas, that forms a visual and physical center for the house. The low profile of the house, leaving views from surrounding sites unobstructed, is emphasized by wide overhangs which shade the extensive glass area (4500 square feet). In addition to their visual and sun control functions, the overhangs house continuous duct plenums for carrying conditioned air; the two central brick piers abutting on the interior court each houses the forced-air units for its wing. Thus the necessary heating and cooling elements have been made contributing visual factors in a concept that combines form, function and mechanical environmental controls.

The covered area of the house is about 5000 square feet, including the two connecting galleries. All interior floors are brick paver, relating to the brick of the central court and the terraces and patios; the family of earth colors in the various brick surfaces also integrates the house with the site and the larger environment. The combination of the past with today’s technology in the juxtaposition of the warm, natural brick with the meticulously detailed stainless steel framing for windows and sliding glass doors has also been reflected in the interior design.

Click on image for full view.

CSH #28 today. Designed by Buff & Hensman and located in Thousand Oaks California it is the last house of of Art & Architecture’s Case Study House program.

Check out these great books!

I have been secretly hoping that you would do a series on the Case Study houses, and whether or not you do a series, I love that you wrote about my favorite Case Study house. What interesting info – I did not realize that this was designed to showcase brick as a building material. This is one of those homes that transports me, that makes me feel that I have always known it. Thank you for this article.

IMAGES

Case Study House 20(B)
DC Hillier's MCM Daily
DC Hillier's MCM Daily
Case Study House 20(B)
Case Study House No. 20(B) : Bass House, Altadena CA (1958)
Case Study House #20(B) located in Altadena, California and designed by

VIDEO

AD Classics: Stahl House
Etan Does LA #26: My dad’s take on Case Study House 20B (Bass House)
Etan Does LA 52: Case Study House No. 21 (Pierre Koenig) (Hollywood Hills)
Case Study House #20.m4v
CASE STUDY HOUSE 21 o CASA BAILEY
Case Study House #26 Video

COMMENTS

DC Hillier's MCM Daily
The first Case Study House 20 (A) is the Stuart Bailey House located in the Pacific Palisades and designed by architect Richard Neutra in 1948. The second Case Study House number 20 was built ten years later. Designed by the architectural firm of Buff, Straub Hensman Case Study House 20 (B) - the Bass House - is located in Altadena ...
#26: Case Study House 20B (Buff, Straub & Hensman
Added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 2013 Completed in 1958, this was one of the later houses in the Case Study program begun by Arts & Architecture Magazine in the late '40s as a sort of incubator for new residential architecture. It was designed by the respected firm of Buff, Straub & Hensman, who made a name for themselves building post-WWII housing in SoCal (They ...
Los Angeles Case Study houses: Mapping the midecentury modern
Bass House (Case Study House No. 20 [B]) 2275 Santa Rosa Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001 The Bass House was designed in 1958 by Buff, Straub, and Hensman for famed graphic designer Saul Bass.
Bass House (Case Study House #20B)
Case Study House #20B, also known as the Bass House, was completed in 1958 as part of the Arts & Architecture magazine's Case Study House program. It represents a departure from other Case Study houses of the late 1950s in that it was constructed of wood rather than steel. This striking house was designed for industrial and graphic designer ...
Case Study House 20. Buff, Straub and Hensman
April 23, 2015. Case Study House #20, dubbed 'The Bass House" was constructed in 1958 and can be found on Santa Rosa Avenue in Altadena, California. The house itself represents a departure from the norm with regards to the Case Study program as it was built primarily out of wood, rather than steel as the majority of the other Case Study Houses.
Case Study House 20(B)
Case Study House 20B differs in many ways from many of the other Case Study Houses, with one of the primary differences is that the home is framed in wood rather than steel. Working closely with the owners (renowned graphic illustrator Saul Bass and his wife biochemist Dr. Ruth Bass), the architects were very interested in the possibilities of ...
Bass House
1 of 4. Julius Schulman. Case Study House #20 was designed by Conrad Buff, Calvin Straub, and Donald Hensman. This house was built in 1947 for Saul Bass and is located in Altadena, California. In the case study house #20, the architects choose to use traditional and innovative material for its construction. Wood was used for framing the house ...
Buff, Straub & Hensman
Buff, Straub & Hensman created hundreds of contemporary homes during the postwar housing boom in Southern California. But it was Case Study House #20, designed in 1958 for Saul and Ruth Bass, that cemented their legacy in the celebrated Case Study Program and Los Angeles' Modernism movement.. The home's clean lines, use of prefabricated, cost-effective materials, and integration of indoor ...
Case Study House 20(B)
Case Study House 20 (B) - Bass House, USA (1957-58) by Buff, Smith and Hensman. Case Study House 20B differs in many ways from many of the other Case Study Houses, with one of the primary differences is that the home is framed in wood rather than steel. Working closely with the owners (renowned graphic illustrator Saul Bass and his wife ...
Case Study Houses
The Stahl House, Case Study House #22. The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, Eero Saarinen, A. Quincy Jones, Edward Killingsworth, Rodney Walker, and Ralph Rapson to ...
Case Study House #20B
The Internationally recognized Case Study House Program was founded to demonstrate that well designed, affordable housing could be built using technologies and materials developed during W.W.II. Designer Saul Bass commissioned #20 of the 24 houses completed. The Bass House's integrated indoor/outdoor space "achieved a level of sophistication not seen in other Case Study Houses". The […]
Bailey House by Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra's Bailey House Hits the Market—Along With a Lavish Mansion—for $20M. Also known as Case Study House #20, the Bailey House was restored by Marmol Radziner. Text by. Kathryn M. View 16 Photos. Set on a lush, 1.53-acre lot in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Case Study House #20 was designed by Richard Neutra ...
PCAD
Dates: constructed 1958. 1 story, total floor area: 2,200 sq. ft. 2275 North Santa Rosa Avenue. Altadena, CA 91001-2944. OpenStreetMap (new tab) Google Map (new tab) Google Streetview (new tab) The Bass House had a U-shaped plan, shaped around the carport and a central courtyard. One side of the U was occupied by a work room and the master ...
AD Classics: Stahl House / Pierre Koenig
Completed in 1959 in Los Angeles, United States. 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...
Case Study House #20-The Bass House
The House. In building the case study house #20, the architects choose to use traditional and innovative material for its construction. Wood was used for framing the house while they choose stressed skin fir plywood panels for continuous light weigh beams. The roof was all plywood except for the hollow core plywood vaults.
Case Study House n°20′, by C.Buff, C.Straub, D.Hensman
Les Villas expérimentales du Case Study House Program. Le programme des Case Study Houses; Liste complète des CSH; Catalogue des villas; Case Study House #20 par R. Neutra; Case Study House n°9, par C. Eames et E. Saarinen; Case Study House #16′ par C. Ellwood; Case Study House n°22, par P. Koenig; Case Study House #20 par C. Buff, C ...
Case Study House No. 20
CSH #20 represents a departure from other Case Study houses of the late 1950s in that it was constructed of wood rather than steel and employs the use of plywood barrel vaults. In addition, the property represents the work of master architects Conrad Buff III, Calvin C. Straub, and Donald C. Hensman.
Case Study House No. 20(B) : Bass House, Altadena CA (1958)
Case Study House 20 B differs is many ways from many of the other Case Study Houses with one of the primary differences is that the home is framed in wood rather than steel.
Category:Case Study House 20B
Case Study House No. 20 ... Heritage designation: National Register of Historic Places listed place (Case Study House Program MPS, A, C, NRHP building, Case Study House No. 20, 2013-) Inception: 1958; 34° 11′ 05.28″ N, 118° 08′ 19.68″ W: Authority file
DC Hillier's MCM Daily
Case Study House 20 B differs is many ways from many of the other Case Study Houses with one of the primary differences is that the home is framed in wood rather than steel. Floor Plans. Architecture. House Plans. Building Permits. Building Plans. Mcm House. Mid Century House. Mid Century Modern House. Open Plan Living.
Case Study 20B
Case Study 20B - Bass House Architects Conrad Buff III Calvin Straub Donald Hensman Office space leading to private garden 2275 North Santa Rosa Avenue, Altadena, California Bedroom leading to the backyard backyard with pool living room leading to the outside dining court Kitchen
DC Hillier's MCM Daily
Located in Thousand Oaks, California Case Study House #28 was the last of the program started in 1945 by Art & Architecture magazine. What began as an experiment in American residential architecture the initial goal of the program was to create show homes of affordable, modern housing in response to the sudden increase in demand with created with the return of millions of soldiers after the ...
Ten Things You Should Know About the Case Study House Program
The case study house program was an experimental program set up by John Entenza through Arts and Architecture Magazine, that facilitated the design, construction and publishing of modern single-family homes. The goal was to highlight modern homes constructed with industrial materials and techniques ... Jan 20, 2023. The Farnsworth House (1945 ...