teorie theory

text: Neil Jackson

Casa pentru Studiul de Caz #21 plan parter (redesenat de autor) / Case Study
House #21 Ground floor plan (redrawn by the author)

Craig Ellwood & Pierre Koenig

Nscut dintr-o iniiativ editorial memorabil, Case Study House Program (19451964) a
marcat istoriile de arhitectur modern, combinnd cu succes experimentul constructiv cu
gndirea reflexiv. / Resulting from a remarkable editorial initiative, the Case Study House
Program (1945 1964) laid an indelible mark on the histories of modern architecture by
successfully combining constructive experiment and reflexive thinking.

oi dintre cei mai tineri arhiteci care au participat la

Programul de Studii de Caz pentru Locuine (Case Studies) au fost Craig Ellwood i Pierre Koenig. Ellwood s-a
nscut n Clarendon, Texas, n aprilie 1922; Koenig, n
San Francisco, California, la trei ani dup el. Cei doi mpreun cu
Charles i Ray Eames Eero Saarinen i Rafael Soriano a trebuit s
se ocupe de trei locuine unifamilale cu structur metalic piese
prin care programul i-a ctigat reputaia. Casa lui Eames i
casa alturat, Entenza, (de Charles Eames i Saarinen), ambele
pe Pacific Palisade i terminate n 1949, i casa lui Soriano, alturi
de Case Study House pentru 1950, au reprezentat, cu siguran,
o nou direcie, oferind lecii de valoare att pentru Ellwood, ct
i pentru Koenig. Dar cele trei au fost singurele contribuii ale
arhitectului la program. Pe de alt parte, Ellwood a contribuit la
trei case, iar Koenig la alte dou, singurele mrturii ale evoluiei
arhitectului la programul destul de restrictiv.
Ceea ce i difereniaz pe Ellwood i Koenig de ceilali nu ine
neaprat de vrst Charles Eames i Soriano se nscuser n
1907, Saarinen n 1910, iar Ray Eames n 1916 , ci de faptul c
s-au pregtit i i-au desfurat cariera dup rzboi. Iar ceea ce l
separ pe Ellwood de Koenig este c, n vreme ce Koenig a urmat
studii de arhitectur, Ellwood, nu. El a nvat meseria pe antier.

32 arhitectura

wo of the youngest architects to participate in Arts & Architectures Case Study House Program were Craig Ellwood and
Pierre Koenig. Ellwood was born in Clarendon, Texas, in April
1922; Koenig, in San Francisco, California, three and a half
years later. These two, together with Charles and Ray Eames, Eero
Saarinen and Rafael Soriano, were responsible for the eight individual
steel-framed houses upon which the Programs reputation rests.
The Eamess own house and the adjacent Entenza house (by Charles
Eames and Saarinen), both in Pacific Palisades and each completed
in 1949, and Sorianos nearby Case Study House for 1950, certainly
broke new ground and provided valuable lessons for both Ellwood
and Koenig. But these three houses were their architects sole
contribution to the Program. Ellwood, on the other hand, contributed
three houses himself and Koenig another two, the only evidence of an
architects development within the restrictive terms of the Program.
What separates Ellwood and Koenig from the others is not so
much their age Charles Eames and Soriano were born in 1907,
Saarinen in 1910 and Ray Eames in 1916 but the fact that their
training and subsequent careers were post-war. And what separated Ellwood from Koenig was that whereas Koenig trained and
qualified as an architect, Ellwood did not. He had learned the job on
the building site.
F OTO / p h o t o : N e i l J a c k s o n

Ellwood, pe vremea aceea purtnd numele de Johnnie Burke,

i nfiinase o mic firm de construcii mpreun cu fratele lui i
civa prieteni de serviciu din timpul rzboiului n cadrul USAAF.
Numele firmei era Craig Ellwood Inc., un nume inventat dar, pe
care l-a preluat el nsui n 1951. Afacerea a euat, dar curnd a
nceput s lucreze la o companie de construcii, Lamport Cofer
Saltzaman, care s-a specializat n construcii proiectate de
arhiteci progresiti, acolo s-a trezit estimator de cost pentru
casa lui Eames i director de antier pentru casa Entenza. n acest
timp, Koenig fusese activ n armata SUA n Europa nainte de a se
ntoarce pentru a studia arhitectura la Southern California din Los
Angeles, pe care a absolvit-o n 1952. Dei cursurile erau n multe
privine progresiste, tehnologia de construcie promovat se baza
pe structuri din lemn. Koening se simea frustrat de acest lucru,
iar n penultimul an de studii i-a construit la Glendale o csu cu
structur metalic, n timp ce lucra pentru Soriano, pentru care a i
pregtit pentru publicare desenele Case Study House pentru 1950.
Aa c, att Ellwood, ct i Koening s-au iniiat n arta
construciilor cu structuri uoare prin experiena de antier i
lucrul mpreun cu arhiteci mai vrstnici care participau la programul studiilor de caz. Datorit prieteniei lui cu John Entenza,
proprietarul i redactorul revistei Arts & Architecture i a ncrederii
pe care Entenza o avea n Lamport Cofer Salzman, Ellwood i-a
asigurat primul lui Studiu de Caz, nr. 16. Obiectivele programului erau simple i, pentru cei interesai, se constituia prin sprijin
reciproc. Revista nu investea nici un ban n case, ci publica doar
proiectele, lunar, de la nceput pn la sfrit, i apoi invita publicul
s viziteze cldirile, s vad exemplele cele mai reuite de locuine
californiene postbelice, deloc scumpe.
Prin acest gen de promovare, arhitecii i constructorii au

Ellwood, then called Johnnie Burke, had set up a small building

firm with his brother and a couple of friends from the time of his
home-based war service in the USAAF. They called the firm Craig
Ellwood Inc., a fabricated name but one which, in 1951, he took as
his own. The business failed but he was soon working for a small
building company, Lamport Cofer Saltzman, which specialised
in buildings by progressive architects; there he found himself
cost estimator for the Eames house and site supervisor for the
Entenza house. Meanwhile Koenig had seen active service with the
US Army in Europe before returning to study architecture at the
University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he graduated in 1952. Although the course was in many ways progressive,
the building technology which it promoted was based upon the
timber frame. This Koenig found frustrating so, in his penultimate
year of study, he built a small, steel-framed house for himself in
Glendale, while also working for Soriano for whom he prepared
for publication drawings of the Case Study House for 1950. Thus, it
was through on-site experience, and the opportunity of working with or for the older architects participating in the Case Study
House Program, that both Ellwood and Koenig were introduced to
the art of lightweight-steel house construction.
It was through his friendship with John Entenza, the owner and
editor of Arts & Architecture, and Entenzas own confidence in
Lamport Cofer Salzman, that Ellwood secured his first Case Study
House, number 16. The objectives of the Program were simple and,
for all concerned, mutually supportive. The magazine put no money into the houses but published the projects, month after month,
from inception to completion, and then invited the public to visit
the buildings to see examples of the best new, inexpensive, postwar California housing. Through this promotion, the architects and
builders received considerable publicity, thus generating further
work for themselves, and the suppliers of the building materials,
fixtures and fittings, companies such as US Steel, a great deal
of free advertising. This allowed the suppliers to drop their costs

Casa pentru Studiul de

Caz #21 / Case Study
House #21
arhitectura 33

teorie theory

Casa pentru Studiul

de Caz #18 perspectiva
desenat (Arts &
Architecture) / Case
Study House #18 perspective drawing (Arts &
Architecture)

34 arhitectura

beneficiat de o publicitate enorm, fcndu-i astfel rost de lucru

n continuare, iar furnizorii de materiale de construcie, companiile
de accesorii sau companii gen US Steel o mare publicitate pe gratis.
Acest lucru i-a fcut pe furnizori s scad preurile, ceea ce era n
avantajul clientului, i lor un beneficiu care depea inconvenientul
de a permite publicului s viziteze casa dou weekend-uri la rnd.
n timp ce lucra pentru Lamport Cofer Salzman, Ellwood, uneori
mpreun cu Jack Cofer, fcea proiecte de cas, la nceput ca un
serviciu pentru firm, apoi ca mic afacere paralel Craig Ellwood
Designer. De fapt, Henry Salzman, care a sponsorizat Case Study
House 16 i Ellwood, construind acum casa Hale, o structur din
lemn i oel, plasat pe deal, n Beverly Hills, avea o situaie bun,
care i permitea acest lucru. Publicnd casa, Art & Architecture
a prezentat primele trei case proiectate de aceeai persoan i,
pentru prima oar, a putut demonstra evoluia unei idei. ntrun interviu din 1988, Ellwood comenta: Cred c Entenza m-a
ales s fac cele trei case dintr-un singur motiv: era un suporter
al construciilor din oel i sticl. De fapt, cred c arhitectul lui
preferat era Mies van der Rohe. Din cele trei case, cred c Case
Study 16 este cea mai bun. E de discutat dac Case Study 16
este cel mai bun proiect al lui Ellwood; cu siguran, nu este cel mai
raional. Totui, are nite sugestii n maniera lui Mies, care probabil
c a fost arhitectul preferat al lui Entenza, pentru c, mutndu-se
la Chicago n 1960, Entenza a locuit n unul dintre apartamentele
din Lake Shore Drive, proiectate de Mies.
Case Study House 16 era un amestec de oel i lemn, cu ziduri
placate cu crmid i cu piatr rustic. Planul miesian al zidurilor
ieindu-i n ntmpinare i testnd spaiul amintete de Casa de
crmid din 1924, la fel ca i acoperiul plan i plutitor, nesufocat
de structur aici, care amintete de Pavilionul din Barcelona din
1929. Dar, n acelai timp, este o cas tipic californian, n care
structura uoar din oel sugereaz mai curnd o construcie din
lemn dect structura greoaie al lui Mies din Farnsworth House,
pe cale de a fi terminat la vremea aceea n Illinois. i aici pot fi
recunoscute grinzile n consol inspirate de casa lui Entenza ,
fragile, din oel, care se ntind dincolo de acoperi pentru a defini i
delimita zona de patio.
Casa a fost terminat n 1953, iar urmtoarea, Case Study
House 17, a venit peste un an i a fost terminat n 1955. Dac
prima fusese o afacere speculativ, aceasta, pe un sit chiar lng
Coldwater Canyon, avea un client real, pe doctorul Hoffman.
Aceast cas era mult mai adunat dect predecesoarea ei, cu un
plan n U dispus n jurul patio-ului i piscinei, dar folosind aceeai
diversitate de materiale, n afar de faptul c zidurile cu piatr
rustic au fost eliminate. Era o construcie bine fcut, proaspt,
n care partea central vitrat, coninnd spaiul de living, prea
s se ntind ntre dou aripi acoperite cu crmid, una pentru
dormitoare i cealalt pentru garaj. O arip din crmid, unde

which, in turn, afforded the client a cheaper house,

a benefit which outweighed the inconvenience of
opening the house to the public over two successive
weekends.
While working for Lamport Cofer Salzman,
Ellwood, sometimes in association with Jack Cofer,
had begun designing houses, first as a service for
them but soon as a small business on the side
Craig Ellwood Industrial Designer. It was in fact
Henry Salzman who, in 1951, sponsored Case Study
House 16 and Ellwood, now building the Hale house,
a steel and timber structure on a steeply sloping
hillside in Beverly Hills, was in a good position to
deliver. In publishing this house, Arts & Architecture
introduced the first of three houses by the same
designer and, for the first time, the opportunity to
show the development of an idea. When interviewed in 1988, Ellwood commented, I think there is one reason
Entenza selected me to do three Case Study Houses, because he
favoured steel and glass construction. In fact, I think his favourite
architect was Mies van der Rohe. Of my three Case Study Houses,
I think perhaps Case Study 16 is the best. It is debatable whether
or not Case Study House 16 is Ellwoods best; it is certainly not his
most rational. Yet there is something about it to suggest Mies,
who indeed might have been Entenzas favourite architect, for on
moving to Chicago in 1960, Entenza went to live in Miess Lake
Shore Drive apartments.
Case Study House 16 was a mixture of steel and timber-frame
construction with brickwork and rubble-stone faced walls. Its
Miesian plan of walls reaching out and probing space recalls the
Brick Country House of 1924 in much the same way as the floating
plane of the roof, here unencumbered by structure, recalls the
Barcelona Pavilion of 1929. Yet it is very much a California house
where the lightness of the steel frame suggests local timber
construction rather than the heavier steel frame favoured by Mies
at the Farnsworth house, then reaching completion in Illinois. And
here can be recognised, from the Entenza house, the fragile steel
outriggers which extend beyond the roof to define and contain the
external patio area.
The house was completed in 1953 and the next, Case Study
House 17, followed a year later, completing in 1955. Whereas the
first had been a speculative venture, this one, on a site just off

se aflau camera servitorului, cu un mic

patio nchis n spatele unui paravan din
sticl mtuit, se prelungea din centrul
faadei lungi spre strad i coninea la col
un acces discret. Claritatea organizrii
planului i aparenta puritate a construciei
cu structur din oel i panouri te inducea
n eroare datorit combinaiei de oel,
lemn, crmid i sticl. Dac planificarea formal din Case Study House 16
permisese, n limitele cutiei din sticl din
acoperiului plan ieit n afar, o separare
a zidului i structurii, i astfel crmida
(sau piatra) i oelul, planul cu mult mai
ngrijit al noii case cerea o mai mare unitate
a materialelor. Totui, structura din oel
prefabricat se afla n contradicie flagrant
cu construcia din crmid i mortar a
zidurilor i arpanta din lemn. Dac, aa
cum scria Ellwood n Arts & Architecture
cu ocazia vernisajului casei, Din ce n ce
mai mult costul tot mai crescut al minii de
lucru foreaz construirea s devin fabric
... i poate c n urmtorii cincisprezece ani
casele vor fi construite din componente
pretiate i prefabricate produse pentru a fi asamblate rapid, n
aceast cas acest lucru era prea puin evident.
Case Study House 18 a fost, totui, prefabricat. Construit
pentru doctorul Irving Fields n Beverly Hills, ntre 195558, casa
a fost conceput ca o structur tubular din oel cu stlpi de 50
mm i grinzi de 50 x 112,5 mm fixate pe o reea modular de 2,4
m. ntreaga structur a fost asamblat pe antier de patru oameni
n opt ore i a necesitat sudura a doar nousprezece legturi la
grinzi i patruzeci la stlpii de baz; zidurile erau fie panouri opace
sandwich, fie ecrane de sticl glisant. Rezultatul s-a concretizat
ntr-o locuin modular, flexibil i cu volumetrie fluid. Separarea spaiului exterior i interior a fost ambigu, aa cum se cuvine
n clima clduroas californian, planul-reea cuprinznd att
spaiile de locuit, ct i curtea nchis, i extinzndu-se spre patioul de la piscina din spate.
Odat cu Case Study 18, Ellwood ajunsese la o construcie cu
adevrat prefabricat n care, dup cum spunea, un detaliu, o

Casa pentru Studiul de Caz #18 plan parter (redesenat de autor) / Case Study
House #18 Ground floor plan (redrawn by the author)

Casa pentru Studiul de Caz #16 plan parter (redesenat de autor) / Case Study
House #16 Ground floor plan (redrawn by the author)

Coldwater Canyon, had a real client, Dr Hoffman. This house was

much more contained than its predecessor, a U-shaped plan set
around a patio and swimming pool, yet employed the same variety
of materials except that this time the rubble-stone walls were
excluded. It was a neat, crisp building where the glazed central portion containing the living spaces appeared to span between the two
brick-faced side wings, one for the bedrooms and the other the
garage. A brick-walled servants wing with a small patio enclosed
behind a frosted glass screen extended from the centre of the long
faade on the street-front of the house, providing, at the junction,
a discreet entrance to the house. The organisational clarity of the
plan and the apparent purity of the frame-and panel construction
were, however, confused by the combination of steel, timber, brick
and glass which made it up. Whereas the informal planning of Case
Study House 16 had allowed, within the confines of the glass box
and its over-hanging roof plane, a separation of wall and frame,
and thus brick (or stone) and steel, the much more taut plan of the
new house demanded a greater unity of materials. Yet the precision of the pre-fabricated steel frame was at odds with the brick
and mortar construction of the walls and the rough,
timber framing of the roof. If, as Ellwood wrote in
Arts & Architecture on the occasion of the opening
of the house, More and more the increasing cost of
labor is forcing construction into the factory and
within possibly ten or fifteen years houses will be
built from pre-cut and prefabricated components
manufactured for fast assembly, there was little
evidence of it here.
Case Study House 18 was, however, prefabricated. Built for Dr Irving Fields in Beverly Hills in
195558, the house was conceived as a tubular
steel frame of 50 mm square posts and 50 x
112.5mm beams set on a 2.4 m modular grid. The
whole frame was assembled on site by four men in
eight hours and required on-site welding for only
nineteen beam and forty column-base connections; the walls were either prefabricated sandwich
panels or sliding glass units. The result was a
building which was modular, flexible and volumetrically fluid. The separation of interior and exterior

Casa pentru
Studiul de Caz #16 /
Case Study House
#16

arhitectura 35

teorie theory

Casa pentru Studiul de Caz #22 plan parter (redesenat de autor) / Case Study
House #22 Ground floor plan (redrawn by the author)

Casa pentru Studiul de Caz #17 plan parter (redesenat de autor) / Case Study
House #17 Ground floor plan (redrawn by the author)

Casa pentru studiul de

caz #17 refuit n stilul
Regen hollyoodian /
Case Study House #17
refaced in a Hollywood
Regency style

Casa pentru Studiul de

Caz #17 perspectiva
desenat (Arts &
Architecture) / Case
Study House #17 perspective drawing (Arts &
Architecture)

36 arhitectura

legtur, rezolv toate condiionrile zidurilor exterioare. Pierre

Koenig a evideniat tocmai acest gen de abordare n primul
lui studiu de caz, Case Study House 21, cas proiectat pentru
psihologul Walter Bailey, n Hollywood Hills ntre 19561958. John
Entenza a prezentat casa ca avnd un design foarte pur i curat.
Dou detalii, unul la nord-sud, unul la est-vest. Un material pentru
acoperi, acelai pentru ziduri. Cas minimal n spaiu minimal.
Koenig ajunsese la aceast nelegere mai nainte, n propria lui
cas din Glendale, n urm cu ase ani, unde necesitatea de a
economisi l ncurajase s aleag o abordare modular, bazat pe
uniti. Coloanele circulare, care i caracterizaser genul de design
erau similare cu acelea folosite de Soriano n Case Study House
pentru 1950, dar adoptarea anvelopantei din metal profilat att
pentru plafoane i ziduri era o trstur proprie. Case Study House
21 cuprindea o serie de structuri mari din oel, grinzile n seciune I
de 200 mm ntinzndu-se pe 6,7 m la centre de 3 m. Acestea erau

space was ambiguous, as befitting the warm California climate,

the gridded plan encompassing both the living spaces and the
enclosed courtyard, and extending to the poolside patio beyond.
With the building of Case Study House 18, Ellwood had at last
arrived at a truly prefabricated building where, as he said, one
detail, one connection, handles all exterior wall conditions. It was
just this approach which Pierre Koenig evidenced in his first Case
Study House, number 21, built for a psychologist, Walter Bailey,
in the Hollywood Hills in 195658. John Entenza described the
house as a very pristine, clean design. Two details, one northsouth, one east-west. One material for the roof, same one for the
walls. Minimal house, maximum space. It was an understanding
which Koenig had achieved early on, in his own house at Glendale,
six years earlier, where the need for economy had encouraged
a modular, unit-based approach to design. The circular pipecolumns which characterised this design were similar to those Soriano had used in the Case Study House for 1950, but the adoption
of profiled metal cladding for both ceiling and walls was a feature
he was to make his own. Case Study House 21 comprised a series
of large steel frames, the 200 mm I-section beams spanning 6.7
m at 3 m centres. These were arranged singly across the carport
and entrance bay and in pairs over the living space beyond. The result was, as Entenza implied, a tightly contained building wrapped
in profiled metal cladding with the living accommodation visible
through giant glass sliding doors at either end.
The Case Study House which Koenig built for Buck Stahl in
195960 was, by contrast, uncontained. Perched on a hillside
high above Sunset Boulevard, Case Study House 22 reached
out to the view across Los Angeles, its 300 mm steel I-section
beams and broad, flat roof extending far beyond the glass walls
which surrounded the living spaces. Koenigs palette of materials
was the same as before but now the house opened up to the city
beyond in the manner which Julius Shulmans iconic night-time
photograph has made memorable. Although prefabrication and
standardisation were the genesis of this design, Koenig recognised the potential of his materials and by placing the steel

puse cte una n zona spaiului pentru main i a intrrii semicirculare, i cte dou deasupra livingului i dincolo de acesta. Rezultatul a fost, cum a sugerat Entenza, o cldirie compact, nvelit
ntr-o anvelop metalic avnd spaiile de locuit vizibile prin uile
glisante, enorme, din sticl, la ambele capete.
Aceast cas, pe care Koenig a construit-o pentru Buck Stahl
ntre 19591960, nu era, prin contrast, compact. Cocoat aproape
de vrful dealului, deasupra Sunset Boulevard, Case Study House
22 avea o perspectiv larg asupra oraului Los Angeles, grinzile ei
metalice n I, de 300 mm i acoperiul lat i plat, ntinzndu-se mult
dincolo de pereii din sticl care nconjurau spaiile de locuit. Paleta
de materiale folosit de Koenig era similar cu cea anterioar, dar
acum casa se deschidea spre ora, aa cum fotografia nocturn a
lui Julius Shulman l-a imortalizat. Dei la baza designului stteau
prefabricarea i standardizarea, Koenig a recunoscut potenialul
materialelor sale i, prin faptul c a poziionat structura metalic
de centre de 6 m i a mrit adncimea grinzilor, le-a utilizat mult
mai expresiv dect la Case Study 21. Acest gen de aranjament
al planului i structurii l va repeta peste doi ani, ca o imagine n
oglind aproape, la Casa Johnson din Carmel Valley, California. Dar
aici, unde privelitile erau mult mai restrictive i copacii nconjurau
cldirea, stilul expansiv al designului era mai puin aparent.
Tocmai aceste studii de case au asigurat reputaia lui Craig
Elwood i Pierre Koenig. n 1960, la doi ani de la terminarea Case
Study House 18, revista Progressive Architecture l prezenta pe Ellwood ca pe o persoan care a devenit rapid unul dintre exponenii
unei arhitecturi piele i os. Cu toate acestea, n acelai an, a construit casa Daphne din Hillsborough, California, iar n urmtorul an,
casa Rosen din Brentwood, California, ambele n genul pavilioanelor
miesiene, grele, din oel, ceea ce indica o nou direcie n arhitectura lui. Totui, Koenig, a rmas fidel paletei lui de structuri metalice
dezvelite i anvelopante metalice profilate, pn la casa Schwartz
din Pacific Palisades (1996).
Aceste Case Study Houses s-au demodat, apoi au revenit la
mod. n perioada de demodare, Case Study House 17 a suferit
teribil, fiind refuit n stilul Regen hollyoodian, cu acoperi gen
cort i goluri arcate de fereastr. Recent, Case Study House 21 a
fost total restaurat de arhitect i, n 2000, i s-au acordat premiile
City of Los Angeles Historic Preservation, premiu de excelen, i
Los Angeles Conservacy Preservation Award.

frame at 6 m centres and increasing the beams depth, used

them far more expressively than he had done at Case Study
House 21. It was an arrangement of plan and structure which
he was to repeat two years later, almost in mirror image, at the
Johnson house in Carmel Valley, California. But here, where the
views were far more restricted and trees surrounded the building, the expansiveness of the design was less apparent.
It was these five Case Study Houses which, between them,
secured for Craig Ellwood and Pierre Koenig their reputations.
In 1960, two years after the completion of Case Study House
18, Progressive Architecture described Ellwood as fast becoming one of the most articulate exponents of skin-and-bones
architecture. Yet that same year he built the Daphne house in
Hillsborough, California, and the following year, the Rosen house
in Brentwood, California, each a Miesian pavilion of heavy steel
signalling a new direction in his architecture. Koenig, however,
remained working within his spare palette of exposed steel
frames and profiled metal cladding up to the Schwartz house in
Pacific Palisades (1996).
The Case Study Houses have fallen first out and then back
into fashion. In the down-turn, Case Study House 17 suffered
terribly, being refaced in a Hollywood Regency style with a tentlike pyramidal roof and arched window openings. More recently
Case Study House 21 was completely restored by its architect
and, in 2000, was awarded both the City of Los Angeles Historic
Preservation Award of Excellence and the Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award.

Casa pentru Studiul de

Caz #22 / Case Study
House #22

arhitectura 37