Lawrence Modern home

Western facade at entry. Photo by Akiko Takeyama

Built on a surge of adrenaline in modern architecture, the Case Study program houses constructed in the Los Angeles area from the 1940s to the 1960s were a unique experiment in postwar America.

Conceived by John Entenza, the editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, these flat-roofed, post-and-beam structures explored the advantages of modern residential living but also promoted the economical concepts of mass production. Assembled on slabs of concrete and often using prefab components to reduce costs, they challenged preconceived notions of residential building design and engineering. Despite their relatively low cost and seductive appeal, however, only 25 were actually built — they never really resonated with the general public.

In retrospect, the Case Study program represents not only a high point in modern architecture but also a utopic vision of America, where people of modest means could afford to live in houses that were essentially artistic creations.

The Stahl House epitomized this vision. Designed by architect Pierre Koenig in 1959, C.H.S. No. 22 is a masterpiece of modernism, one that has become so iconic it’s easy to overlook the fact that it was built for a family of four with limited resources. (CH “Buck” Stahl, the original owner, was a graphic designer and sign painter who at times struggled to keep up with the bank payments.) The idea that a middle class family could even imagine living in such a work of art, and continue to own and preserve it today, is a great defense of the American Dream, such that it exists.

Gazing out the living room at the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific. Photo by Akiko Takeyama

My wife and I recently had the opportunity to tour the Stahl House on a trip to Los Angeles. More than any other house I’ve visited, it left me in a state of wonder that lingered long after I set foot on the property. Of course much of this has to do with the magnificent views, which sweep from the ocean to the mountains, but also the elegant way in which Keonig’s design melds with the grid-like pattern of the cityscape below. It fits the picture. The huge glass windows bring this copper-toned spectacle into full view by day; by night the lights of L.A. itself become a sparkling Tiffany window.

Looking west from living room at sunset.

There is something truly transcendent about being in this space, floating above the city: it’s powerful, sexy. Though I wonder if that joy might fade after a while, and the spectacular views become taken for granted. It happens. And the house itself is not without issues. By today’s standards the kitchen and bathrooms are tiny, the living room lacks privacy, and the house is after all perched on the edge of a steep cliff in an earthquake-prone city. No house is perfect, right? Nah, I must be having a nightmare. Because the thought of living in this cinematic masterpiece, where every moment is a slo-mo rush on the senses, even nightmares would be the stuff of dreams.

If you plan to visit L.A., the Stahl House is available for touring through their website. Highly recommended!

        —Bill

Akiko Takeyama gazes out on the city of Los Angeles.

Western facade.

Timeline in Marvin Hall celebrating 100 years of architectural education at the University of Kansas. Timeline by Tim Hossler.

KU’s School of Architecture celebrated a century of architectural education April 26-27, 2013, filling the corridors of Marvin Hall with former students who reconnected with classmates and reminisced with faculty about their experiences attending one of the oldest and most prestigious architecture schools in the country. More than 350 alumni, faculty and friends attended the centennial events, including retired modernist architects Robert Hess, ’49, and Dick Peters, ’54, both of whose work is featured in this website. A wall-sized graphical timeline of the last century’s major events as they relate to the evolution of architecture, and the milestones of the School, was on display in the main hallway and became the central meeting point. (The Timeline was designed by Lawrence Modern’s own Tim Hossler.) Architectural models, drawings and exhibits of former and current students lined the School’s walls and corridors. A birthday cake was served on the lawn outside Marvin Hall, followed by a lively reception and evening banquet. Several architecture students interacted with their predecessors, but most were too busy working on their final projects to hang around or even go outside to grab a piece of cake. Such is the demands of pursuing the architecture profession. But fifty years from now, when the University celebrates the next milestone of this influential and far-reaching education program, they’ll surely have their cake and eat it too.

Prof. Kent Spreckelmeyer, Bob Hess, BArch ’49, and Prof. Dennis Domer.

Bob Hess meets with architecture students Kyle Kutz (left) and Cole Giesler (middle) in Marvin Hall.

John Gaunt, dean of the School of Architecture, Design and Planning talks with Duncan Fulton, ’78, FAIA, President/CEO of the Good, Fulton & Farrell architecture firm based in Dallas, Tex.

From left, Neal Angrisano, ’88 and ’96, AIA, Associate, Burns and McDonnell Architecture, Kansas City, Mo. and Adjunct Professor; Sonya Jury, AIA, ’88, Director of Business Development, Henderson Engineers, Lenexa, Kans.; Steve Smith, AIA, ’88, Principal, Kenneth Hahn Architects, Omaha, Neb.; and John Eyler, AIA, ’94, Principal, 360 Architecture, Kansas City, Mo.

An Architecture alumnus sticks a red dot next to his name and year of graduation.