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Precedent Analysis arc 572

UT Solar Decathlon 2009 Pierre Koenig Case Study House #22 I 1959

The Stahl House, or Case Study House No.22, was designed by Pierre

Koenig in 1959. It was the second House which Koenig had deigned

for a competition hosted by Arts and Architecture magazine. The

competition called for modern, affordable post-war housing. This

project is located in Los Angeles, California and is one of the most Iconic structures of modern housing in America.

01 The Stahl House

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biography regional context urban context primary structural system influence building typology building diagrams secondary structural system

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Pierre Koenig was born in San Francisco, California in 1925. He studied at the University of Utah, School of Engineering in Salt Lake City, at the Pasadena City College and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he received his Bachelors of Architecture. In 1952, after short stints with Raphael Soriano in Hollywood and Kistner, Wright and Wright in Los Angeles, he established a private practice in Los Angeles. Koenig used steel frame structures and industrial technology to generate his own architectural style. He believed that truth in architecture lies in the natural expression of materials without ornamentation. He approached architecture in terms of simplicity based on economy in terms of money spent and energy consumed. He used passive cooling and solar heating techniques to create energy efficient buildings.

01 Koenig at the building site

“Everybody was very idealistic. Everybody wanted to produce answers to the housing problems.”

-Pierre Koenig


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Pierre Koenig eventually attended the University of Southern California, where the

convention was based on stick built construction. He challenged this school of

thought, viewing wood as an archaic material. He got a nighttime job working at a factory that manufactured airplane parts, giving him some exposure to the idea of

prefabricated parts.

Koenig also took a job while he was still in school working for Raphael Soriano.

Soriano, at that point, had four lightweight steel-frame houses under construction. This confirmed Koenig that his beliefs for housing were headed in the right direction.

In 1945 the Arts and Architecture magazine announced a competition that promoted

the design of modern, affordable post-war housing, called Case Study Houses.

Koenig was approached by the editor and proprietor of the magazine, saying that if he built a “good” house they would publish it. So Koenig built two. These would be

two of a total of eight steel-framed homes that he would build throughout a period of

ten years.

01 Aircraft 02 Raphael Soriano

“His joints are simple and correct” -Koenig of Soriano


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McCoy, Esther, Modern California Houses, (New York: Reinhold

Publishing, 1962): 130-141

Jackson, Neil, Koernig, (Germany:Taschen, 2007): 43-49

01 Koenig, Neil Jackson


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The Case Study Houses were products of a competition for Arts and

Architecture Magazine, in which the architects were actually hand

selected by the editor and proprietor of the magazine, John Entenza. Entenza selected a group of architects from southern California to

execute the projects. California was the ideal setting and environment

in which to promote Modern living. The features of the Modern lifestyle

included open floor plans and blurring the lines between indoor and

outdoor. With California’s arid climate and ample sunshine, these open environments were made possible. For the Case Study House No.22

the client chose a cliff-side site with panoramic views of Los Angeles

below. The site influenced the program and afforded amazing 240

degree views of 100 square miles of Los Angeles from any point in the

house. Once again, the arid, sunny climate of Los Angeles allowed for an indoor/outdoor living arrangement with the house oriented around a

swimming pool and cantilevered terraces.

01 State of California 02 City of Los Angeles, Ca 03 1635 Woods Dr., Los Angeles, Ca


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01 Entry View, approach 02 View over the city of Los Angeles


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Building Type

“L” Shaped floor plan, oriented N/S Terraces and pool consume all of build able 1 story

Owner-occupied housing

Terraces

Parking: carport

01 Floor plan 02 Private, Shared, and Public spaces

Program Typology Single family dwelling

One story

4 rooms: living-dining, kitchen, 2 beds, 2 baths


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01 Sun chart, June-December 02 Sun chart, December-June

03 Average temperature range, Lose Angeles


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Los Angeles consisted of mostly stick built housing, along with the

Rest of the country, until the 1950’s. At the time, the cliff side lots in the Hollywood hills were actually very affordable for first-time homebuyers.

The lot for the Stahl House was purchased at an affordable price, since

its geography made it hard to build on. Its location in the Hollywood

Hills was also advantageous because there were less design

constrictions since neighbors did not generally have a clear view of the house.

01 Stahl House from the sunset strip 02 View over Los Angeles


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01 Column Grid 02 Roof Diagram 03 Primary Framing Diagram 04 Primary vs. Secondary Structure

05 Primary Vs Secondary Elements


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Structural Building Systems –

Primary Structure

The structure employs two steel components for the primary structure: 12” I-Beam

4” H-Column

The foundation consists on 30” deep reinforced concrete beams, and

the whole structure rests on a 35’ concrete caisson (which supports a

10’ cantilever of the floor) The roof deck is a 5”, 18 gauge T-Steel roof, which spans the 20’ span

of the bays, which also cantilevers 7’ over the terraces

Secondary Structure

10’ Glass sliding glass panels between columns

Free-standing, pre-fab Kitchen

01 Perspective toward carport and swimming pool/terrace area 02 Perspective toward Living Area and Terrace

03 Framing of the primary structure (took one day and five men)


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Includes the freestanding chimney structure, 10’ sliding glass panels,

and a freestanding kitchen area

01 Freestanding chimney structure

02 Primary vs. Secondary Structures


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Natural light is a strong component throughout this home, which is

obvious through the use of glass, non-load bearing walls on five of the six exterior walls

Cross ventilation is provided by the use of operable walls, consisting of

the 10’ sliding door panels throughout the home. Koenig did not use

central air conditioning on most of his homes in Southern California

01 North/South cross ventilation

02 East/West cross ventilation


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Kit of Parts –

Koenig used a new technique in steel coating at the time, which was a vinyl-coated steel in .025 gauge with a matte finish and integral color.

When this steel was used in combination with chemical insulation materials, it made the paper-thin wall a reality

Development of the long-span T-decking was a major breakthrough which reduced the cost of covering a large area, especially when compared

to the cost of wood. This supported Koenig’s goal of economy over anything else. Also, in the Bailey House, Koenig used a 1.5” T-decking,

whereas in the Stahl House he increased the depth to 5”. This allowed for larger spans, therefore saving more money as well.

The front wall of the home is a solid wall of steel decking, which was the only solid, load-bearing wall in the structure

The fact that the primary structure was a post and lintel type system allowed for a free plan and non-load bearing walls. These walls were made

of 10’ sliding glass panels which allowed for ventilation, natural light, 270 degree views, and indoor/outdoor living. The climate of Southern

California made these concepts a possibility.

The next step could be to take these precedents and adapt them to different climates and regions, so that these qualities of lifestyle could be

available to people across the United States, and possible around the world.

01 Perspective of structural heirarchy 02 material details


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