Architect · United States · 1925-2004
Pierre Koenig Biography, Buildings and Best Books
American architect (1925-2004) of steel and glass houses in Los Angeles, best known for Case Study House 22, the Stahl House, made famous by Julius Shulman’s photograph.
Photo: Ilpo’s Sojourn, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Pierre Koenig (1925-2004) was an American architect who used industrial steel and glass to build light, open houses in Los Angeles. His two Case Study Houses for Arts & Architecture magazine, the Bailey House (No. 21) and the Stahl House (No. 22), cantilevered over the city in Julius Shulman’s night photograph, became icons of mid-century modern California.
San Francisco, the war and USC
Koenig was born in San Francisco in 1925 and moved with his family to Los Angeles. After serving in the US Army in Europe during the Second World War, he studied architecture at the University of Southern California. While still a student he built his first steel house for himself in Glendale (1950).
The Case Study Houses
John Entenza’s Case Study House Program commissioned Koenig to build No. 21, the Bailey House in the Hollywood Hills (1958), a flat-roofed steel pavilion surrounded by water, and No. 22, the Stahl House (1959-1960), a glass L wrapped around a pool on a ridge above Los Angeles. Shulman’s photograph of two women in the glass corner at night made it one of the most reproduced images of modern architecture.
Teaching and late work
Koenig taught at USC from 1964 for four decades and researched natural ventilation and solar design. He continued to build steel houses, including the Beagles House and his second house in Brentwood (1985), and received the Gold Medal of the AIA Los Angeles chapter. He died in Los Angeles in 2004.
Pierre Koenig: A View from the Archive
Drawn from Koenig’s archive at the Getty, it follows every house from first sketches to construction, with drawings and photographs.
View on AmazonLooking for a shorter introduction? Pierre Koenig (96 pages).
Timeline
- 1925Born on 17 October in San Francisco.
- 1950Builds his first steel house in Glendale while a student.
- 1952Graduates from the University of Southern California.
- 1958Case Study House No. 21, the Bailey House, is completed.
- 1960Case Study House No. 22, the Stahl House, is completed.
- 1964Begins teaching at USC.
- 1985Completes his second house in Brentwood.
- 2004Dies on 4 April in Los Angeles.
Best Books on Pierre Koenig
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pierre Koenig known for?
Pierre Koenig is known for his steel and glass houses in Los Angeles, especially Case Study House No. 22, the Stahl House, and Case Study House No. 21, the Bailey House.
What is the Stahl House?
Case Study House No. 22, built in 1959-1960 for Buck and Carlotta Stahl in the Hollywood Hills. Its glass walls and cantilevered living room overlook Los Angeles.
Who took the famous photograph of the Stahl House?
Julius Shulman photographed the Stahl House at night in 1960, with two women seated in the glass corner above the lights of the city.
What is the best book on Pierre Koenig?
Pierre Koenig: A View from the Archive by Neil Jackson (Getty, 2019) is the most complete study. The short Taschen Pierre Koenig is a good introduction.
What was the Case Study House Program?
A programme run by Arts & Architecture magazine from 1945 to 1966 that commissioned architects such as Koenig, Charles and Ray Eames and Craig Ellwood to design affordable modern houses.
