Be still my modernist heart. Case Study House #21 by architect Pierre Koenig just hit the market in the Hollywood Hills.
Pierre Koenig’s experience working alongside architect Raphael Soriano, A. Quincy Jones, and real estate developer Joseph Eichler served him well. By working with them, he gained first-hand steel construction experience and skills using the new arc welding process.
John Entenza, the editor and publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine, invited Koenig to participate in The Case Study House Program. The program was an experiment in residential architecture to introduce new materials in construction. When contemporary-minded couple Walter and Mary Bailey commissioned Koenig to design a modest-sized home in the Hollywood Hills, Koenig seized the opportunity as his time to shine.
Measuring 1,280 square feet, the home is a stunning example of modernist architecture. Arts and Architecture magazine gave it rave reviews, stating, “some of the cleanest and most immaculate thinking in the development of the small contemporary house.”
The interior floor plan comprises public and private rooms separated by a central core, housing bathrooms, and a mechanical room.
The exterior structure is surrounded by water ponds that circulate to the roof and return as fountains. Over the years, the home suffered from ad-hoc renovations. Thankfully, in 1997, Pierre Koenig was asked by the current owner to restore the house to its former glory.
With the help of mid-century modern collector Michael LaFetra, Case Study House #21 was registered as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #669.
Listing courtesy of Marc Silver and Barry Sloane, Sotheby’s International Realty