Pierre Koenig completed the Stahl House in Los Angeles in 1960 for Buck and Carlotta Stahl. It became Case Study House No. 22 in the experimental housing program organized by Arts & Architecture magazine. The steep Hollywood Hills site was central to the design, offering a dramatic outlook across the city and demanding a carefully considered architectural response.
Steel framing, extensive glass and pronounced roof overhangs give the house its open character. The roof establishes a strong horizontal edge, while the transparent walls allow the distant view to become part of the rooms. Around the swimming pool, covered and uncovered areas read as a connected domestic landscape, with the house framing both outdoor space and the city beyond.
Julius Shulman's celebrated photographs helped make the building an emblem of postwar California living. Its architectural interest also lies in the ordinary elements that support that image: a clear structural system, broad glazing and a plan shaped by its setting. The house demonstrates how industrial materials could be used to create an intensely particular home.
Eames House, Pacific Palisades
