This example of Mid-Century modern architecture and design is sited adjacent to the Eames House, this house for John Entenza shared certain similarities but for the most part presented a completely different set of concerns. Indeed, the houses were considered to be "technological twins but architectural opposites" by a writer in a contemporary, journal shortly after their completion.
Changed very little when built from how it had been originally published in 1945, the design of the house combined a rigorous steel and glass construction system with an interior in which structure was concealed within plastered and wood-paneled surfaces. One of the first steel-framed Case Study houses, the design of this simple cubic plan allowed for great flexibility. Entenza required very little private space, instead preferring extensive space for entertaining; the built-in seating and conversation area within this open, flowing space facilitated this activity.
The house is built over a big peace meadow that overlooks the Pacific. The designers plan was to make the inner space gently overflow in the landscape. This way the in- and outside were intimately connected.
Starting point for the design of the house was to achieve a ample space with a minimal construction. Eames and Saarinen made it possible by placing four steel columns in the center of the house, allowing a construction of cross bracing and continuity with most of the joist load spread to the outside of the rectangle. This way all the carrying members inside bearing a fairly light and equal load.
The large social area has been designed to serve separate or organized activities and divides naturally into the basic requirements for eating, living, entertaining, and conversational exchange with few or many.
The house project turned out exactly the way how it was meant to be. Client Entenza got exactly what he asked for which is the quit remarkable. The route from the drafting board to reality became a coherent process.
As is usual in such projects, it has, of course, in the actual construction been subjected to innumerable vicissitudes and a host of the customary occurring and recurring problems. However; it is one of the wonders of all such undertakings that they get done at all, and in this case we are deeply gratified that, having done it, it is not only successful structurally but that it is also a beautifully created human environment.
Although the Case Study House #9 and #8 had similar structures and used the same materials and methods, they were conceptually different; the Entenza one is vertical while the Eames house is horizontal. But the main goal the architects probably achieved with the two projects was to demonstrate the flexibility of modular steel to fulfill different needs of different owners.
The roof is covered with a single flat slab of concrete and the interior ceiling made of birch wood strips. A wall of floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors opens the interior of the house to the exterior landscape of the meadow and the ocean beyond. The interior open-plan layout features a 36-foot-long living room with a decoratively painted freestanding fireplace, a dining room, two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a study.
And it's probably the study the only really private space of the house, with no windows to avoid distractions from the outside. Entenza lived and worked in the Case Study House #9 for five years before selling it and it has since then went through many changes to its original interior design to please its several future owners.
Changed very little when built from how it had been originally published in 1945, the design of the house combined a rigorous steel and glass construction system with an interior in which structure was concealed within plastered and wood-paneled surfaces. One of the first steel-framed Case Study houses, the design of this simple cubic plan allowed for great flexibility. Entenza required very little private space, instead preferring extensive space for entertaining; the built-in seating and conversation area within this open, flowing space facilitated this activity.
The house is built over a big peace meadow that overlooks the Pacific. The designers plan was to make the inner space gently overflow in the landscape. This way the in- and outside were intimately connected.
Starting point for the design of the house was to achieve a ample space with a minimal construction. Eames and Saarinen made it possible by placing four steel columns in the center of the house, allowing a construction of cross bracing and continuity with most of the joist load spread to the outside of the rectangle. This way all the carrying members inside bearing a fairly light and equal load.
The large social area has been designed to serve separate or organized activities and divides naturally into the basic requirements for eating, living, entertaining, and conversational exchange with few or many.
The house project turned out exactly the way how it was meant to be. Client Entenza got exactly what he asked for which is the quit remarkable. The route from the drafting board to reality became a coherent process.
As is usual in such projects, it has, of course, in the actual construction been subjected to innumerable vicissitudes and a host of the customary occurring and recurring problems. However; it is one of the wonders of all such undertakings that they get done at all, and in this case we are deeply gratified that, having done it, it is not only successful structurally but that it is also a beautifully created human environment.
Although the Case Study House #9 and #8 had similar structures and used the same materials and methods, they were conceptually different; the Entenza one is vertical while the Eames house is horizontal. But the main goal the architects probably achieved with the two projects was to demonstrate the flexibility of modular steel to fulfill different needs of different owners.
The roof is covered with a single flat slab of concrete and the interior ceiling made of birch wood strips. A wall of floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors opens the interior of the house to the exterior landscape of the meadow and the ocean beyond. The interior open-plan layout features a 36-foot-long living room with a decoratively painted freestanding fireplace, a dining room, two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a study.
And it's probably the study the only really private space of the house, with no windows to avoid distractions from the outside. Entenza lived and worked in the Case Study House #9 for five years before selling it and it has since then went through many changes to its original interior design to please its several future owners.
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The Case Study HouseProgram is still the example of good mid century archiecture for many. Check Mid Century Home now to learn everything about it and the Mid-Century modern design!
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