April 7, 2004

Pierre Koenig, FAIA, renowned for his role as one the Los Angeles-based Case Study Program architects, passed away on April 4.

Born in 1925 in San Francisco, Koenig later moved to Southern California, where in the late 1950’s he became a designer for the Case Study Program, established in Los Angeles in 1945 by John Entenza, editor of avant-garde magazine Arts & Architecture. Case Study became an effort to offer the public models for low-cost housing in the modern style and produced masterpieces by Richard Neutra Craig Ellwood, Thornton Abell, Charles Eames, and Eero Saarinen .

Koenig created the iconic Case Study Houses #21 (1958) and #22 (1960), both simple, elegant cubes of glass and steel praised as artistic trendsetters. Case Study House #21 was awarded the American Institute of Architects California Council (AIACC) 25 year award in 2001.

Prior to his Case Study work Koenig established his own practice, in 1952, designing over 50 glass-and-steel buildings. He also taught at the USC School of Architecture for over 40 years and was named both a distinguished alumnus and distinguished professor in 1998. He received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects/ Los Angeles Chapter in 1999.

"Pierre Koenig never wavered from his beliefs," says Robert Timme, FAIA, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California, where Koenig was also an alumnus. "He became a global celebrity- graduate students from all over the world would come and ask if they would have the chance of meeting him."

Sam Lubell

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