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Entenza House (Case Study House #9)

The design of Case Study House #9 exemplifies the concept of merging interior and exterior spaces through glass expanses and seamless materials.

Place Details

• Charles Eames,
• Eero Saarinen

Designation

• Private Residence - Do Not Disturb

Property Type

• Single-Family Residential
• Los Angeles

Case Study House #9, also known as the Entenza House, was designed for Arts & Architecture publisher and editor John Entenza as part of his innovative Case Study House program sponsored through the magazine. The property is situated on a primarily flat parcel on a bluff in Pacific Palisades overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen and completed in 1949, the house is modular in plan and features steel frame construction. But in contrast to many modern residences utilizing steel frame construction, that of the Entenza House is not actually revealed, but concealed with wood-paneled cladding.

Entenza frequently entertained, so the house consists of mostly public and very little private space.

The room arrangement included two bedrooms, a study, two bathrooms, kitchen, large open living/dining area, utility room and garage. A large, sunken living room with a built-in seating area facilitates conversation. 

The house is primarily sheathed in Truscon Ferroboard with the ocean-facing elevation glazed by Libby-Owens-Ford glass with Truscon steel window framing. The east elevation consists of lightweight concrete block by Rocklite. This design exemplified the concept of merging interior and exterior spaces through glass expanses and seamless materials.

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Issues including Entenza House (Case Study House #9)

Case study houses, related content, la villa basque, bailey house (case study house #21), los angeles county museum of art (lacma).

The Entenza House by Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates

Nestled in the lush green seaside Pacific Palisades in southern California lies the Entenza House, a private residence of 150 sqm demonstrating a perfect blend of outdoor and indoor spaces with glass expanses and seamless materials. It is the ninth house of the Case Study House program, designed by Industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames and Architect Eero Saarinen for John Entenza between 1945 and 1950.

Design of Entenza House

In response to the post second world war housing crisis, John Entenza initiated the case study House program to demonstrate minimalist houses employing open plans, easy-to-build technologies, and low-cost building materials . Regarded in the list of National Historic Places in 2013, the Entenza House was conceived by Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates for the initiator of the program himself. As per the modern style, the house features simple volumes, panoramic windows, open plans, and new materials like steel frames, concrete, plywood panels, and glass. Unlike other houses of the case study house program that celebrated the structural system, Entenza’s house makes no overt reference. In an attempt to focus attention to the views and space inside instead of the building itself, most of the framework is hidden using wooden cladding. The project is conceptualised with ​​an elastic space in which the space varies depending on the occasional occupation needs due to guests or family.

Entered from the North, the house is separated from the garage by translucent glass that allows light passage from a skylight. The 36 feet wide living room welcomes visitors, enabling the 

Pacific Ocean view framed by narrow mullions of windows. The sizeable sunken space with a built-in seating area is made to feel large using floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors along the length of the rear wall. The living room utilises the maximum area of the house as it serves the core intent of facilitating conversations and gatherings required by the owner, being a journalist. The fireplace plays a pivotal role in separating the room into both a vast space and a more intimate one, catering to either a large group of people or a smaller one.

Adjacent to the living room is the dining room, connected to a kitchen separated by a wardrobe wall opening to the south. The corridor leads to a more private area with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a utility area. In juxtaposition to the public living area is the private study area, designed to be entirely closed with no windows to avoid distraction. The public area is separated from the private area by height differences.

Materials and Construction Techniques

With their central focus on materials and structural design, the modernist homes featured new materials and construction techniques . The Entenza House by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Associates showcases a flexible and simplistic steel frame structure constructed of four-inch H columns supporting twelve-inch open web joints to enclose maximum space within a minimal frame. This allows the bracing and transmitting of most of the load to the perimeter belt getting all the interior elements to support a similar and lighter load. The blurring of the boundaries between inside and outside was possible due to the use of Libby-Owens-Ford glass with Truscon steel window framing complemented by the use of lightweight concrete blocks by Rocklite and Truscon Ferrobord. To simplify the structure the roof above the house was designed to be a concrete slab, finished with birch strips covering the soffits. These new materials aided in reducing the cost of maintenance, heating, and lighting. Of the modular steel construction throughout only four columns are exposed, while the rest are hidden within the walls using drywall panels to achieve comfort and functionality . The interior of the house is finished with plastered and wood-panelled surfaces.

• Sustainability

The plot occupies nearly one hectare in a field overlooking the Pacific Ocean, located at 205 Chautauqua Boulevard, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles (USA). The Architects Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Associates designed the house on the premises such that the landscape was perceived to be an extension of it. It was designed so that the house was related to the landscape and its surroundings. Regarded as the master of his craft, Eero Saarinen is one of the most revered architects of the 20th Century. Internationally recognised at the forefront of the design, architecture, filmmaking, and furniture communities, Charles and Ray Eames have made notable contributions to the field. Working in collaboration, they crafted the house of Modern Art and Architecture journalist John Entenza who lived there for five years after its construction. Later, it was inhabited by various owners but remained a private residence. One of the most famous examples of modern architecture in history, it stands testament to the modernist architectural movement that sought to create simple, functional, and beautiful designs that were responsive to the needs of contemporary society.

References:

  Luke Fiederer .The Entenza House (Case Study #9) / Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates[online]Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/782050/ad-classics-case-study-house-9-entenza-charles-ray-eames-eero-saarinen-associates

Wikipedia Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entenza_House  

Eames Office.Case Study House 9,[online]Available at : https://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/case-study-house-9/

Mid-Century Home. 2015-06-19. The Case Study House 9: Charles Eames Eero Saarinen” .  

Citations for Images/photographs : 

Julius Shulman Photography Archive © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

Andrew B Hurvitz(2013)

Screenshot from model ©Archilogic

Ishwari is a budding Architect who loves to explore spaces , cultures, and people. With the countless stories they express, she wishes to unfold them through her writings.

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Filed under:

• Pacific Palisades
• Modernist Houses

The Return of Eames and Saarinen's Case Study House No. 9

"You will never see anything like this!" trumpets the copy for the new-to-market Entenza House , aka Case Study No. 9 . Which is kinda weird, because we seem to recall seeing something exactly like this on the market not too long ago. Or, to be more accurate, this very same house. Designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen in 1949, the famous steel-frame structure--now converted into a guesthouse for a 9,500 square foot contemporary designed by Barry Berkus-- last changed hands in June 2010 for $10 million. The one-acre property, located in the Pacific Palisades near Case Studies No. 8 (the Eames House), No. 18 (by Rodney Walker), and No. 20 (Richard Neutra's Bailey House), was put back up for sale yesterday, with a beefed up price tag of $15.95 million . Per the listing, its features include an art gallery, two offices, a library, two kitchens, nine bathrooms, "two garages for four cars, plus off street for another 20+," a pool, and wine cellar. Virtual tour can be found here . · Case Study No 9 in the Palisades Finally Goes [Curbed LA] · 205 CHAUTAUQUA [Redfin] · The Case Study House Map of Los Angeles [Curbed LA]

Entenza House

Next up in modernist houses.

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Entenza House (Case Study #9) by Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates

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Entenza House (Case Study House #9)

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The Case Study House 9 by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

The Case Study House #9, was part of John Entenza’s Case Study House Program launched through his magazine Arts and Architecture in 1945.

This house was designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen for Entenza himself and is considered the twin of the Charles Eames  Case Study House 8 , even if they fulfill totally different needs. They have similar structures and used the same materials and building techniques but they are conceptually different: Entenza’s is vertical while the Eames house is horizontal. A contemporary magazine defined them as “ technological twins but architectural opposites ”.

[tabs type=”horizontal”] [tabs_head] [tab_title] Related Books [/tab_title] [/tabs_head] [tab] [one_third]

During the four years after its publication in 1945 and before its completion, the design of the Case Study House 9 changed very little. When finally ready in 1949, it became the first house of the program to have a steel and glass structure with concealed-within plaster and wood-paneled surfaces interiors.

The Case Study House. 9 is built on over an acre of meadow that overlooks the Pacific sea. Eames and Saarinen wanted to interrelate the house with its environment and so they designed it to make the landscape as an extension of the inner space.

The goal was to achieve a spacious inside within a fairly minimal structure . To do so, they placed four steel columns at the center allowing cross bracing and continuity. Also, a floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass door connects the interiors with the surrounding meadow and the ocean beyond.

Even though the building phase suffered of several problems and delays, the result was coherent to its original idea of creating a beautiful living environment . The result was a house with a living room featuring a built-in seating and conversational area to entertain friends and organising dinners: the main Entenza request.

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 and the kitchen. The office is probably the only really private space of the house with no windows to avoid distractions from the outside.

Even though the design process was coherent and clear, always following a clear purpose, Entenza was not stunningly surprised by the result as it sometimes happens when someone has too high expectations.

Entenza lived and worked in the Case Study House #9 for five years before selling it. Since then, it has gone through many changes to its original interior design to please the several owners. Do you live in a mid-century or modernist-inspired contemporary house and want to be featured on MidCenturyHome? Contact us: [email protected]

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The Case Study Houses Program: Richard Neutra’s Bailey House

The Case Study Houses Program: Craig Ellwood’s Case Study House 18

A Virtual Look Into Eames and Saarinen's Case Study House #9, The Entenza House

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How the Eameses Found their Land: A Bluff for a New Housing Program

John Entenza, the editor of the modernist publication Arts & Architecture, purchased a five-acre plot of land neighboring the sea in the Pacific Palisades in 1941. This land—formerly part of a failed residential development project by Abbot Kinney in the late 1890s— was mostly undeveloped and an impossibly far distance from the Los Angeles city center. Entenza’s intent for this eucalyptus grove was initially unclear; however, when plans to solve a housing crisis post-war began to swirl in his mind, the grounds became the perfect space for the start of something monumentally modern : the Case Study Program. This program intended to be the ideal post-war housing solution accessible to middle-class America. The house designs would utilize industrial-grade off-the-shelf or catalog-ordered building materials in a residential context, showcasing a modern aesthetic that was still quite unusual for the time.

Ray Eames and John Entenza surveying the site, early 1940’s

As the program began in 1945, two designs proposed for this meadow were published in Arts & Architecture Magazine: Case Study #8 for Charles and Ray Eames and Case Study #9 for John Entenza himself. Both structures were a collaboration between Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. A shortage of steel (as World War II was winding down) meant that the structural material for these two homes was temporarily unavailable for residential use. Plans for the building were postponed for nearly three years, and in the meantime, redesigning of the Eames House and the building of other homes on-site began.

The first structure to break ground in 1946 was Richard Neutra’s Case Study House #20 for the Bailey family: a young dentist and his wife. Dr. Bailey commissioned Neutra to plan an additional walkway and wing of the home to be built in later years, as the couple expected to have children. Next came Rodney Walker’s Case Study House #18 for the West family in 1948, constructed on the northeast corner of the five acres. Situated in between #18 and #20 is another Neutra design of the late 1940s, but this one was disavowed by the Case Study Program due to changes in design and materials.

Case Study #20, Bailey House

Case Study #18, West House

The year 1949 hosted the construction of the Eames and Entenza houses, both described as “technological twins, but architectural opposites.” They utilize similar materials standard to the industrial building industry with drastically different forms and client needs. Due to Entenza’s close relationship with Charles and Ray, it was natural to share their three acres more fluidly — the designs were intentional in preventing the dwellers from peering into the neighboring house’s private areas. Overall, there was little division between the separate properties on this Case Study bluff, allowing the residents to share the eucalyptus grove and the scenic view of the Pacific Ocean below the cliff’s edge.

Case Study #9, Entenza House

Case Study #8, Eames House

Today, all five homes are still remarkably intact and some boast more historic materials than others. While the Eames House is now a non-profit house museum visitable by appointment, the other homes remain as cherished private residences. Despite their lack of public access, one can still take a pleasant walk up the driveway, passing Neutra’s original, curved weeping mortar wall and the other properties on the way to the Eames House. 

Read the Arts & Architecture Magazine briefings here .

Published by: Kelsey Rose Williams

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Entenza House / Case Study House nº9

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About this building

Entenza House / Case Study House nº9, designed by Charles Eames , Eero Saarinen , is located at Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, United States. It was designed in 1945 and built in 1949.

Other people involved in the desing and construction process of the Entenza House / Case Study House nº9 were:

• Edgardo Contini as Engineer

If you want to learn more about the Entenza House / Case Study House nº9, don't hesitate to check the full article ! Were you'll find a lot more information about it, including historical context, concept development, type of structure and materials used, and more.

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ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE. CASE STUDY HOUSE 9. CASA ENTENZA

25/02/2022 Por Sara Resa

En Diciembre de 1945 se presentaron los diseños de la octava y novena viviendas del programa Case Study House de la revista californiana Arts and Architecture, ambas diseñadas por Eero Saarinen y Charles Eames .

La Case Study House 9 contaba con un cliente muy especial, John Entenza , director y editor de la revista, el cual la habitó por un período de cinco años. A lo largo de este artículo, vamos a dar un paseo por… esta magnífica vivienda, analizando los condicionantes de partida, la solución adoptada por los arquitectos y sus características más relevantes a nivel estructural, constructivo y funcional. Un claro ejemplo del Mid Century Modern estadounidense.

LA SITUACIÓN Y LOS CONDICIONES DE PARTIDA

La vivienda compartía solar con la Case Study House 8 en un terreno boscoso del distrito Pacific Palisades, libre de edificaciones y con unas excelentes vistas al océano. Un escenario privilegiado , en el que los arquitectos Saarinen y Eames presentaron una propuesta que, a diferencia de su compañera de solar, apenas presentó variaciones desde el momento de su concepción hasta su materialización constructiva.

El encargo iba a estar dirigido a un único habitante, cuyas necesidades específicas requerían de soluciones propias que la alejaban de la posibilidad de generar modelos en serie, tal como estipulaba el programa. El promotor, John Entenza, requería de amplios espacios sociales que permitieran alojar a un generoso número de invitados para realizar diversas actividades, como reuniones, conversaciones y proyecciones fílmicas. Así mismo, precisaba de espacio para trabajar en casa y zonas para realizar sus hobbies como leer y escuchar música. No obstante, estos espacios privativos podían presentar superficies mínimas y quedar subordinados al área social, el cual debía abarcar el máximo espacio posible.

LA SOLUCIÓN

En el número de Diciembre de 1945 se presentó el caso y la propuesta de las Case Study House 8 y 9. Para la novena vivienda del programa, Eames y Saarinen proponen una geometría sencilla , marcadamente prismática y de planta cuadrada, cuya distribución funcional separa el área social del área privativo y de trabajo.

La mitad sur del volumen es ocupado por el área social, donde un gran espacio diáfano se abre mediante un gran ventanal al prado con el océano de fondo. El espacio es flexible y versátil, pensado para realizar actividades diversas como comer, vivir, entretenerse y reunirse. El pavimento se extiende fuera de la vivienda, logrando fusionar el interior y el exterior. Además, la diferencia de cota existente se absorbe mediante la inserción de mobiliario, lo que sirve a su vez para delimitar pequeños ámbitos en el mismo espacio.

En la mitad norte de la vivienda se alojan las estancias privadas y las áreas de trabajo, ubicándose al este los dormitorios y el despacho de Entenza y al oeste la cocina, el garaje y los espacios auxiliares. El dormitorio principal cuenta con una puerta corredera que puede abrirse al salón o cerrarse cuando se requiere privacidad. El baño principal y el dormitorio quedan comunicados a través de un vestidor. Este baño se subdivide en distintos espacios concatenados y cuenta con salida directa al patio este, pudiendo disfrutar de los primeros rayos de sol con intimidad y sin renunciar a las vistas del prado. El despacho de Entenza se ubica junto al dormitorio principal y queda lo suficientemente aislado para permitir la concentración requerida.

En cuanto al área de trabajo o auxiliar de la vivienda, destacar que el garaje cuenta con un acceso directo al vestíbulo de servicio, y que la cocina comunica con la zona de comedor a través de una puerta corredera que puede abrirse o cerrarse para integrar o independizar el espacio según las necesidades.

La casa Entenza cuenta con dos accesos , uno en la fachada norte, el principal, y otro en la oeste, el de servicio. El acceso principal conduce al gran salón y a la zona privada de la vivienda. Sin embargo, el acceso secundario comunica con la zona utilitaria, la cocina y el garaje. Pese a ser secundario, la instalación de una pérgola que enmarca la entrada lo dota de una significación que curiosamente no apreciamos en el acceso principal.

En cuanto a los materiales y acabados , comentar que la tabaquería de la vivienda se solucionó mediante paneles de yeso para pintar o alicatar, paneles de madera en las zonas más nobles y vidrio corrugado en aquellos puntos en los que se requería la entrada de luz. Para la pavimentación se empleó baldosa, moqueta y asfalto, mientras que para climatizar los ambientes se instaló un sistema de calefacción por techo radiante.

LA ESTRUCTURA

La importancia que la estructura tiene en este proyecto es patente desde la presentación de la propuesta en Diciembre de 1945, donde Saarinen y Eames muestran sobre la volumetría de la vivienda, un esquema estructural. Es curioso, ver que pese a que se emplearon los mismos elementos constructivos que en la Case Study House 8, pilares HEB, vigas y viguetas celosía, el resultado fue completamente diferente. La Case Eames muestra la estructura en todo su esplendor y la integra en la vivienda, tanto en su primera propuesta, como en la solución definitiva. Sin embargo, la Casa Entenza esconde su estructura, la hace invisible para que interfiera de manera mínima en el edificio. Tanto es así, que Edgardo Contini, su ingeniero estructural, llegó a definirla como “construcción anti-estructural”.

El objetivo principal de los arquitectos era la consecución del mayor espacio con la mínima estructura, por lo que dispusieron un entramado ortogonal en el que la ubicación de los pilares fue fundamental. Así, la inserción de cuatro pilares en el centro de la planta permitió realizar un arrostramiento cruzado que posibilitó la continuidad en la estructura. De esta forma, todos los elementos estructurales soportan cargas muy similares y ligeras, y los esfuerzos de las viguetas son transmitidos al borde perimetral en ángulo recto, lo que permite que las vigas no necesiten mayor canto que las viguetas. Con ello, lograron que el entramado ortogonal de la cubierta fuera asimilable a una losa plana.

En el número de Enero de 1949, la revista presenta fotografías de la vivienda en construcción, en la que se puede apreciar claramente el sistema estructural empleado. Los esbeltos pilares y la ordenada estructura de cubierta evidencian la intención de los arquitectos de reducir al mínimo la presencia de esta estructura .

LA ENVOLVENTE

En el número de Marzo de 1948 se presentaron fotos de la maqueta de la vivienda, lo que permitía hacerse una idea más clara del tratamiento de la envolvente. Ésta se solucionó mediante la integración de paneles sandwich metálicos con aislamiento tipo Ferroboard , tanto en cubierta como en fachada. Bajo la cubierta se instaló un falso techo de madera y los paneles de las fachadas se pintaron fundamentalmente en gris y blanco.

El gran protagonismo lo toma la fachada sur en la que se inserta el gran ventanal del salón. La instalación de diferentes modelos de ventanas permite amenizar el alzado y enriquecerlo. La cubierta vuela sobre el ventanal protegiendo el interior del riguroso impacto solar californiano, a la vez que desdibuja los límites entre el interior y el exterior.

El resto de fachadas no presentan tanta permeabilidad y disponen de huecos en aquellos puntos en los que se busque ventilar, iluminar o relacionar el interior y el exterior. La fachada este cuenta con grandes ventanas que se abren una terraza solarium de carácter privado, mientras que el resto de la fachada se pinta con líneas verticales alternativas en gris y blanco. La fachada oeste presenta la pérgola como gran protagonista, así como paneles en colores vivos y ventanas que flanquean el acceso. La fachada norte , pese a contener el acceso principal a la vivienda puede considerarse la más austera.

LA VIVIENDA TRAS SU CONSTRUCCIÓN

Con la vivienda ya finalizada, la revista presentó en su número de Julio de 1950 un amplio reportaje con fotografías de Julius Schulman. La información ofrecida en dicho artículo es muy amplia, especificando las marcas de los materiales constructivos, del mobiliario e incluso de los objetos decorativos, artísticos o de uso doméstico.

Desde el 12 de Agosto hasta el 3 de Septiembre de 1950, la Casa Entenza se abrió al público para su visita, tal como marcaba el programa Case Study Houses. John Entenza vivió y trabajó en la vivienda por un período de cinco años, momento en el cual, la vendió. Desde entonces la vivienda ha sufrido numerosas alteraciones , que la han alejado de su concepción inicial. La inserción de una nueva edificación en la parte sur de la vivienda y la alteración del espacio externo inmediato, ha desvirtuado completamente el propósito con el que fue diseñado el salón y su gran ventanal, habiendo perdido por completo sus magníficas vistas.

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Casa Entenza / Case Study House nº9

Introducción.

Diferencias entre la CSH 9 y la CSH 8