Case Study Houses (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Smith (Author), Peter Gossel (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3836510219 | ISBN-13: 978-3836510219 | Publication Date: June 1, 2009 | Edition: Mul

Special bestseller price. The Case Study House program (1945-66) was an exceptional, innovative event in the history of American architecture and remains to this day unique. The program, which concentrated on the Los Angeles area and oversaw the design of 36 prototype homes, sought to make available plans for modern residences that could be easily and cheaply constructed during the postwar building boom. The program's chief motivating force was Arts & Architecture editor John Entenza, a champion of modernism who had all the right connections to attract some of architecture's greatest talents, such as Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eero Saarinen. Highly experimental, the program generated houses that were designed to re-define the modern home, and thus had a pronounced influence on architecture. With comprehensive documentation, brilliant photographs from the period and, for the houses still in existence, contemporary photos, floor plans and sketches.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Gossel runs a practice for the design of museums and exhibitions. He is the editor of TASCHEN's monographs on Julius Shulman, R. M. Schindler, John Lautner and Richard Neutra, as well as the editor of the Basic Architecture series. Elizabeth A. T. Smith is Chief Curator and Deputy Director for programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Formerly she was curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles where she organized the exhibition "Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses." Smith has taught at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. She has curated numerous exhibitions and published and lectured widely on a variety of topics in contemporary art and architecture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Taschen; Mul edition (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3836510219
• ISBN-13: 978-3836510219
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 13.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Case for modern architecture, November 3, 2009

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Case Study Houses (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions) (Hardcover)

A sumptuous visual record of this southern Californian house design program. Original published by Taschen in a jumbo edition. This reprint celebrates their twenty-fifth publishing anniversary and it's slightly smaller than the original book but still beautifully printed with English, German and French text.

Each of the thirty-six houses is covered in the same way with:
1 A short introduction by editor Smith
2 The relevant editorial copy from Arts & Architecture magazine about the house.
3 Photos, plans, diagrams and illustrations. Plenty of the photos are by the brilliant Jules Shulman.
4 Contemporary color photos of some houses.

Some of houses only have a spread or two (the unbuilt ones) while others have several spreads, Pierre Koenig's famous Stahl House (#22) has twenty pages. I have given book only four stars because it is not as complete as it should be, the focus is really a visual history of the Study Houses and that's it! What is missing is any historical and contemporary background and surely the reason the whole project was important was the influence it had on other architects, house builders, planners, the public and manufactures.

To get a perspective you will have to get Elizabeth Smith's earlier book Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses, published in conjunction with an exhibition in Los Angeles in 1989-1990. As the sub-title to the book says: 'History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses'. I found this a marvelous book though there are only forty-two pages of text and photos on the actual houses the rest of the 256 pages place them in the context of Californian living and mid-fifties American architecture.

*** I have done a Listmania on books about Case Study Houses.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an affordable version of the original Jumbo book, thanks Taschen!, July 21, 2010

By 

Chris Damon "Classic TV Guy" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Case Study Houses (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions) (Hardcover)

I've had my eye on this book in the original format for a few years now, but could not part with the $$$ for it. When I saw this 25th Anniversary edition I got so excited that I had to order it right away. Ok, I know it's not the "real" version of the book, but for less than half the price who cares. To be honest with you, this smaller version of the book is so big I do not think I could handle a larger book. You definitely have to set this book down on a table to read it, otherwise it is unmanageable. As for content, wait, let me go over to my bar and make a martini. Yeah, that's better. The beautiful photography of Julius Shulman truly transforms you back to a better time! There are also floor plans, sketches, notes, and of course the text of the book. You can tell they used the original plates for this book, since the font is quite small, but definitely readable. I'm sure in the original format the text would appear normal size. In most cases though, you won't be looking at the text in this book, this is a PICTURE book, and what a picture book it is! A ring a ding ding! Oh, wait that's the martini kicking in. Once I started looking at this book, I watched a documentary on Julius Shulman, called Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, which had many of these houses in it and so accompanies this book, it should be included with it. Since it is not though, you should order it WITH the book. For any fan of Modernism, this book is a must, I love it! This is where it starts. Now if they would only come out with a cheap version of that Arts & Architecture magazine set that started the Case Study House program....

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, affordable price, October 12, 2009

By 

Johanna Lindsay "MCM W. Seattle" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Case Study Houses (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions) (Hardcover)

I had been ogling the super-deluxe edition of this hefty book, and was very pleased to find that the "bargain" edition was as lovely as the deluxe edition - without needing a weight belt to lift it. (I accidentally ordered two copies and it came with a "Caution! Heavy!" label.) I am so pleased with the book as a gift for my spouse that I'm keeping the accidental second copy for a gift for another MCM fan who I know will love it.
Great illustrations - photos, sketches, diagrams - includes lots of interesting bits about the thinking behind the design. Lots of ideas too for built-ins as well as showcasing popular MCM furniture.
The only downside of this edition is that the print is a bit small - but being able to actually fit it on a bookshelf is a really nice trade off.
If you love MCM, this is a must-have for your collection.