"Arts and Architecture" and the Case Study Program

Hello again,

It is a beautiful day in Anywhere, USA and today I'd like to talk about the Case Study Program. In January  of 1945 a couple forward-minded young architects in the editorial offices of "Arts and Architecture" magazine announced "The Case Study Program." Riding the wave of the residential boom of post-war America these men set out to redefine the idea of home.

The plan was simple: commission young, cutting-edge architects to submit solutions to the housing issue caused by the influx our boys returning from overseas, have materials manufacturers donate to the cause and, presto, you have a program with sociological overtones and modern design aesthetic undertones. Great architects such as: Rapson, Neutra and Eames, to name a few, took on this assignment with gusto. A booming economy, newly advanced materials and techniques and an eager public hungry for what the future had to offer, made this the time and the place for such an architectural and artistic endeavor.

The next two decades saw these plans come to fruition attracting hundred of thousands of people. It must have been a truly inspirational time to see such radical conceptions of something as unwavering in our collective psyche as the "Home."

Some of these houses are still in existence, some have been remodeled and other demolished. Whether or not they still stand, the Case Study Program will forever stand as a testament to man's optimism, and one generations embrace of a rather unorthodox vision, or maybe a vision that was merely ahead of its time.

the sad truth, and one that most architects and industrial designers inevitably encounter, is that when one attempts to make methods and products more available, it can often have a paradoxical effect. Believe it or not, but that LC-4 chaise lounge in the display window of the Knoll dealer downtown was meant to be affordable for the average American. Designers of Corbusier's time wanted to offer good design to the greatest amount of people for the least amount of money, but due to their uniqueness in the history of design and their almost novelty-like status these products, as well as the the Case Study Homes, have been placed out of reach of the public.

As a disclaimer, the homes build for the program are by no means the pinnacle of practicality, but is it not the thought that counts? But seriously, why should good design be something that is placed in a hermetically sealed box on a pedestal for all to see, from a safe distance of course, and why should the average man be confined to the cookie-cutter boxes we call home?

Over the next few weeks I would like to showcase some of these house: build or not, extant or demolished, because this writer believes there is something to be said about good design and that the Case Study Houses were a monumental step in the evolution of architecture and design.

Until next time



   

Hello

It was not more that a few hours ago that I had deemed the idea of blogging as an exercise in self-preoccupation, but, for whatever reasons, here I am.

I suppose I am like you, I want to learn and maybe teach, if I may be so bold.

So who am I? I am Human--nothing more nothing less.

So what have I got to say? I am about to graduate with a degree in Architecture and a Minor in English. I love design, I love to write and this is my attempt to write about design.

Now, if you're a smug little bastard like myself, you're asking how this could ever be relevant. Well, sir or madame what I would say to you is that above all else I am a student of the human mind: with its  compelling complexity and frightening simplicity the mind is an unruly beast. But if you subscribe to behaviorism you will undoubtedly agree that one's environment is the greatest factor of one's behavioral development.

I believe that good design has the capability to change not only the physical world, but the way we think and live.

"I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture."
-Tadao Ando