Stahl House: A Home for the Modern Family by Kimberly Dillin

THE STAHL HOUSE A HOME FOR THE MODERN FAMILY

A STUDY OF THE HOUSE DESIGNED BY PIERRE KOENIG 1960, LOS ANGELES, CA COMPILED BY KIMBERLY DILLIN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my parents who have always believed in me, To my friends who have always been there for me, To the professors who have always encouraged me, Thank you. Thank you also to the Getty Museum and the Stahl Foundation for all the information, help, and cooperation.

ALL CONTENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF KIMBERLY DILLIN Please contact k.dillin07@gmail.com with any questions Completed at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Thesis Advisor: Ansgar Killing. Special thanks to Troy Peters. PUBLISHED 2012 BY blurb.com

CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION THESIS ABSTRACT PRECEDENTS SITE HISTORY EXISTING BUILDING STUDY PROPOSED DESIGN CHANGES FINAL MODEL PHOTOS BIBLIOGRAPHY

3 4 7 9 17 23 31 41 45

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Restoration is an academic process of trying to understand what was, and therefore what should be.â&#x20AC;? -Leo Marmol

PREFACE I know that design is only 10% of the total process of bringing a building to life. I wanted to try to delve into the other parts of the building. This has been very difficult for me, since the point where most thesis projects will end is the point where I begin. I have had little to no input from my fellow students since this is not typically taught to us, and what I have gotten asks why Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not designing. We have had practice classes in which we went over things like material studies and thermal calculations, but trying to put all these calculations together is a completely different story. I have also struggled with a lack of understanding a project in which there is very little design involved. I had gotten several suggestions to treat what I had done up to the end of the second quarter as an elaborate case study, but now that I had started, I was having a difficult time just giving up. But two questions kept ringing in my head: How did I get here, and where am I going?

INTRODUCTION How did I get here?

I originally was looking at designing a building in Palm Springs. I was fascinated by the temperature gradient and wanted to see if I could build something in the desert modern style that didn’t rely entirely on air conditioning. I was curious why “efficient” was so often paired with “ugly”. My thesis professor suggested looking at a home in the style that I liked that had already been built but was inefficient and changing it to be efficient and beautiful. It was suggested that I look at something iconic and recognizable. What is more iconic and recognizable than the Case Study Houses? I decided that the recognizability of the house outweighed my original goal of creating a house in an extreme environment. I chose the Stahl House because it’s beautiful, built in the same style that I love, and is covered in single pane glass. Ansgar said he loved the idea of making the Stahl House efficient and livable without changing the architectural beauty of the building. He said it would be difficult. I said I was up for the challenge.

INTRODUCTION Where am I going?

I knew that making the house as efficient as possible was the key, but I also wanted to make sure that the house as it stands now and would stand in the future stayed true to the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original vision. I started with collecting as much information about the house that I could find. I looked into the site as it was when Buck Stahl originally acquired it, what they had planned for the house, how they decided to choose Pierre Koenig as their architect, and what he envisioned for the house. I gathered as built drawings of the house, visited the site, spoke with members of the Stahl Foundation, and made a list of things that could and should be altered on the house. I used an energy analysis software program, Home Energy Efficient Design (HEED) to analyze the house as built for inefficiency to target what needed to be adjusted on a purely functional aspect. After the site visit, I targeted areas of the house that needed to be adjusted on a purely aesthetic aspect, then merged my two lists into a proposal for the restoration of the house that will allow Case Study House #22 to continue to be what it was when it was first built: a home for the modern family, and a house for the future. 5

ABSTRACT I am looking into remodeling a historical home in California, specifically the Stahl House, or Case Study House #22, located in West Hollywood. The Case Study House Program, sponsored by Arts & Architecture Magazine, began in 1945 to address a housing boom in California after WWII came to an end. The goal was to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for returning servicemen and eventually for the general housing market. 36 designs were submitted from architects like Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood, Charles and Ray Eames. Of the 36 designed, 24 were built. Of the 24 built, 4 have been demolished and 3 have been remodeled beyond recognition. The Stahl House is still currently owned by the Stahl family, and the children use the house as a vacation home when visiting LA. Assuming that they will eventually sell the home or decide to make the home more efficient, I don’t want the beauty of the architecture and Pierre Koenig’s vision to be destroyed. I have applied and been accepted as a Stack Reader for the Getty Museum Research Institute where I took pictures of Koenig’s original construction drawings and visited the house to take stock of what is there and what has already been altered from Koenig’s drawings and vision of the house. I am hoping that this study and design proposal will prevent what has already happened to 7 of the Case Study Houses: the destruction of a piece of architectural history and the loss of an iconic home. 7

PRECEDENTS “It’s not that we tried to copy him; it’s that we tried to understand his goals and retranslate them.” -Leo Marmol

KAUFMANN HOUSE Remodeled

“Located in Palm Springs, California, the Kaufmann House was originally designed by architect Richard Neutra in 1946. The restoration returned the residence to its initial form, size, and aesthetic integrity. An important challenge of the restoration was to recreate the dialogue between nature and sculpture, a difficult undertaking in an area that has grown from a rugged desert into a suburban residential neighborhood. Extensive archival research of Neutra’s original details was undertaken at the UCLA Special Collections Library Department. Julius Shulman’s original photographs of the house were invaluable in determining the original characteristics of this modern monument.” -Marmol Radziner Marmol Radziner did here what I am interested in doing for the Stahl House. They succeeded in not only making the house beautiful and functional, but they analyzed Neutra’s original design goals in order to make sure that any adjustments made to the house would fit in with the vision that was originally set forth.

10 precedents

precedents

ELLIOT HOUSE Remodeled

“Located in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, the 2,100 square foot Elliot House was designed by Rudolf M. Schindler in 1930. The house was restored to its original condition while simultaneously adding contemporary amenities and performing seismic and structural upgrades. Based on research of Schindler’s original drawings and photographs, the architectural language was reinterpreted for the owners’ living requirements, executed with the same precision and attention to detail evident in the original building. To accommodate modern amenities, the intricate kitchen cabinetry was modified in keeping with Schindler’s understanding of and inventiveness with materials.” -Marmol Radziner This is another restoration project by Marmol Radziner, showing the beauty and simplicity of their work. The goal is to see what is already there and build upon the architect’s original ideas, not to create an invasive addition that stands out on its own. Another article mentions that, for example, the kitchen was not original at all, so they rebuilt a new kitchen with modern appliances that didn’t stand out as new and obnoxious, just something that fit with the architecture already present. 12

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CASE STUDY HOUSE #16 Demolished Situated on 3 1/2 acres above Beverly Hills, Case Study House 16 was a relatively simple structure that was easy and inexpensive to build in 1946. It had a kind of newfangled elegance: clean lines, soaring roof, an airy interior instead of the usual enclosed rooms. “Modern conveniences” were included: a dishwasher and radiant heat. For John Entenza, editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, who discovered the house after it was built, it embodied the breakthrough modern aesthetic he hoped to encourage with his Case Study project. Part of the genius of many Case Study houses is not only how they redefined modern living in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, but how their designs remain so relevant. Flexible floor plans with spaces that can serve dual purposes, an appreciation for indoor-outdoor living, the use of new technology and techniques to create distinctive, clean-lined quarters these principles, still important today, were what drew nearly 4,000 people to see Case Study House 16 the day after it appeared on the cover of a Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine. Both Ellwood brothers say they had revisited the 1946 house over the years. But the last time they called, wanting to take another look, they learned that it was gone. “Bruce and I were on our way to a meeting and phoned the owner to ask if we could look at a few things,” Craig says. “He said no, because it’s just been torn down. We were shocked.” The owner said it had fallen into disrepair and would have been too costly to rehabilitate. That left the brothers with no original house and no plans to use as reference.

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CASE STUDY HOUSE #18 Remodeled “This house, the last of a series of three that Craig Ellwood has designed for our continuing Case Study House Program, is certain to provoke new thinking and new construction techniques in the residential field. For some time it has been Ellwood’s contention that the increasing cost of labor and the decline of the craftsman will within not too many years force a complete mechanization of residential construction methods. All houses, except those with very high budgets will someday be constructed of factory-built components built for fast and easy site assembly. Unlike the typical pre-fab, where the designer and the manufacturer believe it a requisite to copy past and current styles and where a supreme effort is made to make the product appear to be job built, no attempt to disguise has been made here.” -Arts & Architecture Magazine, June 1958 Since this article was published, the home has been remodeled. In the Wikipedia chart that lists all of the Case Study Houses, #18 is labeled as “remodeled beyond recognition.” The image at the top right is a Google image of the house as it currently stands. This is exactly what I want to avoid. I want these beautiful homes to stay intact and not be destroyed as the owners make updates to the efficiency and comfort of the homes.

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SITE HISTORY “Even my father said l was crazy.” -Buck Stahl

CALIFORNIA For a few years prior to the oil boom, oil had been found in California, but it had only been put to use for kerosene for lamps and as a lubricant for machinery. When cars became popular, there was suddenly a huge demand for oil. In the 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, massive deposits at Huntington Beach and in Kern County led to an oil boom that had never been seen before. By 1925, petroleum was the largest industry in California. This oil boom transformed both the California landscape, and its society. People started moving to southern California and to the central valley. This led to the creation of new towns, jobs, and fortunes. There was a simultaneous boom in the industries associated with the use of petroleum including the manufacturing of cars, synthetic materials, shipping, and the aviation industry. This sets California up as the perfect place for the government to start investing when WWII hits and the government needed a place to manufacture all of its war-time goods. It sets California up to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fortress California.â&#x20AC;? After World War II, federal money continued to flow into California due to the Cold War beginning almost immediately after. The continued spending contributed to the growth and prosperity of California. As Technology improved, the spending went up as well. 18

site history

Defense spending became the major economic engine in California during this period, and Southern California became a major center for the nation’s defense and aerospace industries. During the mid-1950s, 42% of the total defense budget was being spent in Los Angeles County, and 50% of NASA’s budget was being spent in California. This new “Fortress California” brought jobs, prosperity, scientific and technical knowledge, and political and economic importance to California. Local communities thrived based on their connections with these industries and it started a trend of people moving to suburban communities completely reliant on the industry, and the creation of neighborhoods centered around a shopping mall rather than a civic center. California, beginning in the late nineteenth century, gained a reputation as a place to which people could migrate and find economic opportunity, material abundance, and physically comfortable new lives. California advertised itself as a mythic place of prosperity, wealth, and ease, and while there were indeed a few groups of people that were able to succeed, with the increasing numbers of people flooding into the state, there was also an increase in the uneven distribution of wealth. site history

1635 WOODS DRIVE The Perfect Location

Buck Stahl and his wife Carlotta bought the piece of land the house sits on back in 1954 on a handshake and $13,500.00. Aside from the spectacular view this was an unfriendly spot, precarious and difficult to mold into the vision Buck had for the home. A graphic designer and sign painter by trade he and Carlotta set about the arduous task of carting left over concrete from around the city’s construction projects, one load at a time in the back of their car up to the property. “Every weekend kids would be up here, cars were parked up here-we knew what they were up to. We’ve always maintained that this was meant to be our lot, because we came over one day to see it, and guess who was here? The owner. He had driven in from La Jolla, and he was thinking about selling it. He said, ‘I’ll make it easy. I’ll carry the loan.’ We set on a price, $13,500.We had friends and family who just didn’t understand us- ‘Why are you doing this? You can buy a nice threebedroom home for that price, or even less.’ It took us four years to get it paid off.” -Carlotta Stahl

site history

The Initial Design Some ideas for the design of the house began to manifest over the two years of hard weekend labor, so Buck made a model of the idea he and Carlotta dreamed into being. “In the Sunday papers, there used to be a section called the Pictorial, with everything pertaining to homes. We saw one of Pierre Koenig’s works. At the same time, we saw Craig ElIwood’s work. Buck called both of them, and three other architectural firms, to take a look. It was definitely Pierre. Some of the others didn’t understand, because Buck kept saying, ‘l don’t care how you do it, there’s not going to be any walls in this wing.’ We didn’t want to lose any view anywhere. Several architects looked at the lot and said it’s just impossible to do it.” -Carlotta Stahl Pierre was the only one daring enough to consider the cantilevered foundation so breathtaking today. A pioneer of building homes with glass and steel the final designs geometry and symmetry reflect the gridlines of Hollywood streets directly below. It is not readily apparent to most people how remarkably ahead of it’s time the architecture was for 1959. Elegantly simple, the house is all glass on three sides. It took the largest pieces of glass commercially available at the time to accomplish this task. site history

EXISTING BUILDING STUDY “It is painstaking research of every possible source you can identify. You’re trying to uncover as much source material as you can. You may not find everything you need, but it’s important to find everything you can.” -Leo Marmol

AS BUILT DRAWINGS From a Collection of Sources

The first drawings I could find of the house were all diagrammatic and nothing was scaled. I was able to find a copy of the original Arts & Architecture publication on the house printed in 1960, so I knew that the column grid was at twenty feet on center, so I could get basic measurements of the house but not enough to be able to design a restoration that I had envisioned. After an extensive search through Cal Poly’s library, the Media Resource Center on campus, and the internet, I realized that I would not be able to find the information I needed through conventional sources. Then I found what I was looking for: in April of 2007, Pierre Koenig’s architectural archive had been donated to the Getty Research Institute at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. I immediately searched through the Getty Museum’s online resources and found the drawings that I wanted to view, but learned that there were no digital copies available, and that you had to be a qualified Stack Reader to view the special collections at the Research Library. Undergraduates are not usually qualified to apply to be a Stack Reader at the Library, but after a letter of recommendation from my thesis advisor explaining what I wanted to do, an application explaining my research goals, and numerous phone calls and emails I was issued an 24

existing building study

official Stack Reader Badge with my picture ID, which must be worn on the outside of my clothes the entire time I am in the Library. I was able to make an appointment and take a trip to Los Angeles, where with the help of a digital camera and a laptop, I was able to acquire copies of all of Pierre Koenigâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original construction drawings. The existing building is very run down. It is constantly being restored. The Stahl Foundation charges $50 per person to view the house. If two people visit the house, the fee goes down to $30 dollars per person, but two people must be in attendance. If only one person shows up, the fee is still $60. The money from the commission goes to restoring the house, repainting the ceiling, paying property taxes, and general up keep of the property. However, during the visit it was apparent that the temporary fixes to the house are not controlling the problem. The goal has been to control the aesthetic damage the time has wrought on the property, but this will not be a solution forever. And the repairs being made right now are not adequate. The following page shows pictures of the house as it is now, with the insufficient repairs that are currently being made. existing building study

26 existing building study

existing building study

ENERGY EFFICIENCY STUDY From Home Energy Efficiency Design (HEED)

These graphs are representative of information that was entered in the computer program Home Energy Efficiency Design. The three graphs to the far right (3,4,5) show how heat is gained and lost in the building. The graph on the left is the Stahl House, as built, and the one on the right is based on energy efficient codes. They look to be on similar planes, but the images have been normalized, and it can be seen based on numbers that the Stahl House as built has much higher heat gains through the roof, (3) an overall total energy load that is much higher (4) and also a higher heat gain through the west windows (5). The other two graphs, (1,2) show the comparisons of energy usage and costs between a house of similar square footage that meets energy code, one that is more energy efficient, and the Stahl House as built. In the Energy Costs, the dark blue represents air conditioning costs. Since the Stahl House has no air conditioner, it looks like the Energy Costs are reasonably close to meeting energy code, but if the air conditioning cost is taken away, the house is far higher than necessary. The Energy Usage in BTU is much more telling (2). The Stahl house uses more than twice the fuel as the comparison house and over all, close to twice the energy. 28 existing building study

3. Roof Heat Gain

1. Energy Costs

4. Total Loads

2. Energy Usage (BTU)

5. West Windows existing building study

PROPOSED RENOVATIONS “You collectively decide what your goals are and the general approach you will take. That philosophy guides you through the myriad decisions that have to be made along the way.” -Leo Marmol

WINDOWS

A major source of energy loss The original building has only single pane, plate glass windows around three quarters of house. The window thickness is one quarter inch glass, providing little to no thermal barrier in the winter. The majority of the heat generated in the house, either by the fireplace located at the center of the living spaces, or the radiant floor heating installed in the house is immediately relocated to the large expanses of glass, where it is then transferred to trying to regulate the indoor and outdoor temperatures. While the temperatures in Los Angeles are not extreme by any means, it can get down to the low fifties, high forties, and occasionally down to freezing. Thus, the necessity of efficient windows is required. The extremely thin window profiles are one of the main features that makes the Stahl House recognizable, however, so it is mandatory that when adjusting the windows it does not interrupt the transparency and slender window profiles. Thus, the relatively simple transition to double pane glass is not a viable solution. Recently, Mies van der Roheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Crown Hall was renovated, and they were faced with a similar problem. Miesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; buildings are famous for 32 proposed renovations

his slim profile windows that allow for maximum transparency in his buildings. The windows were extremely inefficient, however, and needed to be replaced. After researching the remodel of Crown Hall, I located the window manufacturer of the windows that replaced those originally installed, PPG Ideascapes located in Pittsburgh, PA. After an extensive search through PPGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s available products, I decided to install Solarban 70XL glass. The product description of this glass states that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architects can now specify a clear aesthetic while achieving solar control performance that was previously attainable only through the use of tinted glass and a Solar Control Low-E coating in an insulating unit.â&#x20AC;? While not as efficient as installing a standard one inch thick window unit, the use of this glass makes a significant cut in the energy use required to keep the home at an acceptable thermal comfort level. This glass has the potential to reduce annual energy costs by 5 percent or more, allowing for a more efficient use of the radiant floor heating that is currently installed, and which will be updated and talked about on the following page. proposed renovations

RADIANT FLOOR HEATING An Under-Utilized Resource

The Stahl House currently utilizes a radiant floor heating system as the main source of heat in the home. There is also a fireplace in the living room that contributes warmth on colder days. Radiant heating systems in general are incredibly efficient, but the living room currently has carpet installed over the radiant system. The first intervention will be to remove the carpet in the living spaces and replace it with a half inch of concrete. This is a minimal addition once the carpet is removed and the top level of concrete over the radiant tubing is ground down. The system employed in the home is a radiant system heated with warm water running through pipes embedded in the concrete. Once the carpet is removed from over the radiant heating system, the system can be greatly improved, as carpet requires more temperature from below to force the heat through the carpet and into the room. This need for higher temperatures below the floor would require improved insulation underneath everything to prevent heat loss downward. The system will also be updated to be connected directly to a solar water heating system to be installed on the roof. This will greatly reduce the natural gas usage in the home, as the majority of the energy needed to 34 proposed renovations

heat the water will be generated by the sun. The only gas that will be required for the radiant floor heating system will be to keep the water stored in the hot water storage tank at a relatively constant temperature. In southern climates, a solar water heating unit can meet nearly 100 percent of a householdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot water needs The solar water heater that will be installed will have flat-plate collectors on the roof, which consist of insulated, weatherproofed boxes that contain a dark absorber plate under one or more glass or plastic covers. Eight copper tubes are welded into a series flow patterns so that the top of the lower tube feeds the bottom of the next tube. This allows the unit to contain the colder replacement water in the lower tubes where it is heated by the sun as it flows from one tube to the next. Each time hot water is used, the unit eliminates the cooling down of the remaining heated water that normally occurs in several types of batch heaters. The model that will be installed is a Passive ProgressivTube system. The system will save approximately $500 a year and the investment will be completely paid back by operating savings in approximately 4 years. proposed renovations

SOLAR ENERGY

A Renewable Source of Energy One of the great pros of solar energy is the ability to harness electricity in remote locations that are not linked to a national grid. With tax incentives, solar electricity can often pay for itself in five to ten years. After installing solar panels, annual savings will immediately start at approximately $1200, and will continue to grow as the unit pays for itself. Thanks to net metering, if the solar power system generates more electric power than the family living in the house is consuming, the utility grid company will pay the residents for any additional power. The use of solar energy for the residence means the residents are independent from the burden of the municipal utility. They no longer are dependent on foreign sources of power or domestic for that matter. Energy companies can raise their rates all they like and the owners will not feel a thing. The solar panelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; double duty of providing electricity for the home and a continual stipend from the energy company will allow the home owners to avoid the reliance on donations from visitors to maintain the home. The solar panels will be installed over an additional two inches of rigid insulation on the roof, providing an additional barrier from heat loss. 36 proposed renovations

proposed renovations

THE BIG PICTURE A Summary

The main goal of this thesis has always been to keep the house as beautiful now and in the future as it was when it was first published in Arts & Architecture Magazine. Julius Shulman showed what the house could be when he took his famous photograph: a hope for the future of residential design in California, and a home for the modern family. With the addition of new, sustainable technologies like Solar-Powered water heaters that provide the warmth for the radiant floor system, Solar Panels that not only pay for the investment of the system but eventually generate income, and brand new glass panels that help keep the home at a relatively constant level of thermal comfort without destroying the architectural vision, this home can once again be considered the home for the modern family. The removal of the unnecessary drop-ceiling in the kitchen as well as the removal of carpeting in the living room and the addition of a polished concrete floor will make the home as aesthetically beautiful in years to come as it was when it was first introduced to the public. The current owners and any additional future owners of the home will be proud to show the home off, and will find it easy to update the technologies installed in the home as new research and information is introduced. 38 proposed renovations

FINAL MODEL PHOTOS

final model photos 43

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stahl House Research: http://www.stahlhouse.com/ http://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/koenig_release.html http://www.travelinlocal.com/case-study-house-22-stahl-house/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Study_Houses http://www.terraserver.com/view.asp?cx=373600&cy=3774155&mpp =0.5&proj=32611&pic=map&prov=-1&stac=-1&ovrl=-1&vic= http://www.flickriver.com/photos/michael_locke/5649669104/ Getty Research Institute archive of Pierre Koenig Drawings: http://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/2006.M.30/2006 .M.30.xml;chunk.id=ref2;brand=default Sustainable Technologies/Materials: http://www.peci.org/about http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/tools/clean_power_estimator.php http://www.nuheat.com/customer-care/manuals.html http://www.calchamber.com/governmentrelations/issuereports/ documents/2011-reports/housing%20crisis_2011.pdf http://www.ascsd.com/files/RoofDeck.pdf http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/virginia/Plumbing/PDFs/ Appendix%20D_Degree%20Day%20and%20Design%20 Temperatures.pdf http://www.insofast.com/images/r-values.pdf http://products.construction.com/ http://www.ornl.gov/sci/ees/etsd/btric/ Precedents: http://www.crosbydoe.com/press_details.php?nid=50 http://www.marmol-radziner.com/ http://www.dwell.com/articles/leo-marmol-of-marmol-radziner.html 47

Supporting Images: http://www.digsdigs.com/desert-vacation-house-design-kaufmann house/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/151/l615atraffic1960slifema. jpg/sr=1 http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/10/world-war-ii-after-the war/100180/ http://ifthelampshadefits.blogspot.com/2009/06/family-who-built case-study-no-22.html http://www.suncatcherofatlanta.com/TCTsolar.htm http://www.solarcontact.com/solar/residential-solar http://www.wcpowersolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock_ Solar_Panel_Installation_9354038.jpg Additional Images Provided by Getty Museum and Property of Pierre Koenig and the Getty Research Institute at the Getty Museum. Title 24 Building Standards: http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/ Arts & Architecture Article on Case Study House #22: http://www.artsandarchitecture.com/case.houses/pdf01/22.pdf