The phases Of The csh prOgram

MaterialsThe phases Of The csh prOgram

At the time of the case study house program, that is, in the period between 1945 and 1964, four different phases follow one another in succession.

The first phase constitutes the establishment of the program in 1945, and its announcement and proposal of nine projects, which are presented to criticism. These first houses would hold the attention of critics not for their structural innovations owing to the shortage of materials after the war, but for the inventions within the bounds of the plan, and the maintenance of their particular rapport with the exterior. The turning point towards the second phase occurs with the metal frame construction of CSH#8 and CSH#9.

This second phase is elaboreted between 1950 ans 1960, an episode marked by the research and use of metal structures. An aesthetic and structural rigor underlines a new rise in production as with the inaugural project of Raphael Soriano. Craig Ellwood and Pierre Koenig will pursue this research and develop a new modular structural steel systems. A remarkable desire for design research pervades the projects from this period, of which the end is announced by the return of wood structures and the generic post and beam system of Los Angeles, revisited by Calvin Straub, Edward Killingsworth and their associates.

The projects from the third phase will orient themselves towards the production of houses in large numbers, resuming the idea of community settlements abandonned at the time of the first projects.

Lastly, the final episode opens with the departure of John Entenza from Arts & Architecture. The imbalance between the single-family house promoted by the magazine and the house produced by the property developers is flagrant. The house as product now takes to the arguments of cost-effectiveness above all. The program then suggests to architects to pursue their investigations with the creation of appartment blocks. 27