King

The night view of the
Case Study House #22
which hovers like an eagle's nest high above the sea of lights of Los Angeles, is one of the most famous architectural photographs of the 20th century. With his two innovative buildings for the legendary project of the magazine
Arts and Architecture
the American architect
Pierre Koenig
(1925-2004) became one of the
leading figures of modernism
in the United States. Even as an architecture student, he designed his first house made of glass and steel in 1950 - based on the premise that prefabricated materials made affordable buildings with plenty of space possible.

Koenig's houses, for example the
Johnson House
or the
Oberman House
(both 1962), can be understood as direct responses to the extreme weather conditions in Southern California - his work is characterised by a sense of
his work is characterised by a sense of responsibility for the
people. His buildings are representative of the spirit of an entire generation: they epitomise the optimism and joie de vivre of post-war American society.