Pierre Koenig

Pierre Koenig, architect of the subject of what's arguably the most famous photograph of Modernist architecture, died of leukemia at his home in Brentwood, California on Sunday, April 4 at the age of 78. Survived by his wife, two sons and two stepsons, the architect moved with his family to Southern California in 1939 at the age of fourteen, Pierre returning after the war to attend architecture school at USC. After graduation he fit well into the area's tradition of modernist single-family houses suited to the climate and aesthetic of Southern California.


Julius Shulman's photo of Case Study House 22

In the late 1950's, Koenig was approached to design two Case Study Houses, numbers 21 and 22, the latter perched on the Hollywood Hills and immortalized in Julius Shulman's photograph. The architect taught at his alma mater until a few months before his death.