Nestled in the lush green seaside Pacific Palisades in southern California lies the Entenza House, a private residence of 150 sqm demonstrating a perfect blend of outdoor and indoor spaces with glass expanses and seamless materials. It is the ninth house of the Case Study House program, designed by Industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames and Architect Eero Saarinen for John Entenza between 1945 and 1950.
Design of Entenza House
In response to the post second world war housing crisis, John Entenza initiated the case study House program to demonstrate minimalist houses employing open plans, easy-to-build technologies, and low-cost building materials. Regarded in the list of National Historic Places in 2013, the Entenza House was conceived by Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates for the initiator of the program himself. As per the modern style, the house features simple volumes, panoramic windows, open plans, and new materials like steel frames, concrete, plywood panels, and glass. Unlike other houses of the case study house program that celebrated the structural system, Entenza’s house makes no overt reference. In an attempt to focus attention to the views and space inside instead of the building itself, most of the framework is hidden using wooden cladding. The project is conceptualised with an elastic space in which the space varies depending on the occasional occupation needs due to guests or family.
Entered from the North, the house is separated from the garage by translucent glass that allows light passage from a skylight. The 36 feet wide living room welcomes visitors, enabling the
Pacific Ocean view framed by narrow mullions of windows. The sizeable sunken space with a built-in seating area is made to feel large using floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors along the length of the rear wall. The living room utilises the maximum area of the house as it serves the core intent of facilitating conversations and gatherings required by the owner, being a journalist. The fireplace plays a pivotal role in separating the room into both a vast space and a more intimate one, catering to either a large group of people or a smaller one.
Adjacent to the living room is the dining room, connected to a kitchen separated by a wardrobe wall opening to the south. The corridor leads to a more private area with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a utility area. In juxtaposition to the public living area is the private study area, designed to be entirely closed with no windows to avoid distraction. The public area is separated from the private area by height differences.
Materials and Construction Techniques
With their central focus on materials and structural design, the modernist homes featured new materials and construction techniques. The Entenza House by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Associates showcases a flexible and simplistic steel frame structure constructed of four-inch H columns supporting twelve-inch open web joints to enclose maximum space within a minimal frame. This allows the bracing and transmitting of most of the load to the perimeter belt getting all the interior elements to support a similar and lighter load. The blurring of the boundaries between inside and outside was possible due to the use of Libby-Owens-Ford glass with Truscon steel window framing complemented by the use of lightweight concrete blocks by Rocklite and Truscon Ferrobord. To simplify the structure the roof above the house was designed to be a concrete slab, finished with birch strips covering the soffits. These new materials aided in reducing the cost of maintenance, heating, and lighting. Of the modular steel construction throughout only four columns are exposed, while the rest are hidden within the walls using drywall panels to achieve comfort and functionality. The interior of the house is finished with plastered and wood-panelled surfaces.
Sustainability
The plot occupies nearly one hectare in a field overlooking the Pacific Ocean, located at 205 Chautauqua Boulevard, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles (USA). The Architects Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Associates designed the house on the premises such that the landscape was perceived to be an extension of it. It was designed so that the house was related to the landscape and its surroundings. Regarded as the master of his craft, Eero Saarinen is one of the most revered architects of the 20th Century. Internationally recognised at the forefront of the design, architecture, filmmaking, and furniture communities, Charles and Ray Eames have made notable contributions to the field. Working in collaboration, they crafted the house of Modern Art and Architecture journalist John Entenza who lived there for five years after its construction. Later, it was inhabited by various owners but remained a private residence. One of the most famous examples of modern architecture in history, it stands testament to the modernist architectural movement that sought to create simple, functional, and beautiful designs that were responsive to the needs of contemporary society.
References:
Luke Fiederer .The Entenza House (Case Study #9) / Charles & Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen & Associates[online]Available at:https://www.archdaily.com/782050/ad-classics-case-study-house-9-entenza-charles-ray-eames-eero-saarinen-associates
Wikipedia Available at :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entenza_House
Eames Office.Case Study House 9,[online]Available at : https://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/case-study-house-9/
Mid-Century Home. 2015-06-19.The Case Study House 9: Charles Eames Eero Saarinen”.
Citations for Images/photographs :
Julius Shulman Photography Archive © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)
Andrew B Hurvitz(2013)
Screenshot from model ©Archilogic
