1. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Craig Ellwood
02 (above) Case Study House #18
Craig Ellwood was a Los Angeles-based architect working in the early 1950s to the mid 1970s. Ellwood was born Jon Nelson Burke and started a contracting business naming it ‘Craig Ellwood’ after a liquor store on Beverly Blvd. Ellwood was trained in steel construction and plastics and never in architecture. Ellwood’s fine architectural detailing can be credited to this training in construction. Case Study #16 was one of three homes Ellwood designed for Arts and Architecture magazine, and was also one of his earliest projects. Ellwood is best known for these works and also for the design of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
03 The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena

2. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Meis van der Rohe
Ellwood’s training in steel construction gave him advantage of experience and knowledge over other architects. He was greatly influenced by Mies van der Rohe and the simple structural design of his architecture. Ellwood has been described combining the breezy California architecture with Mies’s formalism.

3. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Obscure glass façade of #16
-The Case Study Houses: The Complete CSH Program , Taschen -

4. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 West Coast
02 Los Angeles today
Case Study House #16 was built in 1953 in Bel Air, Los Angeles. The case study program called for architects to design a contemporary way of living for post-war families. Most case study houses were built in Los Angeles.

5. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Bel Air
02 Sunset Blvd.
The house is sited on Bel Air Road. This section of LA became popular for it’s situation on the hillside and its nearness to Sunset Boulevard.

6. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Site
02 Floor Plan
The house is oriented for the living areas to have views to the west of mountains and valleys, and to the south to have views of city and sea. The limited site is on a level hillside, about 70’ x 100’. The basic plan is 4’ modular rectangle.

7. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Program
02 Open plan
The house is a two-bedroom, two bath home. Ellwood designed an open plan for house-garden penetration. Interior walls extend through perimeter walls of glass. This way the occupant’s perception of space is not limited to the room boundaries, also making a small home feel bigger. The structure is steel framing at and 8’ module.

8. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 South roof overhang
02 West sun shade
Ellwood designed roof overhands and sunshades on the perimeter of the living area so the occupant can enjoy views of the city and keep in the shade. LA’s climate is very temperate so the use of glass walls is appropriate. The temp ranges from

9. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Shared space / Private space
02 Materials as separate planes
“To provide visual freedom and definition of architectural elements the roof slab is floated over vertical wall planes and walls are lifted from floor slab with a black recessed base … each element is articulated as separate unit, governed by its function and the integrity of the material.”
-Ellwood

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01 Exposed steel frame
02 Shared space
The steel framing is explosed on the interior and painted with red lead oxide paint, so that the steel structure becomes the basic architectural expression. A gap is left between the walls and ceiling to express this further.

11. ARCHITECT I PLACE+PROGRAM I SPACE+ORDER I CONSTRUCTION+EXPRESSION
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01 Primary structure, steel frame
02 Construction photo
The steel structural system is 8’ module using 2 1/2” square pipe columns and 6” I-beams. Ellwood used the square pipe for detail simplification. The thin structural line created is complementary to other detailing. 2 1/2” of the bottom flange is left visible through plaster to align with the exposed steel columns.

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01 Secondary structure, glass façade and walls
The obscure glass façade provides privacy in the courtyards without limiting light.

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01 Secondary structure, stone chimney, steel frame shading
02 Photograph of steel frame sun shade
The rectangular mass and rough texture of the chimney contrasts with the fineness of detailing and openness of plan. The mass secures the home to the site which is appropriate because of the steep embankment at that corner of the site.

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01 Back corner of home
Ellwood chose to express the steel construction of the home, as well as the individual integrity of each plane of material. The use of form, line, color, and texture and the application of detailing were all implemented by Ellwood. He used the colors black, white, terra cotta, wood and masonry to form both strong contrasts and subtle harmonies.
“Articulation of each element, however minor, has played an important part in achieving the overall crispness and completeness of detailing.”
-Ellwood