PIERRE KOENIG

Vitae

Born in San Francisco, California, October 17, 1925. Educated in San Francisco, The University of Utah, 1943; School of Engineering, Salt Lake City, Pasadena City College, California, 1946-48; University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1948-52, B.Arch. 1952. Served in the United States Army as a Flash-Ranging Observer in Europe, 1943-46. Apprenticed in the offices of Raphael Soriano; Edward Fickett; Kistner, Wright and Wright; Jones and Emmons. Built his first architecturally exposed steel and glass house while a third year architectural student at USC in 1950. He has been in private practice since graduation in 1952. After designing a number of exposed steel and glass houses, Koenig was invited by John Entenza, editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, to design Case Study House No. 21. With the successful completion of that project Koenig designed Case Study House No. 22, which turned out to be one of the most famous houses of all.

MOCA

In 1989-90 MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), built a full-size, walk-through model of Case Study House 22 in their Temporary Contemporary Building for the major exhibition: “Blueprints for Modern Living, History and Legacy of the Case Study House program.” Case Study House No.22 is represented in the traveling exhibition “The End of the Century, One-Hundred Years of Architecture.

Academia

In 1964 Koenig was invited by Dean Sam Hurst to join the architecture faculty at USC where he worked with Prof. Ralph Knowles in designing with natural forces and with Konrad Wachsman as Assistant Director of the Institute of Building Research, 1969-71. As Associate Professor since 1970, Koenig was Director of the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation Planning Program from 1971- 78. Pierre Koenig was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1971. Continuing his practice while teaching, Koenig has taught various Design Studios and is now the Director of the Natural Forces Laboratory and the undergraduate Building Science Program for Architecture at USC, from 1980 to the present.

Lectures

Pierre Koenig was a visiting Critic and Lecturer at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1963; Visiting Lecturer, Pratt Institute, New York, 1963, Arizona State University, Tempe, 1964, University of California at San Luis Obispo, 1965; Panelist, Creativity in Architecture, Los Angeles, Participant, Cranbrook Seminar, Illinois, 1965; Lecturer, University of California at Los Angeles, 1967; Panelist, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, 1975, Panelist, Southern California Institute of Architecture, Santa Monica, 1978. Panelist for Polytechnic University at Pomona, Pacific Design Center, 1981; Guest Speaker, H.U.D. Housing Conference, Phoenix, Arizona; Participant, A.C.S.A. Conference, M.I.T., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1984; Speaker, AIA Conference, Pacific Design Conference, Los Angeles, 1985; Speaker, California Hospital Guild, Univ. of Calif. at Los Angeles, 1987; Press Conference speaker, MOCA, , Interview, Radio Station KCRW, Los Angeles, Speaker, Calif. Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, 1989; Guest speaker, MOMA, Herbst Auditorium, San Francisco, Lecturer, Univ. of Calif. at Los Angeles, Lecturer, Univ. of Southern California, Speaker, MOCA, Speaker, Calif. Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, Panelist, MOCA, Speaker, MOCA, Japan-American Theater, Los Angeles, 1990; Guest speaker, Art Center, Pasadena, 1991; Guest speaker, Harvard Univ., Massachusetts, Speaker, Art Center, Pasadena, 1992; Speaker, Univ. of Calif. at Los Angeles, Speaker, Art Center, Pasadena, 1993; Guest speaker Woodbury College, Burbank, Calif., Panelist, Pacific Design Center, W. Hollywood, Speaker, Art Center, Pasadena, 1994, Panelist, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, So. Clifornia Institute of Architecture, 1995, Speaker, Masters of Architecture, LACMA, Los Angeles, 1996.Lecture, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Calif., 1997;ÊLecture, Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX, 1997; Speaker, Engineering Honors Program, USC, 1998; Speaker, Lindhurst Art Gallery, USC, L.A. Obscura, 1998; Speaker, Society of Architectural Historians, Los Angeles County Central Library, 1998; Speaker, The Steel Alliance, Santa Monica, Calif. 1998; Lecturer, The Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, Calif. 1999; Speaker, 24th. California Preservation Conference, Palm Springs, Calif., 1999; Lecture, Form Zero Book Store & Gallery, Santa Monica, Calif.1999; Speaker, Cal Poly University, Pomona, Calif. 1999; Speaker, School of Architecture, Arizona State University,Tempe,Arizona.1999; Guest Lecturer, So. Calif. Inst. of Architecture, Los Angeles, Calif., 1999 Speaker, Society of Architectural Historians, Carmel, Calif., 2000; Panelist, 2000 Parkinson Spirit of Urbanism, The L.A. Conservancy, Los Angeles. 2000; Panelist, LA 12+12+12, Westweek, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, 2000; Speaker, The American Institute of Architects Students Convention, Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif., 2000.

Awards 1957 to present:

Awards include the Sao Paulo Bienal Exhibition Award, 1957; AIA-House and Home Magazine Award, 1957, Architectural League of New York Award, 1957, AIA-Sunset Magazine Honor Award, 1959; Western Construction Magazine Honor Award, 1959, AIA-House and Home Magazine Award, 1960, AIA-Sunset Magazine Award, 1961-62, AIA House and Home Magazine Award, 1962, AIA-House and Home Magazine Award, 1963, American Institute of Iron and Steel Award, 1963, AIA-Los Angeles Fiesta Award, 1967, Thirty-Six Best Buildings in Los Angeles Award, 1967, AIA 200/2000 Award 1983, AIA Olympic Architect Award, 1984, Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Affairs Award, 1989, AIA-100 Architects/100 Years. 1995, AIACC 25 Year Award for Case Study House No. 22, 1996, AIACC Maybeck Award for Lifetime Achievement, 1996, Design Center, Los Angeles, 1998, Star of Design for a Lifetime Achievement in Architecture Award Design Center, Los Angeles, 1998, Distinguished Alumni Award, School of Architecture, USC, 1998, Distinguished Professor of Architecture at USC 1999; Awarded the Architectural Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter 1999; Distinguished Alumni Award, Pasadena City College, 2000; Gold Medal Lifetime Achievement Award, Tau Sigma Delta Society of Architects and Landscape Architects, 2000; American Institute of Graphic Arts Award, Pierre Koenig book and cover, best 50 books, 50 covers, (for 1998-1999) 2000; Best Preservation Award of the year, for Case Study House No. 21, Los Angeles Conservancy, 2000; Elected Honorary Fellow in the Royal Institute of British Architects, 2000.

Exhibits 1957 to present:

Exhibited by invitation at do Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1957. From 1957 to 1995: The Architectural League, New York; The American Federation of the Arts, NY; Bethlehem Traveling Exhibition; Harvard; Yale; MOMA, NY; Fisher Gallery, USC; LA Museum of Science and Industry; UCLA; Pompadou Centre, Paris; Whitney Museum, NY; Arizona State Univ., Max Protetch Gallery, NY; Cal Poly, Pomona; MOCA, Los Angeles; Photographic Gallery, London; San Juan Capistrano Museum, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Orchard Gallery, Derry, Impressions Gallery, York, Cambridge/Eastern Region Centre for Architecture, Cambridge, England; Avery Museum, Columbia Univ., NY; Bradbury Building, Los Angeles; Solon International, Milan, Italy; Santa Monica Art Center, S.M., Calif.; Convention Center, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles; Heinz Gallery, London; The Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, Canada, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, Calif.; AIACC headquarters , Sacramento, California. 1996-97.; Sixth Venice Biennale for Architecture, Venice, Italy, 1996; Architecture Exhibit, Academy of Building Arts, Vienna, Austria, 1997; Copenhagen, Denmark, 1997; Hammer Gallery, Westwood Village, Calif., 1997; Galleria Sozzani, Milan, Italy, 1997; End of the Century, One Hundred Years of Architecture, traveling exhibit, 1998 to 2002, MOCA; L.A. Obscura: Fisher Gallery, Univ. of Southern California, 1998; AIA/LA Traveling Exhibit, 2000; History of American Housing, Ariz. St. Univ., Tempe, 1999; Retrospective, Univ. of Texas, Houston, 1999; Retrospective, Form Zero Gallery, Santa Monica; Kolnischer Kunstverein, Koln, Germany, 2000; California Polytechnic University School of Architecture, Pomona, Calif; University of Southern California, Lindhurst Gallery, Los Angeles, Calif. 2000.