The iconic modernist house known as Case Study House #22 in Los Angeles is the Stahl House.
Architect Pierre Koenig designed the house for Buck and Carlotta Stahl in the Hollywood Hills as part of the influential Case Study Houses program. Construction began in 1959 and was completed in 1960. Its steel frame, cantilevered structure, concrete floors, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls embodied the program's goal of creating innovative, relatively affordable postwar homes.
The site was considered difficult to build on, so the Stahls spent years preparing the steep hillside with retaining walls. The finished house appears to float above Los Angeles, with dramatic city views that helped make it one of California's best-known modernist residences. Photographer Julius Shulman's celebrated images further established its architectural fame.
A common mix-up is confusing it with the nearby Chemosphere, another famous Los Angeles hillside house. The official architectural designation is Case Study House No. 22, while Stahl House is the name most commonly used today.