When talking about icons of modern American architecture, one name always comes to mind first: the Stahl House, also known as Case Study House #22. Perched high above the lights of Los Angeles, it stands as an impressive, clearly defined composition of glass and steel. Now, the masterpiece by US architect Pierre Koenig is for sale for the first time in its history, offering the rare opportunity to acquire a piece of architectural world culture.
Created as part of the progressive »Case Study House« program of the 1940s and 1950s, which aimed to develop a new vision of American living—affordable and modern for post-war America—, the Stahl House, with its open steel structure and seemingly floating platform with panoramic windows, is among the most radical and at the same time most poetic realizations of this idea.
The story begins in 1959, when owner C. H. Buck Stahl, a former American football player, without formal architectural knowledge but with an unwavering vision, showed Koenig his sketches. What followed was the realization of an almost utopian concept: a bold design, supported by a delicate steel structure, a flat roof, and widely cantilevered glass fronts that completely dissolved the boundary between inside and outside. After a construction period of nine months, the work was finally completed in June 1960.
Through countless media reports and mentions in specialized books, the building, with its dizzying 270-degree panorama, gained worldwide recognition and is undeniably considered an icon of modern Californian architecture. Photographer Julius Shulman also played a decisive role: in 1960, his legendary motif (image above) was created: two women sitting relaxed in armchairs at the glass edge of the living room, with the glittering metropolis below them. A shot that went around the world, shaped »California Modernism,« and indelibly imprinted the Stahl House into the collective imagination of a modern lifestyle. A motif that helped the house achieve international fame and secured its status as a monument of Californian Modernism.
For over six decades, the house remained in family ownership—a rare continuum in a city that has elevated constant change to a way of life. The Stahls not only preserved the building, they lived with it, nurtured its radical clarity, and later carefully opened it for viewings, film crews, and architecture enthusiasts from all over the world. The house became a pilgrimage site for photographers, filmmakers, designers, and design enthusiasts.
The announcement of the sale, listed by the renowned real estate firm The Agency, is therefore a significant cultural turning point. What does it mean when such a significant place changes hands? Who will take on the responsibility of protecting a building that has long outgrown its physical existence and belongs to the collective memory of a city? And who will take future responsibility for this place that made architectural history? One thing is certain, you are acquiring not just a house, but a symbol, an important chapter of modernism, a vision of the Californian lifestyle.
The Stahl House—located at 1635 Woods Dr, Los Angeles—spans approximately 215 square meters and is listed at an asking price of 25 million US dollars. Contact: William Baker, Architecture Director at The Agency Beverly Hills. [DM]
