Discovering Mid-Century Modern, Part 1

highlight on Julius Shulman and Pierre Koenig

(screenshot from The Incredibles, found on midcenturymodernist.com)

I've been exploring mid-century modern style design. It excites me. The design is fascinating, and dissecting it in details is difficult.
What materials are they using: stone, stucco, wood?
How is the landscaping properly laid out?
Furniture seems to be minimalist; where do they put all that clutter?
Rugs? Flooring?
What colors are most commonly used?
What characteristics actually characterize this era of design? The angles? The ovals? The industrial? The retro?

All these questions have been stirring through my mind often. Which led me to exploring a few of the masterminds in the industry:
First, Julius Shulman, architectural photographer, who recently passed away. This man created how we look at Los Angeles modernism, as I'm sure most of you recognize this picture:
(I'm hoping that the screening of this movie about him: Visual Acoustics comes to a theater in L.A.) This particular home in the Hollywood Hills, known as the Stahl House or Case Study House #22, was designed by architect Pierre Koenig, and is characterized by steel construction, a flat roof, and linear forms throughout. His wife (now widow), Gloria Koenig, is an architectural historian, writing many wonderful books about the architects of this time.

I will be posting a few more posts this week on some of the major architects of this era, so stay tuned! And if you know of any amazing websites in this realm of interest, please share! More to come...