Pierre Koenig

Who was Pierre Koenig?

Pierre Francis Koenig was an American architect.

The son of a salesman, Koenig was born in San Francisco. The family moved to Southern California in 1939. After returning from a four-year tour in the Army during World War II, he enrolled at the University of Southern California architecture school. He received his B.Arch. in 1952.

Koenig worked with Raphael Soriano, among others, and began private practice in 1952. Koenig practiced mainly on the West Coast and was most notable for the design of the Case Study Houses No. 21 and 22 in 1960. Both 21 and 22 were constructed on dramatic, otherwise-unbuildable sites. Particularly the Case Study House #22, photographed by Julius Shulman, is widely considered the iconic postwar L.A. home, with its sweeping city views and openness to the outdoors.

Koenig died of leukemia in 2004 at 78. He was survived by his wife, Gloria; sons, Randall and Jean Pierre; and two stepsons, Barry and Thomas Kaufman.

In 2007, Koenig’s Case Study #21 sold at auction for $3.1 million.