{"id":404357,"date":"2026-01-13T09:13:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/404357\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:13:25","slug":"two-initiatives-resurrect-the-fabled-case-study-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/404357\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Initiatives Resurrect the Fabled Case Study Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like thousands of fellow residents of Los Angeles\u2019 Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, Dustin Bramell and his family hastily evacuated on January 7, 2025, as raging wildfire encroached. By the next day, their beloved midcentury-modern home was gone, reduced to ash and rubble, along with nearly their entire Pacific Palisades neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Bramell had barely begun processing the loss when, that same day, an idea came to him: Could he revive the Case Study Houses program (1945\u201366) to help rebuild after the fires? Within three months, he and his friend Leo Seigal\u2014a fellow tech entrepreneur and architecture enthusiast\u2014had self-funded and launched Case Study: Adapt (CSA), a nonprofit that would, like the original program, pair clients with architects to create innovative houses to address personal and far-reaching challenges. From its inception, in L.A., the Case Study experiment aspired to tackle the post\u2013World War II housing shortage, and now the most urgent issues were the many displaced Palisades and Altadena residents, along with the global threat of wildfire and other climate-change fallout.<\/p>\n

Where the first Case Study program was inextricably linked to Arts & Architecture magazine, CSA joined with Architectural Digest to reach a wide audience. \u201cWe realized that what began as just a cool idea was actually a chance to make fire-resilient design inspirational for the public at large,\u201d says Bramell (who comes from a family of firefighters and fire chiefs). His venture also partnered with the Eames Foundation, whose 1949 Case Study House #8 and Studio\u2014which barely escaped the Palisades Fire\u2014has hosted CSA\u2019s idea-generating meetings.<\/p>\n

Around the same time, another (somewhat different) initiative emerged, independently, from the Case Study legacy. Called Case Study 2.0 (CS 2.0), it\u2019s the brainchild of brothers Steven and Jason Somers, cofounders of Crest Real Estate, an L.A. land-use and architectural-expediting company experienced in the now fire-torn neighborhoods. \u201cThe overwhelming devastation left so many people in shock and unsure what to do next,\u201d recalls Steven. \u201cWe realized that our expertise with regulations, permitting, and construction\u2014with bringing architectural ideas to fruition\u2014put us in a unique position to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also recognized the concern, within the affected communities, that developers might buy up lots, resulting, as Steven puts it, \u201cin many practical homes without any distinctive architectural qualities.\u201d So CS 2.0 set out to create an online catalogue of designs that could simplify and streamline the process for homeowners while, ideally, yielding architectural richness and diversity at costs competitive with standardized construction.<\/p>\n

The Somerses reached out to architects they admired and had worked with\u2014established and lesser-known local talent, plus practices worldwide that had built in L.A. Unlike the pure modernism of Case Study Houses, their program offers eclectic styles, recalling, says Steven, \u201cthe unique character and variety of these neighborhoods.\u201d By December, CS 2.0 had 50 participating firms, 12 projects in contract, and many under discussion.<\/p>\n

CSA, by contrast, is structured more like the midcentury program, with plans to build only 16 modernist homes by a total of 10 L.A. firms: Woods + Dangaran, Marmol Radziner, Bestor Architecture, Assembledge+, Montalba Architects, Geoffrey von Oeyen Design, EYRC Architects, Johnston Marklee, Walker Workshop, and Standard Architecture | Design. (Marmol Radziner and Standard are also participating in CS 2.0.) \u201cWe chose some architects we already considered great,\u201d Bramell recalls, \u201cwhile others were introduced to us by their peers.\u201d Word of the program, on social media and elsewhere, drew about 300 homeowner applicants, and CSA matched clients up with architects. (Bramell is himself the client for CSA #1, by Woods + Dangaran.) The intention was to divide the projects between the Palisades and Altadena, but with generally lower property values in Altadena, costs there \u201coften didn\u2019t pencil out,\u201d says Bramell. Now all but one CSA site are in Pacific Palisades.<\/p>\n

\"CSA<\/p>\n

Dustin Bramell, who started Case Study: Adapt with a friend, is Woods + Dangaran\u2019s client for CSA #1. Image \u00a9 Woods + Dangaran, click to enlarge.<\/p>\n

Beyond matters of scope, the two programs carry forward the original venture\u2019s character and goals to varying degrees. Case Study Houses, through the emerging idiom of modernism, explored new materials and technologies, notably World War II\u2013era military inventions. It also celebrated young talent, and promoted economical (though high-quality) construction and modest size, with spatial flexibility for changing needs. The resulting houses featured open plans, indoor\u2013outdoor flow, and transparency. But their \u201cmodest size\u201d typically meant 1,500 to 1,600 square feet, whereas CSA set its cap at 3,000 and CS 2.0 simply discouraged its architects from maxing out the lots, yielding a range of house sizes. \u201cWe recognize that times and expectations have changed,\u201d says Steven Somers, pointing out that 3,000 square feet aligns with today\u2019s median size for new single-family homes in L.A.<\/p>\n

Like their namesake, neither CS 2.0 nor CSA actually builds; instead, the architects, clients, and contractors arrange that among themselves, with both programs playing some facilitating roles. CS 2.0 has targeted construction costs at $600 to $800 per square foot, which is low for the area. Toward that end, the architects are contributing their catalogue schemes, with renderings and layout plans, pro bono, just as Crest is donating its time and expertise. Once a project is under contract, architectural fees of $25 per square foot and engineering fees of $3 per square foot apply (modifications and customization are additional). After a scheme goes through permitting once, its standard plans become pre-approved for subsequent clients, bypassing the months that design and permitting normally take.<\/p>\n

Though equally budget-conscious, CSA has not set specific price-per-square-foot targets, but both programs, like Case Study Houses, have negotiated steep discounts from participating manufacturers and suppliers of building materials, components, and fixtures. Nonetheless, as custom residential construction costs soar nationwide, L.A. tends to be particularly expensive. In November, CSA\u2019s 16 schemes were publicly unveiled at USC School of Architecture (a CSA partner, whose students built the models). In his presentation, Montalba Architects principal David Montalba described his team\u2019s struggle to keep costs under $1,000 per square foot, and others face similar challenges.<\/p>\n

While both programs advocate for \u201chumble materials,\u201d many designs appear luxuriously ambitious in other ways. Still, some relatively modest schemes stand out, including Lovers Unite\u2019s 1,855-square-foot CS 2.0 house, which deftly uses structural masonry block, exposed inside and out, eliminating needs for surface finishes, while speeding construction and fortifying fire resistance.<\/p>\n

\"Lovers<\/p>\n

Lovers Unite\u2019s scheme for CS 2.0 uses masonry block exposed inside and out. Image \u00a9 Lovers Unite<\/p>\n

Innovation is encouraged across both platforms, but it\u2019s unclear how much the projects will compare with the original Case Study\u2019s experimental leaps. Not surprisingly, CS 2.0 and CSA tend to be most cutting-edge in their approaches to fire resiliency. Exceeding current fire code as well as anticipated updates to it, both initiatives have supported adherence to rigorous IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety) fire-protection guidelines. Some architects have also borrowed from other building types in, for example, specifying a two-hour fire rating\u2014more typical of high-rises\u2014thereby doubling the current requirement for low-rise single-family structures. Some have designed building shells with a fiberglass-coated fire-protective layer or with panelized disaster-resistant systems, more common in commercial applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, this is not just about designing a house for a particular client or even a replicable house for a catalogue,\u201d says Standard partner Silvia Kuhle. \u201cIt\u2019s about developing and modeling approaches to resiliency that can be widely adoptable. A big challenge is how to make the indoor-out California Dream\u2014the essence of Case Study Houses\u2014fire resistant.<\/p>\n

Strategies for such resiliency\u2014often coupled with efficient building methods, such as prefab modules\u2014have, across both programs, favored noncombustible materials, including metal cladding (as in Marmol Radziner\u2019s CSA #2 or Specht Novak\u2019s weathering-steel CS 2.0 house), exposed concrete and rammed earth (as in Soto\u2019s CS 2.0 design), fiber-cement siding, and tile. Other features include tempered-glass windows, ember-resistant eaves and vents, integral cisterns, protected courtyards, and defensible space free of combustible landscaping.<\/p>\n

\"Specht<\/p>\n

Specht Novak\u2019s CS 2.0 house is clad in weathering steel. Image \u00a9 Specht Novak<\/p>\n

Flexibly and economically, some of the designs in the CS 2.0 catalogue\u2014which is open to individuals and developers\u2014offer different cladding choices, or even styles, for the same massing and layout, promoting savings through replication. And architects in both programs have explored the creative potential of ordinary off-the-shelf components.<\/p>\n

Still, realizing the work is often tied to homeowners\u2019 ongoing struggles with insurance claims and post-traumatic uncertainties about whether, or how best, to proceed. (Two CSA clients have suggested they might ultimately be unable to build, due to cost.)<\/p>\n

Yet others are steaming ahead, like Marlo Gottfurcht Longstreet\u2014the client for Johnston Marklee\u2019s CSA #9\u2014who lost the cherished Palisades home that three generations of her family had inhabited. \u201cI\u2019m so proud to be part of this program,\u201d she says. \u201cI hope the site has a big sign proclaiming, \u2018This is a Case Study: Adapt House.\u2019\u201d CSA and CS 2.0 both expect their first projects to break ground early this year.<\/p>\n

\"CSA<\/p>\n

Johnston Marklee designed CSA #9 as interconnecting volumes. Image \u00a9 Johnston Marklee<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, numerous other post-fire rebuilding initiatives\u2014without \u201cCase Study\u201d in their names\u2014are also under way. In some respects, it\u2019s a shared and collegial effort. \u201cWe\u2019re all in this together as a community,\u201d says Steven Somers. \u201cRecovery is an enormous and complicated task\u2014and we really want to see one another succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like thousands of fellow residents of Los Angeles\u2019 Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, Dustin Bramell and his family…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,2356,229,88,194971,3031,81872,1682],"class_list":{"0":"post-404357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-fire-resistance","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-modern-residential-architecture","17":"tag-natural-disasters"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}