Case Study House No. 21, a study in minimalism, relists

One of the most iconic and striking mid-century homes built as part of the Case Study House Program has hit the market again, this time for $3.6 million.

At only 1,280 square feet, in an open-floor layout, the 1958 home in the Hollywood Hills is hardly a mega-mansion. Instead, Case Study House No. 21, also known as the Bailey House, is a study in revered minimalism.

The home is one of less than two dozen structures still standing from a program started in 1945 by John Entenza, the publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine. Entenza challenged some of the biggest architects of the day — including Richard Neutra, Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames — to design and build inexpensive homes that could be easily replicated to house the country’s booming post-war population.

Case Study homes often fetch hefty prices on the market, given their size and architectural importance. Actress Kristen Wiig paid $3 million for Pasadena’s Case Study House No. 10 in December 2017. Case Study House No. 18, in Pacific Palisades, hit the market in April for $10 million.

House No. 21, designed by architect Paul Koenig, was last listed in 2016 at $4.5 million. Aaron Kirman of Pacific Union International and Edward Reilly of Keller Williams have the current listing.

The home has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is a simple rectangle with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a steel frame with steel paneled walls. The bedrooms are separated from the living room and kitchen by a central outdoor court. There’s also a shallow moat-like pond surrounding the structure.

Koenig himself helped restore the home to its mid-century condition in the 1990s with a few small updates, including installing a new stainless steel kitchen.

Reilly said he and Kirman are marketing to clients who will appreciate the house for its pedigree.

“We’re marketing to two different clients,” he said. “Those in the architectural world who appreciate it for what it is historically, and to the art world — to people who look at the house as a piece of art.”

The home is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1999, shortly after Koenig’s restoration.

Art dealer PJ Park is the current owner. Park’s mother bought the home in 2007 for $3.2 million and Park then opened Seomi International Gallery there, according to the Los Angeles Times. The gallery mostly promotes art by South Korean artists.

At one point, Park moved his family in, but he has since decided to relocate to a home better suited for his children, Reilly said.

Koenig’s own Brentwood home, while not a Case Study house — but one that he also designed — hit the market last year for $3.8 million.