L.A.’s Legacy of Architectural Innovation Drives Rebuilding after Wildfires
by David Hay
August 2025
Pictured above, a Case Study 2.0 model designed by SPF:Architecture.
In the wake of the wildfires that devasted the Los Angles communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena back in January, many homeowners and architects have approached the task of rebuilding as an imperative to create homes that are more resilient than what they will replace. To do that, they are drawing on L.A.’s long history of architectural innovation.
Over a century ago, modernist architects like Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, and Pierre Konig, to name a few, pioneered concepts of residential living that now seem commonplace: opening up a home’s interior, bringing the outside in, eliminating the need for separate spaces to create open, free-flowing living areas. One of the key legacies of these architects was the Case Study House program created by John Entenza, the editor of Arts & Architecture.
Beginning after World War II, Entenza and his editors would choose an experimental project, assemble the elements—client, architect, and design—and get it built. The aim was to develop an inexpensive and efficient model home, suited for the booming demand sparked by the return of millions of soldiers. The program yielded 36 designs and 25 constructed homes, concentrated in Southern California. (The 26th—a particularly formidable design by the Northern California architect Beverly Thorne—was built in Atherton, outside San Francisco, in 1962.)
The core tenets of the Arts & Architecture vision emphasized the use of cheaper, mass-market building materials and an experimental design sensitive to the environment. “Climate conscious,” we might say now. Although its goal of revolutionizing the SoCal housing market was never fully realized, the Case Study program not only remains a touchstone for contemporary architects, but it is also providing new inspiration for the post-fire rebuilding efforts.
One is Case Study 2.0, a program conceived by Crest Real Estate to create a catalogue of home plans under 3,000 square feet, each designed by a prominent architect. So far, 40 architects have signed up. The advantages to the prospective homeowner include reducing the time necessary for design and permitting. With a range of models that honor the spirit of the original program, Case Study 2.0 acknowledges that, as in most every arena, Angelenos have eclectic tastes.
More closely hewing to the modernist tradition of the original is Case Study: Adapt, the brainchild of Leo Seigal, founder of the interior design consultancy The Expert, and entrepreneur Dustin Bramell, whose own mid-century-modern house was lost in the Pacific Palisades fire. The nonprofit aims to provide an alternative to developer-driven, for-profit models.
“CSA is our way of turning loss into opportunity—rallying the best architects to create homes that don’t just withstand the challenges of today’s climate but redefine what thoughtful, resilient living can be,” Seigal told Architectural Digest. To which Bramell added: “CSA is about restoring an optimistic view of how we live in the 21st century. The fire may have erased part of our past, but, like the city it swept through, it also pushes us to imagine what we’ll create next.”
As the original did more than 70 years ago, Case Study: Adapt invited firms to devise plans for forward-thinking, 3,000-square-foot homes. CSA will then set about matching these plans will prospective clients. Ten major architects have signed on. The bucket of prospective clients is already overflowing.
Among the selected architects is the prominent firm Marmol Radziner, which re-recruited prefab pioneer Jared Levy to return to the practice. After playing a key role in the 2004 launch of Marmol Radziner Prefab, Levy partnered with Gordon Stott to create Connect:Homes, a manufacturer of prefab modular homes. One of its models—built for property owners who lost their previous home at 5782 Calpine Drive in Malibu to the 2018 Woolsey fire—is now listed with Pamela Conley Ulich, a Sports & Entertainment broker at Douglas Elliman.
“We are getting tons of calls about our new prefabs,” he told me. “It’s good to know earlier modern prefabs are in demand, too. Prefab is a really great solution for fire rebuilds.”
Marmol Radziner will roll out five new prefab models in August, all of which conform to standard set by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IHBS) FORTIFIED Home™, thanks to the fire-resistant metal siding, membrane roofing, and other materials made to withstand severe weather conditions.
Understanding the financial pressures on homeowners displaced by the fire, Marmol Radziner prefabs will set construction costs to approximately $750 per square foot, considerably below the current standard quote of $1,000 per square foot for L.A. rebuilds[MOU1] . These prefabs can also be manufactured out of state, a consideration now because of the already tightened state of the construction labor market in Southern California.
It's heartening to see that the commitment to forging new designs for modern homes is alive and well in Los Angeles. Just as those pioneers provided the protypes for our future a century ago, today’s innovators are pointing the way to a more resilient tomorrow.
David Hay is a well-known architectural writer and playwright. His stories have been featured in The New York Times, Dwell and New York.
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