Mid2Mod: Case Study House 10

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Kemper Nomland, Jr.

Kemper Nomland, Jr. (1919-2009) was an modernist architect, painter, and printer of books of poetry from Los Angeles, California. He received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Southern California in 1941 and went to work for Albert C. Martin before forming a father-and-son architecture team with Kemper Nomland, Sr.

Together they designed Case Study House #10 at 711 San Rafael in Pasadena, California, as part of the Case Study House Program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine. This program was a forum for experimentation in low-cost modern housing for middle-class families and involved other major architects, such as Richard Neutra, Ralph Rapson, Pierre Koenig, A. Quincy Jones, Raphael Soriano and Craig Ellwood. Case Study House #10 exemplified many of the goals of the program, including the use of low-cost materials and a modern aesthetic. The home was built on a slope, and the home's roofline mirrored its environment. Large walls of glass and a floor heating system were features of the interior. Large openings to the outside allowed for a melding of the indoors and outdoors.

Nomland was a conscientious objector during World War II and was confined to Civilian Public Service Camp #21 near Cascade Locks, Oregon, where he did forest maintenance work, as well as CPS Camp #56, Camp Angel, near Waldport, Oregon, where he did printing work and became friends with a group of poets and artists. He designed the chapel at CPS Camp #21, and seven of his paintings done while there (or influenced by his experience there) are held by Lewis and Clark College. He illustrated a book of poems entitled War Elegies by William Everson, whom he met while at the CPS camps.

Nomland designed several commercial properties and approximately a dozen residences. One of his best known designs was the Albers Residence, which was built in 1955. He designed the 18-unit garden apartment complex known as the Apex Apartment building and a duplex for builder Bill Jadiker, whom he met at Camp Angel. He also designed a home for actress Jane Russell.

From housing.com and latimes.com