Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House No. 21 trades hands in Hollywood Hills

In the Hollywood Hills, a glass box with a storied past has sold for $3.26 million.

The Laurel Canyon home was constructed in conjunction with the Case Study House program, a post-World War II initiative that commissioned aesthetic and affordable housing prototypes from 1945 to 1964. Noted architects such as Richard Neutra and Craig Ellwood mocked up 36 designs, and roughly two dozen were built.

Known as Case Study House No. 21, the home takes minimalism to its logical conclusion, resembling a handful of chic shipping containers made up of steel-paneled walls and open-air pavilions.

Five shallow ponds flank the residence, which offers two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,280 square feet. An L-shaped wall separates a living room and dining area. Elsewhere, walls of glass take in views of the brick-and-gravel terraces that fill out the grounds.

Not only did Koenig build the home in 1957, he also oversaw its restoration 40 years later. His work received the City of Los Angeles Preservation Award of Excellence in 2000, and the home is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In addition to a house, the residence has also been used as a gallery space. The mother of P.J. Park, co-founder of South Korean art gallery Seomi International, bought the property at auction in 2007 for $3.186 million, and Park fashioned the place into Seomi’s American branch soon after.

Exhibitions such as “Living in Art” and “Naturalism: In Modernization and Destruction” have been displayed there over the years.

Park has twice tried to sell the home, asking $4.5 million in 2016 and $3.6 million last year.

Aaron Kirman of Compass and Edward G. Reilly of Keller Williams Los Feliz held the listing. Rayni Williams of Hilton & Hyland represented the buyer.

jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94