Smith and Williams: Crowell house (Pasadena, Calif.)

The Crowell house site is on a hilltop, at the edge of a ravine. The design won an Award of Merit in 1956 in a contest sponsored by House & Home and Sunset magazine. The A.I.A. judges cited the manner in which the “Japanese-influenced house” adapted “an Oriental idea to the requirements of California living.” Smith wrote an unpublished essay, “Japanese Influence in California Architecture,” in which he said that the fact that “regional, indigenous California houses” look Japanese “is 99% coincidence.” He went on to say, however, that, “Japanese architecture has a strong emotional appeal to California architects.”

Smith and Williams, architects
Julius Shulman, photographer

Smith & Williams records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.

1952-1956

© J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

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