Jon Konigshofer

Jon Konigshofer (January 13, 1906 – October 13, 1990) was an American architect and builder, known for his minimalist low cost homes, primarily built in the Monterey Peninsula. He also designed homes and commercial buildings in other areas of California and Mexico.
==Early life and education==
Konigshofer, born on January 13, 1906, in Alameda, California to Leon and Etta Konigshofer. A World War II veteran, he served as a U.S. Naval lieutenant commander during five major actions in the Pacific Theater. He was married to Beryl Konigshofer. 
==Career==
Konigshofer was known for his minimalist and affordable nature of his designs which used cheap materials, and he is considered one of the leading pioneers of Modernism on the Monterey Peninsula. His design ideas and examples were featured in and on the covers of Architectural Forum, Architectural Record, House Beautiful, House & Garden, Sunset, Life magazines, and and the yearbook of the Encyclopædia Britannica. 
In 1937, Konigshofer moved to the art colony at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, working in the office of master builder Michael J. Murphy as a designer. He then left to start his own firm. During this time he built traditional architectural homes that were in demand in Carmel during the early 20th-century. His first house design, created in 1938, was a ranch-style home for J.D. Greenan, overlooking Mission Fields. His second project was for Marie Spreckels Elezaide. He also did extensive work in Pebble Beach, including designing Bing Crosby's house in 1941. In 1940, Konigshofer designed the Etta Stackpole House, situated on Ocean and El Camino in Carmel-by-the-Sea, that demonstrates this early traditional Vernacular-style work before adopting the modernist design for which he is known.
He worked on the design of John Gardener's Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, California. In 1941, Konigshofer redesigned the Pine Inn's restaurant dining room for Harrison Godwin, and the La Playa Hotel for Fred Godwin. He later moved his office to the Pine Inn. Landscape architect Thomas Church and Konigshofer worked on Monterey Peninsula projects together from the 1940s to the 1950s, such as the Carmel's Mayfair Apartments (1941), a Carmel Valley home, and Robert Buckner's Pebble Beach house (1947). The January 1947, Sunset Magazine featured one of Konigshofer's five Mayfair studio apartments with photographs of the floorplan, exterior covered walkway, and interior with corner fireplace.
Konigshofer's understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's concept of the Usonian house is apparent in his own designs and in the residences he created in Carmel. Utilizing affordable materials and budgeting, Konigshofer gained recognition for the minimalism and cost-effectiveness of his plans, earning recognition as one of the forerunners of Modern architecture movement in Carmel. The Monterey Peninsula Herald noted that Konigshofer, along with Murphy and Hugh W. Comstock, "influenced house design more than any other." Like Wright and Comstock, Konigshofer was not licensed or formally educated in architecture, yet the Herald observed that his buildings "attracted as much comment and praise in the architectural world as those designed by many a high-ranking degreed architect." Wright hired Konigshofer to oversee the construction of Hollywood producer John Nesbitt's House at Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, California. The plans were completed in 1940 but not executed.
In 1941, Konigshofer designed the Sand and Sea complex for Elizabeth White, consisting of five residences and a garage with an upstairs studio, located on San Antonio Avenue, near 4th Avenue in Carmel. This complex served as a good example of modernism, blending elements of West Coast regionalism and Bay Area Tradition modernistic styles. The January 1947, Sunset Magazine featured one of the five houses with photographs of the floor design, exterior redwood siding, and interior with high ceilings. 
Konigshofer built a modern circular one-story house for film producer Robert Buckner in 1947 in Pebble Beach. Its design included eaves for shading and a concrete patio that wrapped around much of the structure. The house includes a studio away from the house on a hillside. It contains redwood siding and plate glass windows. This residence gained attention when it appeared in an advertisement for Kimsul Blanket Insulation, manufactured by the Kimberly-Clark. In a published letter within the advertisement, Konigshofer expressed his aim to not only meet the client's desires but also to demonstrate that cost-effective homes could be swiftly constructed while maintaining an appealing design. The Robert Buckner residence was among fifty-three houses showcased in the 1949 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exhibition, titled “Domestic Architecture of the San Francisco Bay Region." It was also featured in Architectural Forum with photographs of the semicircular layout, floorpan, and interiors. In the January 1949 issue of House Beautiful, the house was described as "born of open-mindedness" and envisioned as a testing ground for new ideas on human shelter.
In 1948, Konigshofer designed a two-story for Carmel mayor Keith Evans at 2969 Franciscan Way in Carmel. The "Hillside House" was featured in Life magazine on March 17, 1952, and in House Beautiful in January 1950. He used modern prefabricate materials on a hillside lot and is as an example of affordable residential housing under $10,000 (fmt=eq). The Keith Evans house is an example of the Bay Area Tradition architectural style.
==Death==
Konigshofer died of cancer on October 13, 1990, at the Hospice of the Central Coast in Monterey, California.
==Works== 
 
Category:1906 births
Category:1990 deaths
Category:Architects from California
Category:People from Alameda, California
Category:People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California