Jon Konigshofer

Jon Konigshofer (January 13, 1906 – October 13, 1990) was a house designer and builder who was never licensed as an architect, but 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 was born on January 13, 1906, in Alameda, California to Leon and Etta Konigshofer. His first house design, created in 1938, was a ranch-style home for J.D. Greenan, overlooking Mission Fields. He 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, using early traditional Vernacular-style work before adopting the modernist design.

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." Frank Lloyd 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, consisting of five residences and a garage with an upstairs studio. This complex blends 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. This residence 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 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." 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 . The Keith Evans house is an example of the Bay Area Tradition architectural style.

Death Konigshofer died of cancer on October 13, 1990, in Monterey, California.