Ray Kappe

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American architect and educator (1927–2019)

title: "Ray Kappe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["modernist-architects-from-the-united-states", "1927-births", "2019-deaths", "architects-from-los-angeles", "architecture-educators", "southern-california-institute-of-architecture-faculty", "california-state-polytechnic-university,-pomona-faculty", "educators-from-greater-los-angeles", "california-state-polytechnic-university,-pomona-alumni", "american-people-of-romanian-jewish-descent", "people-from-pacific-palisades,-los-angeles", "20th-century-american-architects", "21st-century-american-architects", "uc-berkeley-college-of-environmental-design-alumni"] description: "American architect and educator (1927–2019)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kappe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American architect and educator (1927–2019) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox architect"]

FieldValue
nameRay Kappe
nationalityAmerican
birth_dateAugust 4, 1927
birth_placeMinneapolis, Minnesota
death_date
practiceKappe Architects Planners
significant_buildingsBenton House{{cite web
urlhttp://www.kappearchitects.com/benton.html
titleBenton residence, Los Angeles
access-date2007-12-26
significant_projectsSouthern California Institute of Architecture
awardsRichard Neutra International Medal for Design Excellence, the California Council/AIA Bernard Maybeck Award for Design Excellence, the Topaz Medal
::

|name = Ray Kappe |image = |caption = |nationality = American |birth_date = August 4, 1927 |birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota |death_date = |death_place = |practice = Kappe Architects Planners |significant_buildings = Benton House{{cite web |url = http://www.kappearchitects.com/benton.html |title = Benton residence, Los Angeles |access-date = 2007-12-26 |significant_projects = Southern California Institute of Architecture |awards = Richard Neutra International Medal for Design Excellence, the California Council/AIA Bernard Maybeck Award for Design Excellence, the Topaz Medal Ray Kappe (August 4, 1927 – November 21, 2019) was an American architect and educator. In 1972, he resigned his position as Founding Chair of the Department of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and along with a group of faculty, students and his wife, Shelly Kappe, started what eventually came to be known as the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). In 2003, Kappe began working with LivingHomes to design modular homes.{{cite web|url=http://www.malibumag.com/site/article/architect_ray_kappe/ |title=Architect Ray Kappe |publisher=Malibu Magazine |date=20 August 2009 |access-date=2009-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219215805/http://www.malibumag.com/site/article/architect_ray_kappe/ |archive-date=2010-12-19 |first=Julian |last=Chavez

Kappe remained actively involved in architectural theory and practice in his later years, particularly in the areas of sustainability and the prefabrication of residences.

Early life and education

Kappe was born in Minneapolis on August 4, 1927, the son of Romanian immigrants. He attended high school in Los Angeles. He studied for a single semester at UCLA in 1945 before being drafted in into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he served as a topographical surveying instructor.

Career

After his discharge Kappe attended the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a B.Arch. degree in 1951.

Along with Thom Mayne, Kappe founded Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc for short). This institute promoted a more well-rounded, avant-garde, and progressive approach to architecture, something Kappe always advocated for.

Kappe designed multiple houses in California and elsewhere, he put emphasis on making homes functional in their climate and site through use of technology and local materials.

Kappe died from respiratory failure on November 21, 2019.

Legacy

The Ray Kappe Archive is housed at the Getty Research Institute and contains all of his drawings, models, and papers, offering comprehensive coverage of his long and varied career.

DWR's flagship store in Oakland, California is housed in a former bank, designed by Kappe. This use perpetuates Kappe's commitment to design, according to DWR's founder.

In 2021, actor Will Arnett sold a custom residence based on a design by Kappe in Beverly Hills for $7.85 million.

Southern California Institute of Architecture is still open and accepting students. The school is structured differently than many other institutions for architecture. Kappe had the goal of promoting a general education, offering writing classes, mechanics classes, and all sorts of education that wasn't directly related to architecture. His mission was to create well-rounded students.

In popular culture

The Showtime series Californication features one of Kappe's projects, the Benton House, as a major plot point in Episode Seven, "Girls Interrupted."{{cite episode | title = Girls, Interrupted | episode-link = Girls, Interrupted (Californication episode) | series = Californication | series-link = Californication (TV series) | airdate = 2007-09-24 | season = 1 | number = 7 }} The interior of this house is also featured on the CBS series Shark and in the movie Cruel Intentions.

Another of his projects made two brief appearances in the Sea Hunt episode, "Hit and Run,"{{cite episode | title = Hit and Run | series = Sea Hunt | series-link = Sea Hunt (TV series) | airdate = 1961-07-22 | season = 4 | number = 29 }} as the residence of the episode's villain. This house was also featured in the Home section of the Los Angeles Times, in an article titled, "A Boat, a Bay, and a Happy House."{{cite news | title = A Boat, a Bay, and a Happy House, pp. 8-9 | work = Los Angeles Times Home Magazine | date = 1958-07-27}}

References

References

  1. "History of SCI-Arc".
  2. "Ray Kappe papers, 1954–2007: Biographical/Historical Note". Getty Research Institute Library.
  3. Michael Webb & Ray Kappe. (January 1999). "Themes and Variations: House Design: Ray Kappe: Architects/Planners". Books Nippan.
  4. (October 20, 2019). "Raymond L. (Ray) Kappe, FAIA (1927-)".
  5. "Gale - Product Login".
  6. "Architecture California, Volume 13, No 1, 1991 {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface".
  7. "Ray Kappe, founding director of SCI-Arc, and master of Southern California modernism, has died".
  8. (2019-11-22). "Ray Kappe, founding director of SCI-Arc, dies at 92".
  9. "Ray Kappe papers, 1954–2007". The Getty Research Institute.
  10. (23 September 2002). "DWR's flagship store to open in Kappe-designed former bank".
  11. Jack Flemming (May 28, 2021), [https://www.latimes.com/business/real-estate/story/2021-05-28/will-arnett-sells-beverly-hills-smart-house Will Arnett sells Beverly Hills smart house for $7.85 million] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.
  12. ''Ray Kappe SCI-Arc Modern Architect Kappe Architects Planners.''[http://www.kappedu.com/RayKappe.html] Kappe+Du Architects. Retrieved on 10 December 2007.
  13. (2004-04-18). "Site Pacific". The New York Times.

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modernist-architects-from-the-united-states1927-births2019-deathsarchitects-from-los-angelesarchitecture-educatorssouthern-california-institute-of-architecture-facultycalifornia-state-polytechnic-university,-pomona-facultyeducators-from-greater-los-angelescalifornia-state-polytechnic-university,-pomona-alumniamerican-people-of-romanian-jewish-descentpeople-from-pacific-palisades,-los-angeles20th-century-american-architects21st-century-american-architectsuc-berkeley-college-of-environmental-design-alumni