Raphael Soriano
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Raphael S. Soriano,
FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-membe ...
, (August 1, 1904 – July 21, 1988) was a Greek-born American architect and educator, who helped define a period of 20th-century architecture that came to be known as
Mid-century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...
. He pioneered the use of modular prefabricated
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
and
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
structures in residential and commercial design and construction. __TOC__


Biography

Born in
Rhodes, Greece Rhodes (, ''Ródos'' ) is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. ...
to a
Sephardic Jew Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
ish family, Soriano attended the College Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Rhodes, before emigrating to the United States in 1924. After settling with relatives in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, he enrolled in the University of Southern California's
School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is a professional school or institution specializing in architectura ...
in 1929, graduating in 1934. In 1930, he became an American citizen and, the following year, secured an internship at the practice of
Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...
, working alongside fellow interns
Gregory Ain Gregory Samuel Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium- ...
and Harwell Hamilton Harris. A brief internship with Rudolph Schindler in 1934 followed, but Soriano quickly returned to his unpaid position at Neutra's office. With America in the throes of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, Soriano managed to find work upon graduation with the
County of Los Angeles Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...
on several WPA projects, such as the famous "
Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
Lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...
", and in a local architect's office. By 1936, he had completed his first commission, the Lipetz House, which appeared in the 1937 International Architectural Exhibition in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. With residential and commercial construction in the U.S. stalled by the country's involvement in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Soriano took up lecturing at USC and began contributing proposals for post-war housing designs to various competitions and publications. Of these, Soriano's "
Plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
House" prototype received Third Prize in 1943 in the Postwar Living Competition, sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine. Once the war ended, Soriano had no trouble securing commissions, now garnering prizes for his built projects, such as the Katz House, in
Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...
, a 1949 recipient of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
(AIA) Southern California Chapter Three Award. The following year, the architect completed a home for a friend, renowned architectural photographer
Julius Shulman Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph " Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as the Stahl House. Shulm ...
, one of the few Soriano structures still standing. The Shulman residence and 1964 Grossman House were the last two occupied by their original owners. Invited by
John Entenza John Entenza (December 4, 1905 – April 27, 1984) was one of the pivotal figures in the growth of American modernism: in the fields of environmental, architectural, landscape, and product design; and fine arts, and artisan crafts; in post-wa ...
of Arts & Architecture magazine to participate in the
Case Study Houses The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by '' Arts & Architecture'' magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the United Sta ...
program, Soriano completed his project in 1950. Pioneering in its use of steel in residential construction, the design marks a turning point for the program, later culminating in
Pierre Koenig Pierre Francis Koenig (October 17, 1925 – April 4, 2004) was an American architect and a Professor of Architecture at the University of Southern California. He taught at the USC School of Architecture from 1964 until his death in 2004. H ...
' s
Case Study House The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by '' Arts & Architecture'' magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the United Sta ...
#21 and #22. Soriano's Colby Apartments of 1951 — distinct not only for their modern design, but also for their extensive use of steel — received the National
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
Award for Design, the VII International Pan American Congress Award, and the AIA Southern California Chapter One Honor Award. In 1953, Soriano moved from
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to Tiburon, in
Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...
, across the bay north of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, where he lived with his wife Elizabeth Stephens (Betty) and her two daughters, Margaret and Lucille Coberly. By 1955, Soriano had designed the first mass-produced steel house, which developer
Joseph Eichler Joseph Leopold Eichler (June 25, 1900 – July 1, 1974) was a 20th-century post-war American real estate developer known for developing distinctive residential Subdivision (land), subdivisions of mid-century modern style tract housing in Califo ...
build in
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
. His work with Eichler would garner two awards from the Northern California Chapter of the AIA. Soriano was made a Fellow by the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
(FAIA) in 1961. In 1965, he launched Soria Structures, Inc. to design and build prefabricated houses, marketed as "All-Aluminum Homes." His last realized designs were eleven All-Aluminum Homes on the island of
Maui, Hawaii Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, built in 1965. From 1970 until his death, in 1988, Soriano focused on traveling the world as an architectural lecturer, writer, and researcher. He was recognized by the AIA with a Distinguished Achievement Award and by USC with a Distinguished Alumni Award, both in 1986. Shortly before his death he served as a Special Sessions Instructor at the College of Environmental Design at
Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a public polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the largest of the three polytechnic universities in the California State University syst ...
.


Works

Of the 50 buildings Soriano built, only 12 remain; the others have succumbed to wildfire, earthquake, or demolition. Among the survivors, a number endured unsympathetic make-overs and additions. Those still intact and unmolested are now protected by municipal preservation codes. A collection of Soriano papers resides at the College of Environmental Design Special Collections at the
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...
(Cal Poly Pomona).


References

* * Leslie Erganian ''Modern Maverick: Raphael S. Soriano'', Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
100 Years of Sephardic Los Angeles
2020 *Richardson, Sara. ''Raphael Soriano. A Bibliography''. Vance Bibliographies, 1987. *Soriano, Raphael. ''Substance and function in architecture''. Oral History Program, University of California, Los Angeles, 1988. ASIN: B00072EGNI *Smith, Elizabeth & Goessel, Peter. ''Case Study Houses''. Taschen Verlag, 2002. *


External links


Society of Architectural Historians - Southern California ChapterPage for Raphael Soriano in the Pacific Coast Architecture DatabaseModern Maverick: Raphael S. Soriano, Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soriano, Raphael 1904 births 1988 deaths Jewish architects Modernist architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects USC School of Architecture alumni Architects from California California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty 20th-century American architects Greek emigrants to the United States People from Tiburon, California 20th-century American Sephardic Jews