The case study house program.

In the January 1945 edition of Arts and Architecture, John Entenza announced the case study house program. By doing so, he created a residential program so renowned architects of the day, could experiment and built houses that were innovative, efficient and inexpensive to built. The houses were conceived with low cost in mind, but inflation grew and prices for construction material soared. Even the used of standard elements use in construction didn’t help reduce costs. Most were built with an open plan in mind. Even though many firm of architects were commission by Arts and Architecture magazine, most, but not all, were designed with the same key elements such as: one story construction, flat roof, steel frame, use of plywood, acres of plate glass, indoor court, pools and more.
One of the obligations for the architect was to use new material, new design and construction technique, explore new way to build an inexpensive house for the average Joe. The program started in 1945 and ended in 1966. A decade that produced the most iconic and innovative houses ever built.
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Sources: Wikipedia. Case Study Houses 1945-1962, by Esther McCoy, Hennesey & Ingalls editiors. Arts and Architecture magazine.