This is it, we're wrapping up Innovation Week 2011 today, so we've decided to take a look back, way back to the work of some of the most influential—and yes, innovative—architects of the 20th century. Better yet, all of these properties are currently on the market and, trust us, would be perfect as a last-minute Christmas present. Up first is Prairie Style pioneer Frank Lloyd Wright's textile block masterpiece La Miniatura. Built in 1923 in Pasadena, Calif., the four-bedroom, four-bath manse was the very first of Wright's Usonian houses. Though larger than many Usonian homes, which were aimed at middle-income Americans, La Miniatura served as an early prototype for a style that would define more than sixty Wright designs. Set amid lush plantings, La Miniatura is asking almost $5M.
? Midcentury master Louis Kahn, who combined modernism with a raw material obsession derived from the warehouses of his Philadelphia childhood, built this house in 1961 in that city's Chestnut Hill neighborhood. Named the Esherick House, after the patron who commissioned it, this is one of only nine houses built by Kahn during his illustrious career and, by modern standards, is highly unconventional. Though it measures 2,500 square feet, the study in cubes features just one bedroom. Perhaps that's why it's been lingering on the market at $1.5M.
? Philip Johnson's Glass House is one of the most celebrated American houses of the 20th century, but, three years before he built that steel-and-glass masterpiece in 1949, Johnson began his foray into house architecture with this concrete-and-glass number. The Booth House is a small but elegant home, as the brokerbabble has it, a welcome alternative to the " big, white elephant McMansion of recent years." The price reflects the mini-mansion status at $1.6M. That's not too bad for tony Bedford, N.Y., nevermind the starchitecture.
? While Johnson was working his magic in New England, out on the West Coast, John Lautner was testing the boundaries himself. Later to become famous for his outlandish designs like the Chemosphere, Lautner built this modest suburban home in Glendale, Calif. in 1949. Known as the Schaffer Residence, the elegant glass-and-wood stunner was recently featured in Tom Ford's film A Single Man. The two-bed, frequently-published home is asking $1.5M.
? Another SoCal architecture legend, Pierre Koenig, had his Case Study #22 immortalized by the preeminent architectural photographer of the era, Julius Shulman, but this one, built in 1983, didn't get the same treatment. Instead, the Michael Gantert Residence has the honor of being one of the last built by Koenig. Listed for $2.3M, the three-bedroom property enjoys sweeping views over Hollywood Boulevard and the rest of Los Angeles.
· 645 Prospect Crescent [Crosby Doe]
· 204 Sunrise Lane [Crosby Doe]
· 319 Pound Ridge Road [Crosby Doe]
· 527 Whiting Woods [Crosby Doe]
· 6431 La Punta Drive [Crosby Doe]