History & OVERVIEW
Born in Taft, Calif., Killingsworth aspired to become an artist yet, ultimately, earned a degree in architecture from USC in 1940. Jules Brady (1908-1996), one of his firm’s partners, was born in Long Beach and also graduated from USC in 1940 with a degree in architecture. Waugh Smith (1917-2010), the other partner, was also a native Californian who received his architecture degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1940. Initially, all three partners worked for the Long Beach architecture firm Kenneth S. Wing. In 1953, they started their own firm Killingsworth, Brady & Smith. Excerpt from Case Study: Clock, Waestman, Clock Law Offices - July 2018.
Site of the building occupied by a long-established conservative law firm is a 100x130- feet business lot on a noisy major boulevard. White concrete stepping stones lead through a garden to a reception room with glass walls which are partially sheltered by tall decorative screens at the front of the structure.
Six offices for the attorneys extend along the south and west overlooking a 12-foot wide quiet terrace. Projecting walls separate the offices, each having access to the garden through sliding glass doors. The secretarial pool is developed with individual cubicles to give each employee privacy when seated and a view into another sheltered area. The coffee and lunch room, as well as the lounge, take advantage of this same garden view. The library too has an intimate court which it shares with the rear entrance.
In selecting the project as one of the finest five in a competition sponsored by the Southern California Chapter, AIA, the jury commented: “The small lot is almost completely enclosed, and as a consistent theme, every interior space has its own individually designed court outlook. The quality and dignity of the structure upgrade the whole neighborhood. Every detail had obviously been designed with loving care, yet with great maturity and restraint.”
