Category: Palm Springs Architects & Designers

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Modernism Celebrated In Desert this Fall

William Cody’s 1947 Del Marcos Hotel recently achieved a Class 1 Historic designation.

There is much Modernism to celebrate in the California desert, and things get underway in October  when seasonal temperatures drop to warm days with cool, balmy evenings.

The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation recently celebrated Del Marcos Hotel’s Class 1 Historic designation with a tour and ceremony.  The hotel was designed by William Cody in 1947 for then-owners Samuel and Adele Marcus.  Current owner are Lars and Kelly Viklund.

Built of native stone and redwood surrounding a swimming pool, special architectural features include an “organic” asymmetrical  entrance doorway and floor to ceiling glass.  The two-story hotel features luxury suites in a U-shaped plan centered around a courtyard that encourages guests to socialize. Continue reading “Modernism Celebrated In Desert this Fall”

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Oops, There Goes The Neighborhood… Safeguarding Unique Mid Century Modern Tracts

Almost every development of modern homes faces the eventual challenge of keeping its architectural integrity.  But as Mid-Century Modernism wins more fans, residents are banning together to save their neighborhoods’ unique look and character.

Since Modernism is a subtle style, it is easily compromised:   Adding a carriage style outdoor light fixture in lieu of an original hour-glass one, or tearing down artistic block to erect an adobe wall can easily change a home or neighborhood’s look.

In an Eichler network story by Dave Weinstein, Streetscape Smarts, he notes that, “The other major challenge to preserving modern neighborhoods is their age.  Many landmarking laws only kick in if a building is at least 50.”

www.eichlernetwork.com

www.pspreservationfoundation.org

The City of Palm Springs is already way ahead of that game with its Office of Neighborhood Involvement that provides residents with “responsive, coordinated services that promote and support collaboration and communications through recognized neighborhoods.” Continue reading “Oops, There Goes The Neighborhood… Safeguarding Unique Mid Century Modern Tracts”

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PS ModCom Launches New Tour App, New Modernism Week Events

Palm Springs Modernism is alive and well this fall as a new architectural tourism App is launched in September, Palm Springs Modernism Week kicks off with its new MODSHOP store space at the Raymond-Lawrence Gallery, and aficionados can get early taste of Modernism Week in October during DOCOMOMO, a national tour day.

Whatever’s APPropriate

In a timely collaboration with Palm Springs Life Magazine, the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PSModCom) launched a multi-platform electronic application, Palm Springs Modern: Mid-Century Architecture Tours, now available from the App Store for iPhone and iPad and from Android Market.

The $5.99 tour app is in HD-720p format and features three tours of over 80 architecturally significant modern homes and commercial buildings throughout the greater Palm Springs area.  The APP also presents in-depth profiles of 12 leading Modern architects whose contributions have shaped the architectural landscape of Palm Springs. Continue reading “PS ModCom Launches New Tour App, New Modernism Week Events”

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Magazines, Websites Sources for Mid Century Modern Design

Mid Century Modern architecture and design aesthetics have been re-embraced by baby boomers whose childhoods were shaped by those times, as well as embraced by the next generation.

Growing global  appreciation of Modernism’s uncluttered clean lines, bold, forward thinking architecture fits well with today’s concern for environment and sustainable practices.

A host of national and international magazines and websites offer in-depth resources for Mid Century Modern homes, furnishings, accessories, and design resources.  We scoped out a few that really speak to the subject:

Modernism Magazine, a quarterly magazine about 20th century modernist design, ranges from the Wiener Werkstatte and the Bauhaus thinkers to Memphis and beyond covering Art Deco, mid-century pop and postmodern design. Continue reading “Magazines, Websites Sources for Mid Century Modern Design”

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Celebrating the Masters: Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion

Rendering of exterior entry of Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion. Rendering courtesy of Marmol Radziner Architects, FAIA.

Ever since the Palm Springs Art Museum acquired the former Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan building on Palm Canyon Drive last June, and announced plans to transform the bank into an architecture and design museum, a ground swell of support has been growing.  The concept has also garnered considerable national and media attention. Continue reading “Celebrating the Masters: Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion”

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Steel Pre-Fab Homes Make Resurgence in Palm Springs

Blue Sky Building’s new pre-fabricated steel home now under construction in Palm Springs

“Today, people think of a large box looking like a trailer when you say ‘pre -fab home,'” said David McAdam of Blue Sky Building Systems. “But pre-fabricated steel homes really started with Don Wexler in 1961 when he built six or seven steel houses in Palm Springs.  The pre-fabricated steel pieces were brought in and assembled on site.” Continue reading “Steel Pre-Fab Homes Make Resurgence in Palm Springs”

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Wexler’s Steel Development House No. 2 Now Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Architect Donald Wexler’s Steel Development House No. 2 — located on North Sunny View Drive —  is the first midcentury structure in Palm Springs to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house received national distinction March 30, 2012 after current homeowner, Brian McGuire, a member of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, applied to the California Office of Historic Preservation, providing many qualified letters in support.  The nomination was unanimously recommended, and the director of the National Park Service accepted the nomination. Continue reading “Wexler’s Steel Development House No. 2 Now Listed on National Register of Historic Places”

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Desert Modernism Reflected in Architect Reuel Young’s Design of Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert

The Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert formally opened to the public March 15, sharing not only a new level of art and culture to the mid- and east valley, but common architectural ties.

The 8,400 square foot building located at Entrada del Paseo, corner of Highway 111 and El Paseo, was formerly the city visitor’s center, designed by acclaimed desert architect Reuel Young.

Built in 2005, Young captures the motifs inherent in Desert Modernism such as its Albert Frey-like sharp winged roof shading an upper terrace and entrance below. From its essentially a circular shape are angled walls that fan out with floor to ceiling glass that offer full views of the outdoors. Continue reading “Desert Modernism Reflected in Architect Reuel Young’s Design of Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert”

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Classic Mid-Century Modern Butterfly Remodel

36467 Sandsal

This classic mid-century modern Butterfly remodel in Rancho Mirage comes with letters and drawings from Architect William Krisel to the Seller identifying it as a Model A-1, Valley of the Sun home, by developers Maus and Holstein. The light and bright living area has a rising ceiling, with clerestory windows and glass sliders facing West to the pool and mountains. Renovated and updated by interior designer Edward Schilling using the best materials it boasts slate floors throughout, Cherry Wood kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, marble countertops and backsplashes, double-paned glass and sliders, a heated pool and more. The landscaping has been recently updated around the pool area and the private grassy area by the kumquat tree. This home may qualify as a historic building with associated tax benefits.

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Palm Springs Art Museum Exhibits Capture Mid Century Art, Life

Blast from the Past: 60s and 70s Geometric Abstraction, now on exhibit in the Annenberg Wing at the Palm Springs Art Museum through December 23, is a vivid, powerful collection of geometric abstract paintings, sculpture and prints from the 1960s and 70s, a period known for its purity of style.

www.psmuseum.org

Some 100 artworks represent a variety of ideas in optical art (Op Art), kinetic art, minimalism, hard-edge and color field. Many of the works have rarely been or are on view for the first time in this impressive exhibit.

Purely abstract forms – square, rectangle, triangle, circle and geometric volumes such as the cube and cone — suggest architecture and geometry, while the artists’ use of primary colors, lines and compositional devices present a sensual experience, illustrating alternative ideas about art and principles of reality.

Op Art, a trend that uses optical illusions to simulate motion and other perceptual shifts, is seen in the experiments of Victor Vasarely, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Yascov Agam.  Bright primary colors finely interspersed with complementary hues, creates visual interactions between the colors that seem to give off light and vibrations.

In Jesus Rafael Soto’s classic work, the sensation of constant flux transforms color, space, line into a new perceptual experience. Continue reading “Palm Springs Art Museum Exhibits Capture Mid Century Art, Life”