After a long week of teaching on Zoom, the last thing I wanted to do was to continue to sit in front of the computer. “Modernism Week” is an actual non-profit that organizes two wonderful events each year. Fall Preview takes place in October and Modernism Week takes place in February.  There are home tours, talks, exhibitions and movies that highlight mid-century modern architecture, art, interior and landscape design. In addition, the vintage culture of the Palm Springs area of California is featured.  This year, due to the pandemic, Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020 went ‘virtual’.   

When you actually attend the event, you get to soak in the absolute beauty and color of Palm Springs.  (It just so happened to be gray and foggy as I watched the events from home in Los Angeles. So I missed the sunny Palm Spring skies even more!)

At each stop, friendly homeowners eagerly share with you the process of how they lovingly restored their home to its former mid-century glory. Often times, they’ll hand you something delicious like a sparkling mimosa or even a taco to prepare you for your visit.  Then, you don your disposable booties (so as not to ruin the floors). You step over the threshold of the very hip entryway, expecting something wonderful. For example, take the Rancho Vista Estates tour from last year’s Modernism Week. It was an ambulatory party, from one house to the next. We marveled at the magnificent mid-century architecture and art and chatted with the owners, and other visitors as well. The whole event is educational, fun, hands-on and a welcome escape from wherever one hails.

Sigh. I guess I shouldn’t complain. I am grateful for the tireless work of the organizers to make sure that the show still goes on.

Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020: Virtual Home Tours

Then, it was on to the virtual home tours. There were four total homes on the virtual tour for Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020:

Edris House, 1954, by architect E. Stewart Williams

On the first virtual stop is the Edris House. This home is a 3 bedroom, wood clad, mid-century modern home located on a rocky outcrop (much like the Albert Frey’s Cree house, which you can read about here), designed and built in 1952 and completed in 1954. Today, the house is nearly identical to its original design. Architect E. Stewart Williams was extremely meticulous in a very “clean, quiet” way. Sleek wooden walls hide important uses for the house (like the Frank Sinatra bar!).

The kitchen is also ‘hidden’ by smooth, black lacquer folding doors. The kitchen is totally original with Formica countertops, Lucite hardware and even the original oven. The home embodies quintessential mid-century style with floor to ceiling glass connecting interior spaces to the beautiful desert exterior.

The home features a unique mix of textures and materials: from rock walls to the lighting to the wood panels to the black lacquer.  There is high polish mahogany on one wall and rustic board and baton on another wall.  The house feels like it grew out of the ground, surrounded by stones and land. The roofline is purposeful in providing protection from the elements but almost feels like the wing of an airplane in its modern design.

The House of Cardin, 1969 by architect William Krisel

When the world opens back up again, this house is at the top of my list. After purchasing a round Pierre Cardin coffee table, the owners became completely obsessed with collecting all things Pierre Cardin, the famous European designer from the 1970’s and 1980’s. Interestingly, Cardin was one of the first fashion designers to branch out and design everything from sheets to games to all things home goods. 

The home even features the “man-shaped mirror” designed by Pierre Cardin and pictured on the cover of Time Magazine in the 1980’s.  Located in the garage is a gorgeous 1972 AMC Javelin Pierre Cardin edition (a James Bond car).  The homeowner couple actually just recently made a documentary on Pierre Cardin himself.

Skyfall by architect R. Denzil Lee in 1963

For those obsessed with all things 1960’s, the Skyfall house by architect R. Denzil Lee is paradise found. Homeowner and uber internationally famous hair designer Nicholas French has created a 1960’s oasis out of the home. He also uses the house as an educational retreat for his business, with the intention to “reflect the human art of hairdressing”. The house is full of amazing décor: from high end designers to low and from new to older, original condition pieces. Everything is very cohesive so that nothing stands out, yet there are very bright colors throughout.

The whole house centers around the pool, literally wrapping around it and almost every room has a view out to the awesome entertainment space. As the owner concluded, it is a creative space, where one can never be in a bad mood.

The Wexler Family Home, 1955 by architect Donald Wexler

The final home tour stop on the Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020 tour was this quintessential Palm Springs mid-century home designed and built by revered architect Donald Wexler for his own family in 1955. Originally, it was built by 3 people in 4 months at a cost of $12,000!  The home features an open and simple plan, with a post and beam structure from the mid-1950’s. 

There is a beautiful rhythm between the posts, walls and beams. Expansive windows and sliders are all 7-foot in height, with clerestory windows adding an extra foot.  Architect Donald Wexler was good at creating appropriate scale, massing and devising the indoor-outdoor living that Palm Springs is known for.  The plan is a simple integration of two rectangles and the space provides everything a home needs without extras. The landscape architecture is elegant and sleek, with strong Japanese garden influences, rocks, boulders and the original olive tree.  The interior is sophisticated with an uptown New York feel.

Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020: Two Short Films about Preservation

“Preserving Modernism: The Town and Country Center in Palm Springs”

Also on the Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020 tour was a short and interesting film about the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation’s work to save the Town and Country Center in Palm Springs. Designed by celebrated architects, Paul R. Williams and A. Quincy Jones, it is one of the best examples of late mid-century modern architecture and an important example of early mixed-use development. During the film, there was a bit of footage of visitors to the center during its heyday, which highlighted the pedestrian friendly courtyard. Located in the very heart of downtown Palm Springs, on Palm Canyon drive, it is currently in a state of total disrepair. 

The film highlights how the Preservation Foundation, along with a host of other stakeholders, including business community members, city council and local government people, the State of California, the press, neighbors and friends of preserving significant works of architecture have worked for over 15 years to keep the building from being demolished and paved over with a road. In the end, (spoiler alert), the building has been saved and is currently in the process of being rehabilitated. At the time of this writing, local architect James Ciofi is working to restore the center to its former glory. The film is currently available on YouTube until November 30, 2020.

“The Restoration and Stabilization of the Cornelia White Residence”

Cornelia White was born in 1874 in New York State, grew up quite wealthy, and studied art and architecture. At one point, Ms. White moved with a group to Mexico to start a commune but due to the Mexican Revolution, Americans were required to leave Mexico and she made her way back to the US, via San Diego. She eventually discovered Palm Springs, a very newly founded city in the Southern California Desert. She purchased a home and in her later years, she donated the ‘study’ made of old railroad ties to the the city of Palm Springs and donated the land to the Palm Springs Desert Museum. They literally picked up the small house and moved it across the street. After her death, though, there was talk of tearing the house down.

Once again, in the 1960’s, they moved the house to the village green in downtown Palm Springs. In a town that venerates architecture, they are proud to display a link to its past.  A major tourist destination, the house was significantly deteriorating and the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation began work on restoring the home.  The film details the work of engineers, architects and construction workers that took place to carefully and painstakingly rehabilitate the home.  One thing that struck me was the pride that all of those participating in the making of the film conveyed. They felt they had saved an important link to the past history of Palm Springs and its founders.

Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020: Conclusion

Thanks to the people at Modernism Week for providing a well-produced, easy to access, highly visually and very informative show. I can’t wait to get back to in-person though. As lovely as it was to watch all of the tours online, it can’t replace the feeling of actually being in these homes. Currently, Modernism Week in February 2021 is scheduled to be a mix of online as well as in person events.

If You Liked Modernism Week Fall Preview 2020, Here are Some Other Posts You Might Like

Hidden Gem Series: El Rancho Vista Estates in Palm Springs, CA

Perched Above the Desert: The Cree House by Albert Frey

Modernism Week Fall Preview in Palm Springs, CA

Desert Modernism

Walker Guest House/ Palm Springs Modernism Week

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