A fourth generation Coachella Valley resident, architect Lance O’Donnell understands the California desert from places too deep in his soul to excavate.

From childhood memories of wide open vistas, pristine blue skies against rugged mountains, days flooded with sunshine, and soft turquoise sunsets, Lance has absorbed more than the physical essence of desert living.

He also lived among and absorbed the inspired and innovative architecture created over the last half century by some of the world’s most gifted and notable architects:  Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, E. Stewart Williams, William Cody, and Don Wexler, with whom O’Donnell began an almost decade long collaboration in 2002.

www.pspreservationfoundation.org www.eichlernetwork.com

After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture degree, with honors, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1991 and his Master degree in architecture from UCLA in 1994, O’Donnell returned home to the desert to, in a sense, resume the work of the past masters.

“Palm Springs has a heritage and history of genuine and authentic architecture,” said O’Donnell.  “That generation of progressive thinking influenced an entire movement of architecture. The desert was a place for experimentation.  Varied people and lifestyles drove the thinking;  architects could take a more experimental and progressive approach to living.  It was not about ‘having to have so many bedrooms and bathrooms.’”

Different housing configurations — from Cody’s pre-condo era connected cottages at Eldorado Country Club to Wexler’s cluster of attached homes with lots of open space around them –  the desert lifestyle has always engendered a sense of community, said O’Donnell.

“You shared the yard and the pool; you wanted to know your neighbor.  It promoted a community sense, civic mindedness,” he said.

O’Donnell’s firm, o2 Architecture, “engages the senses and intellect with a poetic connection to site and rigorous environmentally crafted modernism.”

www.o2arch.com/

He collaborated with Wexler on his California modernist lifestyle project in the Hamptons, and completed an extensive remodel of Wexler’s former family home, awarded “Remodel of the Year” in 2009 from the Palm Springs Modernism Committee.

www.hamptons-modern.com/team.html

Current owner Daniel Giles who purchased the home from yet another previous owner, wanted to renovate and maintain its modernist essence but expand and update some living areas.  He asked Wexler to be a consultant with O’Donnell as the remodel architect.

“It was not easy managing the project,” admitted O’Donnell. “Giles took some license by eliminating one bedroom and expanding another.  In the end, though, when Wexler and his 3 sons recently toured the house, they agreed with and saw the significance of the expansion and remodel.”

Remodeling a mid-century modern home is not always just about restoring to an original condition.

Today, year round homeowners also seek more space — larger bathrooms and kitchens and more storage– as well as better cooling and insulation, more luxury appointments, while still adhering to the mid-century ideals.

“Part of the challenge is that people tend to accumulate stuff over the years and this stuff has its own inertia so doesn’t easily go away” said O’Donnell. “And in a minimalist environment, there’s often not enough space to store it — whether it’s shelving or wall space or adding storage for seasonal things like clothes or holiday decorations.”

During the 70′s, 80′s and 90’s, many mid-century modern homes suffered “add-ons” such as enclosing covered patios, extra rooms and storage areas that obscured the architect’s original vision.

“In some cases, we’ve had to surgically remove almost one third of the square footage to get to a livable plan,” said O’Donnell.

Making homes energy efficient by today’s standards is another challenge.

“Back in the 50′s and 60s when electricity was cheap, you didn’t worry about running the AC all day and leaving the doors open,” he said.  “There was lots of attention on indoor/outdoor living, but no plan for energy conservation. There was a understandable tendency for over-consumption.”

O’Donnell’s recent renovation of Ralph and Bettina Haverkate’s mid-century modern in south Palm Desert included new air conditioning units and ducts, fully insulating the new roof and walls, and using dual pane windows throughout – including a massive glass wall—on the “cool” north side.

He added functional space with a new master suite bedroom and bathroom, designed with its roof tilted in the opposite direction of the house’s existing roof line to celebrate the views and resulted in a butterfly roof profile.

For his own family home in Palm Springs’ Little Tuscany neighborhood, O’Donnell designed the house that taps natural cooling temperature patterns in summer and passive warming in winter through “timeless, low-tech solutions” like cross ventilation.

“By placing large operable windows on the north and south sides of the house, we can quickly cool the house in evenings, thus decreasing the need to air condition,” O’Donnell said in a Palm Springs Life Magazine story about his “Bionic House.”

www.palmspringslife.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=9056&curl=%2FPalm-Springs

A generous overhanging roof shades the floor to ceiling windows in summer, while the sun’s lower angles in winter warms its interior concrete floor which retains heat throughout the night.  The LEED certified home with sub zero carbon footprint was completed in 2009.

“After living in the house for two years now, its efficiency is even better than expected,” said O’Donnell.  “We’ve never had to turn on the heating system and the house performs 25-30% better than our energy models predicted.”

O’Donnell, his wife Regina, and eight-year-old son Jonathan enjoy living in their “house of the future,” while benefiting from its energy efficiency today.

The up-and-coming architect has worked on more than a dozen Alexander home remodels, several by Cody and Wexler and his firm also designs many new mixed-use and civic projects.

While some projects still remain on paper, one of his proudest achievements is the Tahquitz Canyon Visitor Center on Agua Caliente tribal land.

www.indian-canyons.com

The glass, steel and concrete building — its classic modernist form and large overhanging roof — stands out against the rugged mountainside at the entrance to an ancient Indian canyon where for centuries, native people gathered seed, hunted, planted and lived in harmony with the desert.

“The paradox is while contrasting with the natural environment the building seamlessly harnesses the same natural forces the Cahuilla utilized for thousands of years.”

Working closely on mid-century building, has “driven home the sense that there is an underlying order to the building, there is a harmony to the parts,” said O’Donnell.

And there is clearly poetic harmony between nature and human purpose in O’Donnell’s designs.

— Pamela Bieri

Welcome to Team Haverkate Real Estate Specializing in Mid Century Modern Desert Homes

During Modernism Week 2011, Park Imperial South on South Araby Drive in Palm Springs celebrated its 50th birthday and invited the public to tour its 31-unit condominium community.  Created in 1960 by one of the nation’s most noted residential architects, Barry Berkus, AIA, Park Imperial South’s remarkable Mid Century Modern design still thrives and remains virtually untouched.

www.parkimperialsouthps.com www.modernismweek.com

Berkus guided the tour and presented his take on modernism’s mark on architecture in Palm Springs and across America.  A video archive of the design tour and Berkus’ discussion is posted here at Team Haverkate Real Estate.

“Being acknowledged by those who live within the architect’s dream is the highest honor one can aspire to , and the fact that residents here have kept my dream in condition is a remarkable compliment,” Berkus said.

www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/barry-berkus-aia-to-address-modernism-week

Founder and president of B3 Architects and Berkus Design Studio in Santa Barbara, Berkus has remained on the forefront of residential design in this country and abroad for over 40 years.  His name is synonymous with innovation, and his firm has won hundreds of design and planning awards from regional, national and international competitions.

www.barryberkus.com www.b3architects.com

Berkus began college with a focus on economics, but he always loved to draw.  After attending Santa Barbara City College, he transferred to USC’s  architecture program, saying “It was exciting and I knew I’d found my place.”

He pursued housing, an industry that during the 1950′s and 60s most architects thought was “beneath them” and many were convinced they couldn’t make a living at it.

“When we started, housing was looked down upon,” he recalled. “I lead a design panel at the National Association of Home Builders, but couldn’t do one at the American Institute of Architecture.”

“I had a goal to change the way housing looked,” he said.  “I wanted to give it a sculpted feeling, an innovative component to nurture people.  I strived to use volume, light and shapes in my homes.”

Berkus’ ability to produce house plans quickly also turned the odds in his favor.

“Housing as a product has to move on and off the boards quickly because it didn’t pay very well,” he said.

www.noozhawk.com/article/120309_barry_berkus

Berkus began as an intern for noted Palm Springs architect William Cody before opening his own firm and designed Park Imperial South at the age of 25.

During his talk at the tour, Berkus recalled sitting at construction sites for John Lautner projects, inspiring him to develop his  own unique design vision.  Berkus said Park Imperial South was an experiment in design and construction.  The distinctive folded-plate roofs were constructed in Oakland before being transported to Palm Springs where they were lifted into place by crane.

www.itssosunny.com/2011/02/20/palm-springs-modernism-week-home-tour-feature

“I wanted to design a space for people who could not afford an architect,” said Berkus of the project.

As his company went public, Berkus began considering modular housing.  He researched data at UCLA on every modular created up to that point and concluded that mobile homes were the only successful factory-built house that made its manufacturer money and lasted for any length of time.

“Let’s change the way housing is built,” he said when he approached national builders with the first “smart house” and various homes on wheels.

“I’ve always gone the far edge of the planet in my thinking,” Berkus admits.  “I’ve always been interested in investigating.  I’m in my 70s now and I’ve failed a bunch, in part because security never interested me.”

“Architects, by nature, are optimists,” he said.  “I’ve grown by taking risks and assumed it would work out.  Even recently, with single family homes in Santa Barbara, I’ve had to build them and then people showed up to buy them.  I knew it was right.”

www.noozhawk.com/article/120309_barry_berkus

It seems Berkus was right about his long lasting design at Park Imperial South as well.

One objective of the Modernism Week tour was to demonstrate the complex’s design longevity both interior and exterior as well as the versatile floor plan.

Nine homes in varying stages of rehabilitation and remodel were open for guests to view.  Several units had been completely redone with new kitchens and appliances, upgraded bathrooms, redesigned patios and new flooring, while other units retained original design elements such as range hoods, cabinetry and intercom entertainment systems.

For the past 10 years, Park Imperial South homeowners association has been restoring the complex with new landscaping, entrance signage, lighting and wood paneling to each home’s entrance.  The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation has granted funds to continue restoration projects, and the sold-out tour during Modernism Week benefited the development’s renovation projects.

www.itssosunny.com/2011/02/20/palm-springs-modernism-week-home-tour-feature

For Berkus, thinking outside the grid comes naturally and so does the task of reinvention.

“Everything has to fall apart so you can come up for air,” he said.  “Residential architecture is about romance, learning, fulfillment of a journey.  It should never be below you to do housing.”

www.residentialarchitect.com

Palm Springs has a proud heritage of innovative Mid Century Modern architecture in public buildings as well as custom, tract and condominium homes.  For a personal tour of Mid Century Modern properties currently for sale, contact Ralph Haverkate at ralph@RalphHaverkate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

When Ralph W. Haverkate, a real estate broker specializing in Mid Century Modern homes, came across an abandoned but classic Mid-Century Modern home in south Palm Desert that was facing a short sale, he immediately called his wife Bettina Waldraff to come take a look.

“He wanted me to see the inside of the house with the true mid-century modern beam ceiling and big back yard with pool which our two Entlebucher Swiss Mountain dogs would love,” she said. “We both saw right away the potential this property could have.”

The couple called young up-and-coming architect Lance O’Donnell of O2 Architecture in Palm Springs, a protégé architect working with Donald Wexler.  They previewed several homes with O’Donnell to get his perspective and input. O’Donnell agreed that south Palm Desert house was a great location, within walking distance to El Paseo, and had “great bones and potential.” O’Donnell suggested leaving the existing ceiling and adding on a master suite to increase the house from approximately 1,900 square feet to 2,500.

Their offer finally accepted, the Haverkates sealed the deal in November, 2009.  O’Donnell began his design that  maintained the house’s original architecture but meticulously reinvented its interior. Rarely is a house able to combine modern and vintage accents into a living work of art.

“Mid-April of last year, our project was underway,” said Bettina. “Moving along, the whole house was gutted down to the studs and just the old concrete floors and wood beam ceilings were left.”

The remodel, executed by Barton Construction Palm Springs and Team Haverkate, kept the original wood post and beam construction and ceiling.  New air conditioning ducts and copper plumbing were installed under the original slab. The new roof and walls were fully insulated and the concrete floors throughout were restored and polished.

The new master suite bedroom/bathroom addition was designed with its roof tilted in the opposite direction of the existing roof line of the house to give it the mid-century modern “Butterfly Roof” look.

The kitchen was designed to be a focal point in the living space.  It features CAESARSTONE kitchen counter tops, white high gloss Wenge wood veneer cabinets and top-of-the-line MIELE dishwasher, oven, steamer, warming drawer, and built in espresso machine, with an energy efficient induction glass cook top and stainless steel hood. A SUBZERO refrigerator and 150 bottle SUBZERO wine fridge complete the kitchen appliances.

“A long 10 feet dining table was a must since I like to cook and entertain friends and clients of Ralph’s,” said Bettina. “And a handmade crystal chandelier rounds up the dining area giving it a glamorous feel.”

A huge 24-foot glass wall completely disappears, joining the living areas to the patio and pool.

“Strong support was needed to hold the big glass slider,” said Bettina. “To have that open space, living inside/outside feeling was one of the main items on our wish list.”

The swimming pool was completely re-done in its original style, shape and size with all new pool equipment, plumbing and concrete decking, adding an outdoor fire pit and sitting area. Albert Frey-style block walls provide privacy and accent the desert landscaping. A state-of-the-art see-through glass Napoleon fireplace replaces an outdated fireplace.

Bathrooms feature PORCELANOSA glass tiles and Wenge veneered cabinets under modern WET sinks and the master bath has a white custom CAESARSTONE dual vanity.  All faucets, shower heads and toilets are the latest design of KOHLER.

“Mark Davis from the Modern Home store in Palm Springs supplied us with tile for all the bath rooms and kitchen back splash as well as the countertops in the kitchen and the double sink free-floating unit in the master bath,” said Bettina.

The Haverkates chose double pane energy-efficient aluminum framed windows and sliders throughout the house. Three separate air and heating systems were placed underground (rather than on the roof) and can be operated separately to keep the energy costs down. Most lighting is the latest energy efficient LED light fixtures.

“Finding the right furniture was fairly easy since both Ralph and I have very similar taste,” said Bettina. “We were able to picture what pieces we needed where and what colors.  We found some of the furniture in Los Angeles, and also some great pieces locally in Palm Springs.”

The property is conveniently located in a very quiet South Palm Desert area but still within walking distance to the high-end shopping/restaurant EL PASEO area.

“We moved in November 2010 and just love the area and the house,” said Bettina. “Our two dogs, Heidi and Willi, could not be happier; they enjoy the big lawn area created for them to play and run after their balls.”