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.

Other artists from the southern California Abstract Classical movement such as John McLaughlin, Karl Benjamin, Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, often infuse gentle blues, whites, yellows, and olive greens to their hard edge works that are “keenly reflective of the unique qualities of light and space” — characteristics of the southern California coastline.

Starting January 21, 2012 through May 27 in the Annenberg Wing will be Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982.

As part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980 regional initiative, this exhibit examines the swimming pool in photographs as visual analogs of the ideals and expectations associated with southern California.

The images of manmade pools in arid landscapes traces the iconography of California’s  swimming pool, an integral part of the region’s identity, and suggests “the hopes and disillusionments of the country’s post World War II ethos.”

Backyard Oasis will include some 135 framed works of archival photography, prints and selected film clips shown on flat-screen monitors.

Among featured artists’ work will be Diane Arbus, Bill Anderson, Michael Childers, Robert Cumming, Julius Shulman, and Maynard Parker.

During the January exhibition will be lectures and educational programs for K-12 grade students, college and university audiences and the general public. The exhibition’s catalog contains photos and an overview of the development of the swimming pool, its aesthetic and culture.

Palm Springs Art Museum was designed in the Modernist style by renowned local architect E. Stewart Williams in 1974.  The Steve Chase Art Wing and Education Center, also designed by Williams, opened in 1996.  Today, the 124,435 square foot museum complex houses various galleries, sculpture atriums, a museum store, cafe, and the 437-seat Annenberg Theater for the performing arts.

It is located at 101 Museum Way, downtown Palm Springs.  Call (760) 322-4800.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, noon to 8 p.m., closed Monday and holidays.  Free admission every Thursday, 4 – 8 p.m. during downtown Villagefest and the second Sunday of every month.  Admission is $12.50 adults, $10.50 seniors, $5 students, free for youths under 12, active military and their families.

After visiting these Mid-Century Modern inspired exhibits at the Palm Springs Art Museum, take a tour of Palm Springs’ wonderful collection of modernism homes and public buildings.  Pick up a map at the Palm Springs Visitor Center for a self tour.

www.visitpalmsprings.com

Once you’ve whet your appetite to own of these inspired desert modern home — and the artwork to go in them — Ralph Haverkate at  agent@teamhaverkate.com or visit www.TeamHaverkate.com for a personal tour of homes and estates for sale.

– Pamela Bieri

A Swinging’ Affair on December 11, a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Association, celebrates Frank Sinatra’s birthday and promises gala-goers a taste of Sinatra’s swingin’ lifestyle at two of his favorite Mid-Century  hangouts.

From a cocktail party at Sinatra’s former Twin Palms estate to a grand gala at the Riviera Resort and Spa and late-night after party in the Riviera’s Starlite Lounge, guests experience the Rat Pack lifestyle for an evening .

Frank Sinatra's former Twin Palms estate, designed by E. Stewart Williams, is now a popular venue for many Modernism events

At the Riviera, glitzy talent includes Frank Sinatra, Jr. with his 20 piece orchestra, singer Lainie Kazan with Matt Dusk and Daniel Joseph Baker from America’s Got Talent.  Actress Pamela Anderson is host of the Grand Gala.

The evening offers a rare opportunity to hang out and enjoy cocktails at listen to the live music of Buddy Greco Jr. Trio with Matt Dusk crooning at Sinatra’s former home, a modernism landmark  by noted architect E. Stewart Williams.

Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate was William’s first custom home commission.  Apparently one afternoon in May, 1947, Sinatra sauntered into Williams’ architectural firm slurping an ice cream.  His movie career at a zenith, Sinatra wanted Williams to design and build a big Georgian style home by Christmas.

www.psmodcom.org

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Stewart_Williams

Williams presented Sinatra with two sets of drawings, one for the Georgian-style home and another for a long, low four-bedroom house in which every room has a view of a large swimming pool shaped like a piano.  Fortunately, Sinatra chose the innovative modernist house, which put Williams’ design firm on the map.

Sinatra vacationed there with his first wife Nancy Barbato and three children, and later with his second wife, actress Ava Gardner.  Twin Palms became a popular destination for Sinatra’s famous friends — such as  JFK, his brother in law Peter Lawford and Sinatra’s neighbor Marilyn Monroe.  Sinatra’s landmark estate and the lifestyle he lived there helped fuel the wave of modernism which today defines Palm Springs.

www.sinatrahouse.com

Williams subsequently designed a number of custom Mid Century Modern homes as well public landmarks including the Oasis Office Building, Coachella Savings and Loan, Crafton Hills College (in Yucaipa), Santa Fe Savings Bank and the Upper Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

www.pstramway.com

After a recent multi-million dollar renovation, The Riviera Resort and Spa reflect its glamorous Mid-Century Modern heritage.  The hotel was another famous hot spot Sinatra and his Rat Pack frequented in its circa 1959 heyday.

www.psriviera.com

At the Swingin’ Affair’s Grand Gala, guests will enjoy a three course gourmet dinner while reliving the era as Frank Sinatra Jr. pays tribute to his famous father in songs and anecdotes.  Lainie Kazan, Dusk and Baker share the spotlight with Sinatra.

After the gala, the party keeps on going into the wee hours with music and cocktails in the Riviera’s Starlite Lounge.

For tickets and more information, visit www.aswingingaffair.com

The revival of modernism has  generated great interest in both custom and tract Mid Century Modern homes in the Palm Springs area.  In fact, these homes continue to increase even as housing values decline in other markets.

For a personal tour of Mid Century Modern homes and estates for sale, many located in historic districts and significant neighborhoods, contact Ralph Haverkate at: Ralph@RHaverkate.com. or visit www.HaverkateRealEstate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

Whether in a large metropolis, small city or country village, neighborhoods define a quality of life, a community, and offer a sense of belonging, of pride and place.

By some historic benchmarks, Palm Springs, incorporated in 1938, is relatively young.  But its explosive growth in the Mid-Century  — particularly innovative modern tract and custom homes — set in motion communities born from a sense of new frontiers, prosperity, and optimism that characterized the American spirit post World War II.

Desert Modernism became a style all its own as renowned architects adapted the International Style to the desert’s warm climate and arid terrain, creating an elegant yet informal quality.  Desert Modern residences tend to have post-and-beam construction, open floor-plans, glass walls that connect indoors to outdoors, and are designed on a more human scale, often integrating organic shapes, bold colors, and playful designs.

During the 1950s and 60s, new neighborhoods sprang up throughout the Palm Springs area, developments that attracted vacationers, second home buyers, families, and retirees.   Today, Palm Springs arguably has the largest concentration of Mid-Century Modern architecture in the world

www.visitpalmsprings.com

A revival of appreciation for Desert Modernism has sparked forming historic districts in the City of Palm Springs and environs to preserve these distinctive neighborhoods and enclaves that are defined as much by their architectural significance as cultural reference.

Historic districts are “areas or neighborhoods in which historic buildings or residences, and their surrounding characteristics or settings, are identified by historical association or architectural quality as significant to the city’s heritage and cultural fabric,” according to the City of Palm Springs Historic District FAQ definition.

Historic districts not only preserve the inherent richness and personality in an area, but connects the past to the present and provides continuity into the future.  Property values increase and ensures that architectural standards are maintained or restored.

“Studies show that property values in protected historic districts tend to be higher than comparable neighborhoods without such standards,” according to the city’s Historic District FAQ.

“There are currently 28 defined neighborhoods in Palm Springs with more expected to be added by the end of the year,” writes Judith Salkin in her June 19, 2011 Desert Sun story, A closer look at seven historic Palm Springs neighborhoods.

www.mydesert.com/archives

A compilation of distinct Palm Springs neighborhoods — not all are historic districts — may be found online at www.palmspringsneighborhoods.com.

Pride and sense of place are now finding expression through the Palm Springs Neighborhood Initiative Committee which is encouraging homeowner association to place neighborhood name plates throughout the City.  Each individual neighborhood association designs, produces and installs their  own signs.  The first signs went up in the El Mirador and Movie Colony in 2008 as part of the pilot program.

Reflecting Palm Springs rich, layered history, most neighborhoods have a mix of architectural styles from California ranch style, Spanish revival, adobe and walled estates, to Mid Century modern, although many are predominantly Desert Modernism style.

Among them are Sunmor Estates, located on the western side of the Palm Springs International Airport, a project first started by Robert Higgins and later completed by the Alexander Construction Company when Higgins’ funding folded.  Most of the Sunmor homes were built in the 1950s and 1960s, designed by renowned modernist architects William Krisel, Donald Wexler and Charles DuBois.

www.sunmor-ps.com

The El Rancho Vista Estates, located on the east side of the airport, was a subdivision developed by Robert Fey with 70 homes designed by Wexler and Ric Harrison in the 1960s.  Most homes here still retain their original profiles.

www.elranchovistaestates.org

The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a five-acre Polynesian style complex,  also designed in the 1960s by Wexler and Harrison, became the city’s first residential historic district in 2009.  The 12 building, 40-unit complex features a “tiki apex,”  wooden tiki-style adornments affixed to unique “flying seven” buttresses or “outrigger beams,” which had been removed over the years for a variety of reasons.

www.royalhawaiianestates.org

In 2010, grants from the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation paid to replace the missing architectural elements.  Relying heavily on 1960s-era photographs and consulting Wexler on the project, o2 Architecture captured the scale and proportions of the apex to restore the original architectural design to the homes.

www.pspreservationfoundation.org/royal_hawaiian.html.

The PSPF also granted funds for a demonstration project at Park Imperial South to reconstruct part of a decorative concrete block wall.  The project was designed to motivate other homeowners to make similar investments in restoring the complex’s original look.  Park Imperial South on South Araby Drive was designed by architect Barry Berkus in 1960.

www.pspreservationfoundation.org/imperial_south.html

The historic Tennis Club Neighborhood, one of the city’s most historically significant neighborhoods, was part of land owned by John Guthrie McCallum, who initially sought to develop Palm Springs as an agricultural area.  Architecturally rich, the neighborhood contains Mediterranean style homes and estates from early settlers 1920s and 30s to the mid-century modern Palm Springs Tennis Club designed by A. Quincy Jones and Paul R. Williams.

www.htcno.org

The Indian Canyons Neighborhood, formerly known the Canyon Country Club area, was also originally built in the 1960s.  Most homes have been refurbished to reflect the modernistic roots with distinctive architecture by Stan Sackley, Wexler, Palmer and Krisel.  The area’s par-72 Indian Canyons South golf course, owned by the Agua Caliente tribe, boasts a Wexler-designed clubhouse that provides some unexpected grandeur.

www.psicno.com

Architectural tourism has become a huge draw for the Palm Springs area and historic districts are important for preserving the wealth of architecture the area has to offer.

One of these tours, The Palm Springs Modern Committee’s annual fall home tour, takes place on Saturday, October 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Tickets at $125 per person includes a self-driving tour followed by a cocktail reception at the last house.  Tour locations will be given with ticket purchase.  Funds benefit the Palm Springs Modern Heritage Fund, a non-profit political action committee.

www.psmodcom.org

For a personal tour of Mid Century Modern homes and estates for sale, many located in historic districts and significant neighborhoods, contact Ralph Haverkate at: Ralph@RHaverkate.com. or visit www.HaverkateRealEstate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

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

Long before Palm Springs came to treasure its Mid Century Modern heritage, architectural photographer Julius Shulman began documenting California’s postwar contemporary homes and buildings with a mission to “sell architecture” and the idealized vision of California’s casual, sunbathed indoor-outdoor lifestyle to the readers and editors of consumer and architectural magazine.

Shulman’s iconic photography spread California Mid Century Modern throughout the world.

His roster of clients is an impressive “who’s who” in pioneering contemporary architecture: Rudolf Schindler, Gregory Ain, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Raphael Soriano, John Lautner, Albert Frey, Pierre Koenig, Harwell Harris and many others.

Shulman’s work was contained in virtually every book published on Modernist architects and that trend continues.

Two new books on the late photographer were just released this spring:  Julius Shulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis by Sam Lubell and Douglas Woods, published in April, 2011 by Rizzoli International ; and Julius Shulman: The Last Decade by Thomas Schirmbock and Shulman’s business partner Juergen Nogai, published March 22 by Kehrer, Heidelberg, Germany, are now available in books stores and at  www.Amazon.com.

Shulman’s unplanned career as an architectural photographer began  in 1936 when an acquaintance who worked for Richard Neutra asked Shulman to take a few shots of Neutra’s nearly completed Kun House in the Hollywood Hills.  Neutra liked the images and hired Shulman for subsequent projects, soon introducing him to all the leading and emerging architects.

Shulman’s most famous 1947 photo of Neutra’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs shows the architect’s glass house as an array of shimmering squares and rectangles.  In the photo, Mrs. Kaufmann reclines beside the glowing swimming pool in the foreground while the dusk illuminated rugged desert mountains frame the background.

One of most widely reproduced architectural photographer ever, it’s existence lead to the painstaking restoration of the Kaufmann house in 1999 to its original condition, and subsequently helped launch the revival of Palm Springs Modernism.

www.psmodcom.com

The restoration of the Kaufmann house “became a part of cultural history thanks to an iconic photo by Julius Shulman,” according to Dave Weinstein in CA Modern Magazine.  “The project did more than restore one of America’s most important 20th century houses … it helped the city of Palm Springs recover its love for all thing modern.”

www.eichlernetwork.com/desert_chron7.html

Another landmark photo is Shulman’s portrayal of Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #22 in Los Angeles, 1960, in which the edge of the house seems to float above Los Angeles’ evening lights while inside two women are seated, having a conversation.

Both photos seem to testify to the ability of the Modernist architect to transcend the limits of the natural world.

Shulman’s optimistic world view fit the Modernist era.

“He was the most optimistic person I’ve ever known,” said Santa Monica gallery owner Craig Krull who since 1991 was the exclusive gallery representing Shulman.  “That outlook was perfectly suited to a ‘translator’ of Modernism’s optimistic spirit — with its belief in the promise of the future and the capacity of technology to improve civilization.”

Shulman almost always used black and white film to better reduce his subjects to their geometric essentials.

www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/arts/design/17shulman.html

His “prodigious body of work is quintessential: luminous and memorably composed images highly evocative of time and place,” writes Sarah Amelar in a July, 2009 issue of Architectural Record.

www.archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/090728shulman.asp

“The clarity of his work demanded that architectural photography had to be considered as an independent art form,” according to Shulman’s biography in Wikipedia.

“Each Shulman image unites perception and understanding for the buildings and their place in the landscape.  The precise compositions reveal not just the architectural ideas behind a building’s surface, but also the visions and hopes of an entire age.  A sense of humanity is always present in his work even when the human figure is absent from the actual photographs.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Shulman

“But Shulman’s work went well beyond merely taking beautiful pictures of houses and buildings,” wrote Claudia Luther in the July 18, 2009 issue of the Los Angeles Times.

“His mission was to use his photography to build the reputation of the architects who were bringing innovative design to the West. Indeed, his photographs were, by and large, all that most people would ever see of noted architects’ works, many of which were later destroyed.”

www.latimes.com/new/obituaries/la-me-julius-shulman17-2009jul17,0,1393680.story

In 2005, The Getty Research Institute acquired his archives of more than a quarter million prints, negatives and transparencies.

In February 2008, the Palm Springs Art Museum presented “Julius Shulman: Palm Springs” with more than 200 photographs, illustrations, renderings and models, the largest Shulman exhibition ever presented to date, documenting a place that was so inspirational to Shulman.

www.psmuseum.org

Shulman’s last exhibit at Craig Krull’s Gallery was scheduled for July 4 through August 8, 2009.  But Shulman passed away at his home in Los Angeles July 15, 2009 at 98 years old.

Craig Krull Gallery will be opening a major survey of Shulman’s work in September, 2011, and a paperback edition of Julius Shulman Los Angeles by Christopher James Alexander is due out October 29.

Shulman’s work brought fame to a number of Mid-20th Century architects, left an invaluable record of the evolution of key buildings and their surroundings, and forged an unforgettable, inspiring archive of time and place.

Palm Springs and the California desert offer a living testament to the beauty and grace of Mid Century Modern homes and lifestyle.  For a tour of these homes currently for sale, contact Team Haverkate at Ralph@RHaverkate.com.

– 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

Welcome to Ralph Haverkate Real Estate Specializing in Mid Century Modern Homes in the California Desert

Dion Neutra, son of celebrated architect Richard Neutra and surviving partner in the storied architectural firm, invites Neutra fans to help celebrate the firm’s 85th anniversary next weekend in Los Angeles.

Dion plans a series of events that include a birthday party at the Eagle Recreation Center on Friday, April 8, which would be Richard Neutra’s  119th (b. April 8, 1892- d. April 16, 1970). On Saturday and Sunday are a symposium, reunion of Neutra owners, comprehensive walking tour of 10 Silver Lakes homes including the Lovell Health House, plus documentary films and VIP receptions at various Neutra designed sites in Los Angeles.  Ticket sales benefit the Van Der Leeuw Research house restoration and endowment, a 501 c 3 non-profit institute.

A ticket to all weekend events is $250 or separate tickets are available for each event.  To purchase  tickets and for specific information, go to

www.neutra.org/reserve-your-space.html.

The Austrian-born Richard Neutra, who emigrated to the United States in 1923, is best known for  combining Bauhaus modernism with Southern California building trends, creating a unique adaptation that became known as Desert Modernism.

At the Technical University of Vienna, Neutra studied under Adolf Loos , who was influential in European Modern Architecture. He was also influenced by Otto Wagner, a professor at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, who radically opposed the prevailing architectural styles.  Neutra  worked for a time in Germany in the studio of Erich Mendelsohn who practiced “dynamic functionalism.”

After coming to the US, Neutra worked briefly for Frank Lloyd Wright before collaborating with his close friend and university companion Rudolf Schindler, living and working communally in Schindler’s Kings Road House in California.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neutra

Neutra’s houses were dramatic, flat-surfaced industrialized looking building, constructed with glass, steel and reinforced concrete, and typically finished in stucco. His style was rigorously geometric but composed airy structures that created a modern regionalism for Southern California, a West Coast variation of the Mid-Century Modern residence.

Neutra was regarded for the careful attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project.  He sometimes used detailed questionnaires to discover his client’s needs, much to their surprise. His domestic architecture was a blend of art, landscape and practical comfort.

The Lovell House (1927-1929) in Los Angeles created a sensation in architectural circles both in Europe and America, as stylistically similar to Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.  A special tour of this house for the anniversary celebration takes place on Sunday, April 10 from noon to 5 p.m.

Later, Neutra designed a series of elegant pavilion-style homes composed of layered horizontal planes.  With extensive porches and patios, the homes appeared to merge with the surrounding landscape.  The Kaufman House (1946-47) in Palm Springs and the Tremaine House are examples of Neutra’s pavilion houses.

http://architecture.about.com/od/greaterarchitects/p/richardneurtra.html

The Kaufman House has twice been at the vanguard of new movements in architecture:  First by helping to shape postwar Modernism and later, as a result of a painstaking and expensive restoration in the late 1990s, spurred a revival of interest in mid-20th century homes, according to a New York Times review by Edward Wyatt.

This house is one of Neutra’s the best-known.  Its  unusual pin-wheel plan was designed for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann, became the last domestic project by the architect, and arguably his most famous.

The house became part of cultural history thanks to a 1947 photo by Julius Shulman that shows Mrs. Kaufmann reclining by the pool, the house glowing in the sunset.  The photo became one of the most reproduced architectural photographs ever.

www.eichlernetwork.com/desert_chron7.html

Neutra extended architectural space into carefully arranged landscapes.  The dramatic images of flat-surface, industrialized residential buildings contrasted against nature were popularized by Shulman’s  photography.

In his architectural firm, Neutra worked with several successful partners including his wife, Dione, from 1922; his protégé Robert Alexander, from 1949 to 1958 (the Alexander homes in Palm Springs); and his son Dion from 1965. In the early 1930s, Neutra’s Los Angeles practice trained several young architects who went on to independent success, including Gregory Ain, Harwell Hamilton Harris and Raphael Soriano.

Dion kept the Silver Lake offices designed and built by his father open as “Richard and Dion Neutra Architecture” in Los Angeles. The Neutra Office Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Richard_Neutra.html

An experienced and outspoken writer, Neutra adamantly believed that modern architecture must act as a social force in the betterment of mankind.

www.architectureweek.com/2002/0424/news_1-1.html

Neutra is one of many famous Mid Century Modern architects whose celebrated works abound in the California desert.  For a tour of significant Desert Modern homes and estates currently for sale, contact Ralph Haverkate Real Estate at Ralph@RHaverkate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

Palevsky Residence, Palm Springs, CA 1968

Welcome to Ralph Haverkate Real Estate Specializing in Mid Century Modern Homes in the California Desert

Craig Ellwood is credited with designing some of the most elegant modern homes built in California in the 1950s and 1960s, but he was not educated as an architect.  Greatly influenced by Mies van der Rohe as well as Charles Eames and Richard Neutra, Ellwood’s designs were characterized by exposed lightweight steel or timber framing, and by floating wall planes separated by a shadow line or “flash gap” detail.  Ellwood homes were spare, modernist and elegant.

On Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m.,  the Palm Springs Museum focuses on Ellwood’s work as the final seasonal lecture on the history of modernism architecture in Palm Springs.  A tour of Ellwood’s most significant Coachella Valley work, the Max Palevsky residence in Palm Springs, follows the lecture.  The late billionaire Palevsky was a computer technology pioneer, venture capitalist and philanthropist. Cost for the event is $25.  www.psmuseum.com.

An influential Los Angeles-based modernist whose career spanned the early 1950s through the mid-1970s, Ellwood was recognized for fusing the formalism of Mies van der Rohe with the more casual  California modernism, adapting the style into an accessible and fashionable vernacular.

The controversial designer fashioned a “persona” and career through his innate talent for good design, ambition and self-promotion.  If ever there was a product of Hollywood, it was architect Craig Ellwood.  Even his name was an invention:  Born Jon Nelson Burke in Clarendon, Texas, in 1922 his family moved to Los Angeles in 1937 where he attended Belmont High School.

After discharge from the Army Air Corps in 1946, Burke returned to Los Angeles and set up a company with his brother Cleve and two friends from the war, the Marzicola brothers, one of whom had a contractor’s license.  The four men named their firm “Craig Ellwood” after a liquor store called Lords and Elwood located in front of their offices.  Burke later legally changed his name to Ellwood and established Craig Ellwood Design in 1951.   www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Craig_Ellwood

Ellwood entered LA’s percolating, post World War II design world as a construction supervisor, draftsman and a cost estimator.  He worked for a construction company in Los Angeles while taking night classes at the University of California Los Angeles Extension Division.  One year before completing his studies, he and his partners established Craig Ellwood Associates in Los Angeles.

Ellwood learned hands-on about building in steel and plastic sheet before he studied architectural theory which gave him an understanding of steel construction and a practical application that eluded many contemporaries from architectural school.  His designs incorporated steel with thoughtful detailing and craftsmanship;  his trademark structural devise incorporated an exposed warren truss that used small member to span big distances.   www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Craig_Ellwood.html.

As a cost estimator for a firm of modern house builders — Lamport, Cofer, Salzman —  Jack Cofer asked Ellwood to design his first house for Milton Lappin in 1948.  Although an awkward  derivative of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sturges House in Brentwood, the house was published in the Los Angeles Times Home Magazine in 1950, bringing Ellwood recognition, further commissions, and encouraged him to set up, illegally, as Craig Ellwood, Architect.

Soon after he began co-designing homes, Ellwood met John Entenza, founder of the important Case Study House Program which commissioned and promoted modern, economical housing designs.  As editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, Entenza promoted the creative and cost-effective prefabricated, modular housing by publishing these demonstration houses, designed by such luminaries as Charles Eames, Eero Saarien, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Edward Killinsworth.  Ellwood eventually designed three Case Study houses all built with exposed steel frames and columns.

His first commission outside of Los Angeles, in 1955 for Charles and Gerry Bobertz in San Diego, Ellwood designed an early example of what later came to be called Ellwood’s “wall houses,” named because of an unrelenting street facade and the defining, perpendicular rhythms and materials of interior and exterior walls.

Behind the stark street facade, however, logically arranged living area unfold, flooded with natural light from windows and skylights.  Eight-foot tall floor to ceiling glass doors open the house to the back yard and a children’s courtyard.  Inside, partition walls, capped with bands of glass that meet the wood ceilings, seem to float.   www.legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/2006/09/03/news_mzlhs03moder.html

The enigmatic exterior wall theme continued when Ellwood designed the Palevsky home on West Cielo Drive in 1968 on what was then described as “the best site in Palm Springs.”  Based on Casablanca desert  style homes that were white-walled compounds with structures set within rectangular walls, the minimalist Palevsky home is integrated into its boulder-strewn site.

www.palmspringsarchitectureblogspot.com/2010/05/max-palevsky-residence.html

Often formal in arrangement, sometimes symmetrical in plan and frequently launching into the landscape, Ellwood houses populated the more exclusive Los Angeles suburb including Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Pasadena.

Although Ellwood’s style translated less well in large commercial projects, the Scientific Data Systems site in El Segundo, (1968) where the administration and manufacturing buildings are pavilions in an open landscape, achieved a successful expression.  Ellwood’s last building, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, was conceived as a huge truss spanning a canyon, a final, successful realization of a theme often repeated in his earlier buildings.

Although Ellwood’s work is limited in Palm Springs, the California desert is a treasure trove of remarkable, architecturally significant homes and estates by some of the world’s most prominent Mid Century Modern architects.  For a personal tour of significant homes for sale in the area, contact Ralph Haverkate at Ralph@RHaverkate.com.

–Pamela Bieri

Welcome to Team Haverkate Real Estate Specializing in Mid-Century Modern Homes For Sale in the California Desert.

Alexander Weekend tickets are now on sale!

The Alexander Weekend,  March 25-27, celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation’s inaugural event in 2001 that first recognized the Alexander Construction Company’s significant contributions to modernist residential architecture in Palm Springs.

In conjunction with its first Great Alexander Weekend, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation published a tribute journal entitled When Mod Went Mass: A Celebration of Alexander Homes. The weekend and tribute journal launched a growing appreciation of the seminal role the Alexander Construction Company played in the creation of Palm Springs’ “built environment.”  It also brought to the forefront the architectural importance of those Alexander-built tract homes designed by architects William Krisel and Donald Wexler.

This year, a new commemorative tribute journal devoted to the Alexanders is entitled The Alexander: A Desert Legacy and written by architect/author Jim Harlan.

The Alexander Company, founded by George Alexander and his son Robert, was a Palm Springs based residential development company that built more than 2,200 homes in the desert between 1947 and 1965.  The “Alexanders,” as these homes are now  known, doubled Palm Springs residential population, giving the city a whole new shape and direction.  www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Construction_Company.

Key to the Alexanders’ success was the talented young architect Krisel, partner in the Los Angeles firm Palmer and Krisel, Inc. and a close friend of Bob Alexander.   www.psmodcom.com/Architects%20pages/PalmerKrisel.

The Alexanders’ foray into desert tract homes began with Twin Palms Estates, named for two palm trees included in the front landscaping of each home.  Hallmarks were a single story, open floor plan with an indoor-outdoor feeling enhanced by skylights, sliding glass doors, and an interior atrium.

Three quarter walls divided the main room to provide abundant light, eliminating the need for full framed walls, molding and trim, so created a clean contemporary look.  Exposed tongue-and-groove planks and beamed ceilings also enhanced the room’s soaring architectural lines.  The same floor plan repeated within the housing development saved construction and materials costs.

Krisel was involved with every facet of design, planning, engineering and construction.  From site and landscape choices to interior colors and trim, each house was oriented and embellished differently, making the Alexanders look like a collection of individualized custom homes.

Other Palmer & Krisel projects included the Ocotillo Lodge, Vista Las Palmas, Racquet Club Estates, Sandpiper condominiums in Palm Desert, and the famous “House of Tomorrow” also known as the “Elvis Presley Honeymoon Hideaway.”  Robert Alexander and his wife lived in this house for a time, featured in Look Magazine in September, 1962.

From as early as the 1920s and through the 1970s, an impressive roster of talented architects have been captivated by Palm Springs:  R.M. Schindler, Richard Neutra, and Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright’s son); young Swiss architect Albert Frey whose work profoundly influenced desert architecture; and regional modernists William F. Cody, E. Stewart Williams, Wexler and Krisel.

Each made their mark with “striking custom homes, impressive commercial complexes, hotels and motels, commanding civic and educational campuses … and created an architectural treasury of great consequence and innovation in and around Palm Springs,” writes Robert Imber  in his story on The Alexander Homes.  www.eichlernetwork.com/desert_chron1.html.

Imber noted that Palm Springs remained a sleepy seasonal village until postwar American affluence and growing families began to emerge with a demand for mass market housing.  Coupled with the fact that Palm Springs already was a discrete playground for Hollywood’s elite, a bevy of builders and architects grew to fill the increasing demand for year round residential and well as seasonal vacation homes.

The Alexander Weekend includes a free Kick Off event with Jim Harlan’s lively, entertaining overview of the Alexander Construction Company’s post-war housing stock in Palm Springs on Friday, March 25, 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Canyon Conference Center.  Panelists include architects Krisel and Wexler along with author Alan Hess and architect/author Patrick McGrew discussing the lasting impact the Alexanders made on Palm Springs post-war building boom.

Join Honorary Chair Jill Alexander Kitnick at the Opening Night Cocktail Party on Friday, 8 to 10 p.m. and be among the first to preview the new tribute journal.   The party will be held in a Krisel-designed “long butterfly” home in Twin Palms, an example of the Alexanders’ early work that has never been open to the public.  A specialty cocktail has been created to celebrate the event.

The Alexanders had five distinctive rooflines:  The classic butterfly;  a flat roof with side or front entry; narrow gabled roof with front or side entry; wide gable roof; and side gabled roof with clerestory windows.

Modernist Home Tour I on Saturday, March 26, includes two of the Alexander Construction Company’s most important modernist neighborhoods, Twin Palms and Vista Las Palmas, showcasing fine examples of mid-century residential architecture including “Butterfly,” “Swiss Miss” and other Alexander rooflines.  www.eichlernetwork.com/desert_chron1.html.

The tour also includes the “House of Tomorrow,” considered one of the most innovative modernist residences built at that time.  Tour times are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and includes a one-hour lunch break.   www.elvishoneymoon.com.

The second day of the Modernist Home Tour on Sunday, March 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. uncovers more of the Alexander Construction Company’s legacy with tours of the Krisel-designed Racquet Club Road Estates and the Sunmor neighborhood, along with the Wexler-designed Green Fairway Estates neighborhood.  www.racquetclubestates.com

Harlan will be on hand to sign his new book at Just Fabulous bookstore, 515 N. Palm Canyon Drive, during a complimentary book signing from 3 to 5 p.m.

The opening night cocktail party is $50 per person; Modernist Home Tour I is $85 and Modernist Home Tour II is $45.  The AW multi-pass option at $165 offers the best value and includes the exclusive Friday night cocktail party and two full days of house tours, a $15 savings to all events.

For tickets and reservations, log onto www.pspreservationfoundation.org

“We are proud to be partners in celebrating the annual Modernism Week and the Alexander Weekend, ” said Ralph Haverkate of Team Haverkate Real Estate.  “Both events further the cause of historic preservation in the Palm Springs area, so that for years to come we will have something tangible to celebrate, to own and pass down to future generations.”

Citywide, the collection of Alexanders range from 1,225 square feet in the Racquet Club Road Estates at the north end to over 2,500 square feet in the Vista Las Palmas, Golden Vista,  Mountain View, and Green Fairway Estates nearer to the center of town.  These were originally priced from $16,950 to $50,000.  Today, the Alexanders are highly sought after and refurbished sells from $400,000 to well over one million dollars.

For a personal tour of Wexler and Krisel designed Alexander homes and estates for sale in the Palm Springs area, contact Ralph@RHaverkate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

Welcome to Ralph Haverkate’s Modern Homes Blog

Retro Martini Party, February 25, 2011 at the William F. Cody-Designed Jorgensen-Mavis House

Benefits PS Preservation Foundation

Join event sponsor Haverkate Real Estate at the 2011 Retro Martini Party on Friday, February 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Jorgensen-Mavis House, designed by Desert Modernist Architect William F. Cody, in Thunderbird Country Club.

Tickets are $125 per person and benefit the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.  Pre-paid tickets are available only at www.pspreservationfoundation.org. Attendees will receive a complimentary William F. Cody Tribute Journal.

Dress in your swankiest “rat pack” threads!

One of Palm Springs’ noted Mid Century Modern architects, William Cody left his indelible mark throughout the desert and Southern California with dozens of public buildings, country clubs and private homes.

Among Cody’s first desert designs were the 1947 Del Marcos Hotel followed by numerous Palm Springs projects, notably the conversion of the Thunderbird Dude Ranch to the Thunderbird Country Club and later Tamarisk and El Dorado country clubs, the Racquet Club and the Tennis Club.

While many of these clubhouses have been demolished and rebuilt or heavily remodeled, Cody’s work is still very much alive in custom residences throughout the desert such as the Jorgensen-Mavis residence (1954) that is featured at the Retro Martini event, and landmark buildings, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church and Convent (1966-688), the Palm Springs Library (1973), The Tennis Club Condominiums, and the dramatic entrance of the Spa Hotel (1962) among others.  www.moderndeserthome.com/index.php/architects/william-cody

His Mid-Century Modern classic, The Horizon Hotel (also called L’Horizon), built in 1952 and located at 1050 East Palm Canyon Drive, was rebuilt from the ground up in 2004, restoring the original architecture and updating its amenities. www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2008_1st/Feb08_HorizonPS.html

The hotel was acquired by Dave Scharf, a real estate developer from Portland, Oregon, who commissioned architect and former Cody associate Frank Urrutia to complete the two-year renovation.  Scharf obtained the original blueprints and numerous vintage photographs of the hotel by famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman, to preserve much of the hotel’s original character.

The results highlight Cody’s design throughout.  Most notably are its low slung ceilings and absence of any 90-degree angles.  The 22-bungalow style rooms feature 102 and 78 degree angles.  The Horizon Hotel spotlights Cody’s influence on the rich architectural history in Palm Springs.

Cody originally built the hotel for Hollywood mogul Jack Wrather and his wife actress Bonita Granville, best known for her portrayal as Nancy Drew in the Nancy Drew movies series from 1938-39.

Wrather, an oil millionaire from Texas, became part of the Hollywood scene by producing “Lassie” and “The Lone Ranger” founding KCET-TV and building the Disneyland Hotel.  The Horizon Hotel became the couple’s getaway for themselves and their many Hollywood friends including Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Rosalind Russell.  www.thehorizonhotel.com.

Born in 1916 in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Los Angeles, Cody began working in architecture in the 1930s with Cliff May while attending the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture.  He received his degree in 1942.

In 1945, Cody was retained to alter the Desert Inn, his first Palm Springs commission.  He completed the Del Marcos hotel in 1947, a work that was recognized by the Southern California chapter of the AIA.

During Post World War II, Cody’s work flourished in Palm Springs and he moved his practice and family here in 1950. In 1960, he began nearly a decade of work altering and expanding the Palm Springs Spa Hotel.  His specialization in country clubs let to commissions in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco as well as Phoenix, Scottsdale and Lake Havasu, Arizona, and even projects in Mexico and Cuba.

www.lib.calpoly.edu/specialcollections

Cody had quite a reputation for carousing, earning the moniker “Wild  Bill,” according to fellow architect Don Wexler with whom Cody worked in the 1950s. Yet his work was exceptionally focused on the details of his designs, pushing the boundaries of his materials.

Author Adele Cygelman wrote, “Joints and door frames seemingly disappeared into walls,  He merged living rooms into terraces and gardens. Roofs jutted out twelve feet to shield the walls of glass.  Pattern and texture came from the tile floors, carved wood panels, and concrete-block screens with geometric motifs, all of which were meticulously designed by Cody to match each other precisely at the seams and angles where the planes met.”

Architectural critic Arthur Hess said of Cody’s work that “a distinct character can be seen in all of them.  It is a restless energy that brings a liveliness to his plans, elevations and details.  The radical thinness of Cody roofs or the daring reach of a cantilever are clearly the result of a wrestling match between the architect and the materials and the laws of physics; that energy and striving remains in the building.”

Hess notes that “the fact that Cody could take an established vocabulary and style and reinterpret it so vividly ranks him among the best of mid-century California designers.”

www.activerain.com/blogsview/1174597/willian-f-cody-faia-famed-mid-century-architect

In a recently re-published story and interview with Cody from the August 1964 issue of Palm Springs Life, Cody describes his philosophy of architecture:

“Architecture must guide the future of our culture, a three-dimensional sculptured concept conditioned by proportion, the secret of great building.  Father to the arts, it embraces man’s finest endeavors and, since the inception of time, has inspired progress and served to formulate a better way of life.”

www.palmspringsrealestatenews.com/palm-springs-noted-architect-william-cody

Palm Springs and the California desert are a treasure trove of Mid-Century Modern homes, many of which were designed by William Cody.   For a tour of Cody’s and other architectural masterpieces available for sale, contact Ralph@ RHaverkate. com.

– Pamela Bieri

Welcome to Ralph Haverkate Real Estate, Your Source for Mid Century Modern Homes in Palm Springs

Iconic Architect Albert Frey Established Palm Springs as Mecca for Mid Century Modern Style

Rare Chance to Visit the Clark/Frey Designed Stephens House on December 11, 1 – 3 p.m.

Join The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation on Saturday, December 11, 2010 from 1-3PM to experience the Stephens House (1949), an early example of modernist residential architecture by the firm of John Porter Clark and Albert Frey.

For students of both American popular culture and architecture, the Stephens House is particularly remarkable as it appeared in the September 1955 issue of House Beautiful where it helped introduce the idea of “The Family Room” to post-war America.

Sited on a huge triangular lot in the Palo Verdes Tract, the deceptively large, single-story home has rarely ever been available for touring. Members of the Stephens family are scheduled to attend the event. Light hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Tickets are available at http://www.pspreservationfoundation.org/stephenshouse.html .

Swiss-born architect Albert Frey’s contributions to modern architecture in the Palm Springs desert region significantly established the area as a progressive mecca for innovative design.  Frey’s work, and that of his colleagues John Porter Clark and Robson Chambers, became known as desert modernism, creating a regional vernacular for the style that originated in Europe and translated into the American post war psyche. http://mid-century-modern.net/albert-frey/.

Most of Frey’s residential, commercial, institutional and civic buildings are still in use and now highly regarded for their architectural significance. With one of the largest collections of Mid-Century Modern architecture in the country, Palm Springs is a virtual museum of the desert modern style.

Frey is credited with such landmarks as the Palm Springs City Hall (1952) www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station (1949-63) www.pstramway.com, the iconic winged Tramway Gas Station (1965), the Loewy House (1946-67), the Frey House I (1940 with a later notable addition), Frey House II (1963-64), Fire Station No. 1, an Alpha Beta Food Market (1960 and since torn down), and the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club at the Salton Sea (1962), which was restored this year as a community center and museum www.saltonseamuseum.org and www.psmodcom.com/Architects%20Pages/AlbertFrey.html)

Early Years in Europe

Frey received his architect’s diploma from the Institute of Technology in Winterthur in 1924, but trained in traditional building construction rather than design, which in vogue at that time was the neo-classical Beaux-Arts Style.  He was always interested fundamentally in building , and spent summer vacations working in construction. http://en.wikipedia.org/Albert_Frey_architect.

“One reason I was not interested in becoming an Architect was because what was being built in Switzerland at the time was not that interesting, very traditional houses and chalets and things like that,” he said in an interview www.volume5.com/albertfrey/architect-albert-frey-interview.

In Europe, Frey could not help but become more and more aware of the growing modernism movements:  the Dutch De Stijl and German Bauhaus school in particular.

“But then I went to Brussels and discovered the work of Le Corbusier in books and magazines and decided to work for him,” he said.

He soon secured a position with Le Corbusier and associate, Pierre Jeanneret, in Paris.  With Le Corbusier, he worked on the Villa Savoye and other significant projects.  Then, in 1928 Frey left the atelier for work in the United States, continuing the friendship with Le Corbusier for many years.

“At the time, the building techniques in America were more advanced than in Europe,” said Frey in the interview.  “The prefabrication of things was much farther along and that was something that really interested me.”

Frey was the first practicing architect in America to have worked directly with Le Corbusier.  In New York, he partnered with A.L. Kocher and the two developed the innovative Aluminaire House for an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.

Kocher was also the managing editor of Architectural Record, an important publication through which Frey, Kocher and their contemporaries contributed to the American modernist movement through articles on urban planning, technology and the modernist aesthetic.

Although Hocher and Frey only built four buildings together, one of their commissions was a dual-use office and apartment building for Kocher’s brother, Dr. J.J. Kocher of Palm Springs, the Kocher-Samson building (1934-35), a project that brought Frey to the California desert.

Palm Springs Years

The California desert became Frey’s home and its rugged terrain, windswept sand dunes and intense sun became the inspiration for most of his subsequent work.

From 1935 to 1937, Frey worked with John Porter Clark under the firm of Van Pelt and Lind Architects, as neither were yet licensed in California.

Frey briefly returned  to the east coast to work on the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and there married Marion Cook whom he had met in Palm Springs. The newlyweds went to France aboard the great art deco ocean liner, the SS Normandie, and returned to New York in 1938.

After completing  work on the Museum of Modern Art in 1939, the Freys returned to Palm Springs and Albert resumed his collaboration with Clark which continued for another 20 years.

After World War II ended, Palm Springs emerged as a post-war resort community attracting the Hollywood elite, east coast industrialists and the broader American population who had more leisure time and money than any generation before.  Palm Springs’ population tripled and a building boom brought fresh opportunities for Frey and Clark in an unprecedented period of construction.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Frey_architect

Frey and Clark were well positioned to capitalize on the boon, although then, the traditional ranch style home was in demand.  They built some 50 ranch style homes in the Smoke Tree Ranch development.

“Clark was trained in traditional so he would do those jobs and I would do the progressive ones,” Frey said in the interview.  “You can always introduce new ideas even in traditional architecture.”

Frey was commissioned to build a home for industrial designer Raymond Loewy (The Loewy House, 1946-47,) and built his own home, Frey House ! (1940), later adding a circular metal “nautical” second story and pool.

The nautical porthole addition seemed a precedent to Frey’s North Shore Beach and  Yacht Club  built in 1962 when it became California’s largest marina. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_shore_Beach_and_Yacht_Club

On May 1 of this year, the restored yacht club was reopened to the public after many years of being abandoned and vandalized http://saltonseamuseum.org

Frey House II Built on Rock

Frey House II built on the flank of hillside in Palm Springs reflects Frey’s interpretation of architecture within the environment.  Why he chose such a seemingly inhospitable site:

“Well, I am from Switzerland and I kept looking up at these mountains,” said Frey.”I thought someday I would like to live up there and look down.  So for five years I looked, and it was just luck that I found it. There was only a turnaround in the road and no flat pad to put a house, just rock.  So I was able to buy the property from the owner.  But when he saw what I did, he was sorry he had sold it to me.”

Frey described how the house grew out of his observation of the site:

“One thing is to understand how the sun is positioned,” he said.  “See the sun is very low in the winter and comes in to help heat the house. In the summer, it is very high and is kept out by the overhang of the roof.  It does not even come through the glass into the house. So that is why the overhang of the roof is this way.”

“I had a very careful survey made showing the contours and all the rock. Then I put up some strings to see how the design would work out. We then established the levels and then I had to fit the glass to the rock. The best way was to put up an aluminum channel straight and clear of the rock, and then fill in the spaces with rock and color mortar. Now you can hardly see the mortar,” he explained.

“The slope of the roof follows the slope of the terrain. The contrast between the natural rock and the high tech materials is rather exciting, I think. Rather than imitate it, you know, the contrast is more interesting,” he said.

A Legacy of Landmark Architecture

Among the most recognized of Frey’s public buildings are the Palm Springs City Hall, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station and the “flying wedge” canopy of the Tramway Gas Station, now also a visitor center at the northwest gateway into Palm Springs. http://mid-century-modern.net/albert-frey/

What inspired Frey to design City Hall with offset block:

“I had just returned from a trip around the world when we got that job and I was very inspired by what I had seen,” he said.  “You can see that when you use block like that, you can get a much better proportion to the walls. The corners lap like a log cabin’s corner.  I tried to use the materials the way they should be used naturally.  Of course I used a lot of metal. I feel why lift concrete overhead? Use lighter materials and it is better for earthquakes as well.

Frey’s aesthetic and practical sense was to keep the mass to the ground with a light frame above.

“In the City Hall Counsel Chamber, you notice the walls are splayed, that was acoustically determined,” he noted.  ”I worked on schemes for Le Corbusier where he had a consultant for acoustical engineering. The League of Nations Building’s shape was based on acoustics. There was not electrical amplification at that time and you had to be heard. The ceiling way was baffled as well in the same way. So it was a very inspiring way of designing.”

What was Frey’s design process?

“Well, of course, it starts in the head, then I make sketches, from there I quite often make a model in order to explain it to the client,” he said. “For instance, the gas station up there, it was very difficult for the City to visualize it from a drawing. So I make a little model to show them that all the beams are straight. Which is an interesting principle, yet it makes a curved roof.”

Modernism Lectures and Tours

In 1998 at the age of 95, the iconic Swiss architect died in his sleep at home and is buried at Welwood Murray Cemetery in Palm Springs.  He bequeathed the Frey House II to the Palm Springs Museum, but to preserve the site, the house is generally not open to the public.

However, Frey is the subject of a lecture at the museum on February 22-23 by Bill Butler.  Call (760) 322-4837or visit www.psmuseum.org.

Frey’s work will also be included during Modernism Week, February 17-27. Call (760) 219-4599 or visit online at www.modernisweek.com for locations.

When visiting the Palm Springs area, contact Ralph Haverkate Real Estate for a tour of quality designed desert modern homes for sale. www.ralphhaverkate.com

– Pamela Bieri