Has the weather turned grey, making you long for summer? The Palm Springs Modernism Week Fall Preview (running 14 – 17 October 2021 with some 50 events) is here to remedy that, offering a glimpse of what might be on offer during the annual architectural festival in the West Coast of America. Desert Modernism? Check. Lush poolside parties? Check. City-wide tours, exhibitions and house visits? Check, check, check. This is the ultimate way to get to know the architects who built Palm Springs. Get ready for the autumn preview – a slice of what's to come during the 2022 Palm Springs Modernism Week in February’s full-blown extravaganza (scheduled for 17 – 27 February 2022), which celebrates desert building, modernist architecture, Californian lifestyle, and good old-fashioned Palm Springs glamour.
A taster of the 2022 Palm Springs Modernism Week Preview
Twin Palms guided walking tour
Hugh Kaptur (b. 1931) is one of Palm Springs’ most prolific architects and part of a group of modernists who defined Desert Modernism. Pictured here is his house for Hollywood actor Steve McQueen. Photography: Mark Davidson, excerpted from the publication Hollywood Modern (Rizzoli, 2018)
Take this walking tour for an insider's look into one of Palm Springs’ most coveted and older neighbourhoods for midcentury architecture. Peek into homes and stroll around blocks to admire the works of Hugh Kaptur, William Krisel, Donald Wexler, and more, accompanied by juicy information from the tour's knowledgeable guides.
Frank Sinatra's neighbourhood
The four-bedroom Twin Palms, which was infamous as a party house during Sinatra’s second marriage, to Ava Gardner, features a swimming pool shaped like a grand piano.
This tour takes you through the old stomping grounds of one of the most famous American stars of all time. Frank Sinatra's modernist home by renowned architect E Stewart Williams is, of course, part of the package, but there's more, from midcentury gems to Spanish revival abodes.
Master of the Midcentury: The Architecture of William F Cody
Goldberg House designed by William Cody in Palm Springs in 1962
This lecture offers everything you need to know about one of Palm Springs’ most iconic architects. Open and free for all, the one-hour event ‘chronicles modernist architect William F Cody’s significant contributions to Palm Springs’ built environment'.
Frey House II Tour
Albert Frey was well known in the Palm Springs architecture scene for having designed some of the town’s most iconic houses. Pictured here, a key example, Frey House II
Another Palm Springs classic, the Frey House II comes with an arid, rocky location, amazing views of the city and the finest, experimental midcentury architecture. This house tour is complemented by a Palm Springs Art Museum tour (a fine architectural jewel in itself, designed in 1974, by E Stewart Williams). Don't let this rare opportunity to visit this house by modernist Albert Frey pass you by.
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Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album coverThe compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
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Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for danceJacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
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What to see at Rencontres d’Arles 2025, questioning power structures in the state and familySuppressed memories resurface in sharply considered photography at Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Here are some standout photographers to see
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Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
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A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners’ passionsArchitect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts, have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic midcentury modern works; they invited us on a tour
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Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heartThe dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
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A guide to modernism’s most influential architectsFrom Bauhaus and brutalism to California and midcentury, these are the architects who shaped modernist architecture in the 20th century
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Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlightDiscover the little-known modernist architect through this private home in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture countryside
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Eileen Gray: A guide to the pioneering modernist’s life and workGray forever shaped the course of design and architecture. Here's everything to know about her inspiring career
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Discover Canadian modernist Daniel Evan White’s pitch-perfect homesCanadian architect Daniel Evan White (1933-2012) had a gift for using the landscape to create extraordinary homes; revisit his story in an article from the Wallpaper* archives (first published in 2011)
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Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in CaliforniaA minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
