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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Wallpaper* gift guides: architecture expert Ellie Stathaki would like…Architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki talks us through her shopping wish list for festive gift inspiration, and beyond
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Design is key in TAG Heuer’s end-of-year watch releasesTAG Heuer is embracing exciting materials and new collaborations, capping off a big year; discover the new Fragment and Monaco limited editions
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A new bungalow in Ljubljana is infused with the spirit of placeA bungalow set in the pioneering low-rise eco development of Murgle, the House under the Poplars trades grand architectural gestures for quiet innovation
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Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hillsThe restored and updated Jules Salkin Residence by John Lautner is a unique piece of Californian design heritage, an early private house by the Frank Lloyd Wright acolyte that points to his future iconic status
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The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
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The Stahl House – an icon of mid-century modernism – is for sale in Los AngelesAfter 65 years in the hands of the same family, the home, also known as Case Study House #22, has been listed for $25 million
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Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fountainhead will be opened to the public for the first timeThe home, a defining example of the architect’s vision for American design, has been acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art, which will open it to the public, giving visitors the chance to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius firsthand
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Clad in terracotta, these new Williamsburg homes blend loft living and an organic feelThe Williamsburg homes inside 103 Grand Street, designed by Brooklyn-based architects Of Possible, bring together elegant interiors and dramatic outdoor space in a slick, stacked volume
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This ethereal Miami residence sprouted out of a wild, jungle-like gardenA Miami couple tapped local firm Brillhart Architecture to design them a house that merged Florida vernacular, Paul Rudolph and 'too many plants to count’
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Tour Cano House, a Los Angeles home like no other, full of colour and quirkCano House is a case study for tranquil city living, cantilevering cleverly over a steep site in LA’s Mount Washington and fusing California modernism with contemporary flair
