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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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekMuch of our team was in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design this week. For those left basking in the London heatwave, it was architecture workshops, photography exhibitions and two very different performances: ballet and Britpop
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The best bars in London for bartending greatnessFrom chic hotel cocktail classics to game-changing flavour combinations, our resident drinks correspondent, Neil Ridley, explores ten of the best bars in London
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Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamFrom 20-23 June, Milan Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the Italian fashion capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
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A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxuryThis coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
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Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
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The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside outFor the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
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Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think soFor some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
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Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summerA Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
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A night at Pierre Jeanneret’s house, Chandigarh’s best-kept secretPierre Jeanneret’s house in Chandigarh is a modernist monument, an important museum of architectural history, and a gem hidden in plain sight; architect, photographer and writer Nipun Prabhakar spent the night and reported back
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A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bonesWe step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
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A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New YorkThe Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas
