If you missed the chance to visit Wave House during Palm Springs Modernism Week earlier this year, fear not; a new virtual tour is sure to immerse you into the world of desert modernism from the comfort of your sofa.
The residence, a listed monument in the National Register of Historic Places, unveiled its refresh by Los Angeles based Stayner Architects in February this year. The team was thrilled to be able to breathe new life to this midcentury classic, which was created by architect Walter White, designed and built for artist Miles C Bates in 1954.
‘I hope to find clients in my career like Miles Bates was to Walter White — open to architectural experimentation, enthusiastic about marrying formal invention and environmental sustainability, and willing to explore new modes of living in an arid and unforgiving climate,’ studio founder Christian Stayner told us at the time.
Working with archive photography and White’s old drawings, Stayner and his colleagues meticulously went through every room and every angle in order to create a representation of the original building that felt as close to the 1950s iteration and as authentic as possible.
‘The new construction is deferential to the original house,’ Stayner told us back in February, ‘but definitely in conversation with Walter White.’ Now, revived and styled to perfect, Wave House is a true desert modernist gem come alive, its curving roof mimicking the San Jacinto Mountains behind it.
But you don’t need to physically be in Palm Springs to experience it. The architects have orchestrated a live video house tour together with The 20th Century Society on 25 June, alongside a discussion between John Going of Stayner Architects, Volker Welter, the leading architectural historian on Walter S. White, and The 20th Century Society’s Catherine Croft. Tune in for a taster of midcentury architecture and life in the Californian desert. §
