California

By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated 2 November 22

Art icon Helen Pashgian’s optically majestic sculptures are a lesson in perception, as featured in the April 2022 issue of Wallpaper*. Pashgian’s solo exhibition ‘Presences’ at Site Santa Fe runs until 27 March 2022

By Hunter Drohojowska-Philp Last updated 28 October 22

By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated 28 October 22

By Ali Morris Last updated 28 October 22

By Charlotte Jansen Last updated 26 October 22

By Michael Slenske Last updated 25 October 22

While contributing only a few seminal projects to Palm Springs, Pereira (1909-85) defined the town’s rich architectural heritage. Pereira’s most famous scheme in the area is arguably Palm Spring’s J. W. Robinson’s Department Store, a large-scale structure in the centre of town, on South Palm Canyon Drive.

By Ellie Stathaki Last updated 21 October 22

There must be something about all that sunshine and blue-on-blue sky, but Palm Springs has long lured a particular tribe of traveller – savvy, design-conscious, and fastidious about their choice of lodgings. Aiding the cause is the area’s haul of classic mid-century architecture, many of which, thanks to generous proportions and outdoor spaces, have been successfully co-opted or refurbished as bright and cheerful hotels.

By Daven Wu Last updated 19 October 22

By Maxwell Williams Last updated 18 October 22

Most influential in the realm of public and cultural life, Williams’ (1909-2005) legacy can be seen all over town. He’s the architect behind the Palm Springs Art Museum (1976) and the Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan building (1960) and the Aerial Tramway Station (1963) – a refuge for hikers and wildlife lovers, 2,600m above the town in the San Jacinto Mountains

By Harriet Thorpe Last updated 18 October 22

By Michael Slenske Last updated 13 October 22

Few places capture the public imagination like California. The Golden State on the American West Coast is the stuff of myth, movie and modernism; and these modernist houses – which are currently up for sale – could be just the excuse to make the move

By Ellie Stathaki Last updated 13 October 22

High Desert Retreat by Aidlin Darling Design is a desert home that negotiates crisp modernism and clean geometries within an arid, natural setting

By Ellie Stathaki Last updated 12 October 22

By Luke Halls Last updated 12 October 22

By Daisy Alioto Last updated 11 October 22

By Ellie Stathaki Last updated 10 October 22

During this year's Palm Springs Modernism Week visitors can explore William F. Cody's Racquet Club Cottages West, a residential complex including 54 original cottages, set within a wider campus frequented in the past by the likes of Clarke Gable and Frank Sinatra. Now privately owned by individuals, the villas are lovingly kept and preserved by the community of modernism enthusiasts: ‘The Cottages evoke the romance of the ‘old Palm Springs' like no other property in the desert,’ says one of them

By Ellie Stathaki Last updated 10 October 22

In 2012 (W* 152), we met architects Donald Wexler (1926-2015) and William Krisel (1924-2017), in their natural habitat, Palm Springs, a place that they, along with Albert Frey, E Stewart Williams and William Cody, turned from dust to diamonds. Wexler earned his reputation as an innovator with his steel-framed prefabs, going on to design the second home for actress Dinah Shore, while Krisel, architect of the Twin Palms Estates an elegant tract of holiday homes, was renowned for designing a slew of housing from LA to the San Fernando Valley. Both architects had Palm Springs in common, and lived to watch their legacies unfold.

By Emma O'Kelly Last updated 8 October 22

Many contemporary architects working today have been inspired by the modernist architecture of Palm Springs. Modernism Week brings them back to the desert town for a series of events that focus on the work of contemporary architects from restorations and renovations, to obsessions and design expressions

By Harriet Thorpe Last updated 7 October 22

Tommy Fitzpatrick’s new series of electric-hued architectural paintings capture the American artist's 30-year fascination with modernism

By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated 7 October 22

The latest addition to California wine and art destination Donum Estate – the Vertical Panorama Pavilion by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann’s Studio Other Spaces – celebrates the soil, landscape and weather that make wine possible

By TF Chan Last updated 6 October 22

By Janelle Zara Last updated 30 September 22

By Elly Parsons Last updated 22 September 22

A Sonoma Valley house celebrates its surroundings

By Philippine Wright Last updated 16 September 22