Modernism Week
Ah, Modernism Week in Palm Springs—a delightful convergence of design, history, and culture. Visiting this iconic event has long been on my radar, and this year, I was determined to immerse myself Mid-Century Modern architecture.
Modernism Week, held biannually with the February edition boasting a larger scale, showcases the epitome of Mid-Century Modern architecture that defines Palm Springs. With a plethora of home tours, lectures, museum exhibitions, and glamorous parties - it's a celebration of the architectural modernism movement that revolutionized design in the 20th century.
As described on getty.edu, Modern Architecture is: “architecture designed and built within the social, artistic, and cultural attitude known as Modernism. It put an emphasis on experimentation, the rejection of predetermined “rules,” and freedom of expression in art, literature, architecture, and music. The Modern Movement in architecture was born in the 20th century and really took off after World War I. Advancements in engineering, building materials, social equality, health, and industry converged, while past historical styles were rejected. This created a perfect storm that allowed architecture to enter a new era of design.”
Without getting into too much backstory on Palm Springs, the key points are: celebrities, design freedom and wonderful weather. These factors meant there was money to be spent in this California hideaway from the 1930’s through the 1970’s on new architecture. The homes I visited during my time at Modernism Week were built throughout the 1960’s. Mid-Century Modern design allowed architects and designers the luxury of working with materials that were engineered during World War II - lots of corrugated steel, expansive glass, concrete and a plethora of innovative finishes. You can see all these elements in the homes showcased during Modernism Week!
For all you still with me, and interested in attending the event in the future. I’ll dive into what I was able to accomplish during my short stay and what I’d love to do next time!
At 5:00 in the morning of Friday, I started my four hour drive to Palm Springs. My first tour of the Frey House II started at 10:00am. Thankfully, the little traffic and quick stop in Barstow landed me at the museum parking lot at 9:30am - where I waited for the 10:00 shuttle to the home resting on top of the hillside.
One thing I learned about timing of these tours, with them being self guided, an allotment of 30 minutes per home is doable. If you happen to catch a volunteer talking about the space, you may end up needed 45 minutes. These are not giant homes, they are manageable - some like Frey House II are under 1,000 square feet.
The Frey House II tour is a must! I was just in awe of the views, thoughtfulness of the design and the engineering behind the home.
Since the home was donated to the museum after the architect’s passing, I’d hope this is an annual event. The Architecture Museum in Palm Springs might offer tours throughout the year, if you want to check into it!
The next home I visited was the newly completed Shag House. The artist created a vibrant world of his own art - it was fun to see! You can tell he had a blast renovating the home.
Most of the homes on the Modernism Week schedule are within 10-15 minutes of each other. The Launtner Compound was located in Desert Hot Springs - a town across a dusty bowl of windmills from Palm Springs. This drive took about 25 minutes, maybe 30 once you accounted for the “water crossing” that slowed traffic in order to safely drive over a shallow river that ran across the road. At the compound, I toured the original property of individual unities that were just incredible. You could tell Launtner was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, so that was fun to instantly see the relationship (and did a quick Google to confirm my hunch). The current owners have built more onto the property and now you can stay in the original homes or rent the entire compound out for weddings or events.
The last tour of the day was the House of Tomorrow - famously known for being the location of Elvis and Pricilla’s honeymoon. The architecture of this home was so unique, and the rounded polygon structure created a very unique floor plan. I loved seeing how the new homeowners thought back to the original owners, but have done a beautiful job updating the interiors in a timeless nod to the 1960 design.
A few takeaways for anyone looking to attend based on my first day…
Some tours you can start early, so I was able to wrap up my tours early. I accounted for an hour for each tour, but most of them took half the time. I’d head to the next home and see if I could start early - saved me some time, but I could have booked more in the first day if I knew.
Things book out early, and sell out fast! After I finished my tours early, I checked the website to see if I could do something else - all sold out or done for the day. The tours wrap up mid-afternoon, I believe the last visits I saw were around 2 or 3. Next time I’ll squeeze in another home!
Day two was essentially a Vintage Event with a ballroom full of vintage clothing, jewelry and accessories with a neighborhood tour featuring 8 homes. I paid for the early access to the vintage event, just to keep to my schedule. The event was awesome and I purchased some really cool and unique pieces for my collection. Also, seeing the clothing in relation to the homes I’d been touring was super fun!
Following the event, I headed to the El Rancho Vista neighborhood for my tour. This was another self-guided tour through 8 homes in one neighborhood. I was able to see the different floor plan types, see how each current homeowner had done the interiors, meet the homeowners and see the beautiful cars parked in the driveways. Each home took about 10-15 minutes to see - they were around 1,400 square feet. The walk from house to house was so wonderful - the weather was perfect! I got a kick of out seeing the classic cars. It still makes me laugh that they were essentially on loan for the tours - it just all fit and felt right!
My second day takeaways…
There were some lectures and films I wanted to watch but they conflicted with my schedule. By the time I was done with my tours, everything else for the day was sold out. I would have done another neighborhood tour if one was available!
I ended up heading home following the El Rancho Vista tours. I’d been traveling a lot and just wanted my bed - the only thing left on my schedule was a tiki drink and a yard sale the following morning. Home sounded nice!
Next time…
I’ll account for less time on the tours - thinking about 30 minutes for tours, with 30 minutes of drive time to the next event (which allows for buffers). That way I can squeeze in more!
The lectures and learning aspect I missed, so shifting my stay to allow for another week day would give me the opportunity to attend lectures and check out the trade show.
I stayed at Drift - that will be on my list for next time too! Loved the design and the restaurant was a bonus! I’ve stayed at Saguaro, and visited The Ace - both are good options, but Drift felt comfortable to me.
Driving in early was easier than I had thought - I wasn’t too tired and the drive wasn’t stressful. Coming home I took the “scenic” way through 29 Palms, Yucca Valley and Landers - not as stress free but I do love driving through those small desert towns.