Modernism Week

It was our first time attending Modernism Week and we had such a wonderful experience! Thank you, Ferguson, for inviting us on the Modernism Week VIP Experience Bus Tour. It was inspiring, informative and so much fun!

The mission of Modernism Week is to celebrate and foster appreciation of mid-century architecture and design, as well as contemporary thinking in these fields, by encouraging education, preservation and sustainable modern living as represented in the greater Palm Springs area. The tour highlighted and showcased just that.

We visited the historical Palm Springs Visitor Center, four showcase homes, attended seminars at the Modernism Week Base Camp, and concluded the day with a poolside cocktail reception at one of our favorite showcase homes, the Moroccan Modern.

Scroll below to tour the showcase homes and experience Modernism Week through our lens. 

Our First Stop | Palm Springs Visitor Center

This unique building was originally built in 1965 as a gas station and is now considered a Palm Springs landmark. It’s soaring, kite-shaped roof, designed by co-designers Albert Frey and Robson Chambers, is the Visitor Center’s signature design element and a true example of Palm Springs modern architecture.

Second Stop | Home Tour of Hollingsworth Tennis Estate 

Designed by Albert Frey and dubbed the Hidden Frey. It is sunken from the street and truly hidden from view. The story, as it’s told, is that since Hollingsworth wanted to build a tennis estate adjacent to the Racquet Club, Charlie Ferrell is said to have protested the development because he did not want the eyesore of the chain link fence, commonly associated with the tennis courts, in proximity to his Racquet Club. Therefore, Hollingsworth had the means and vision to excavate the lot below street level, so as to minimize visibility of his estate and tennis court and thereby gain the necessary permits and approval from the city of Palm Springs. Hollingsworth then hired Albert Frey, who at the time was working with Ferrell on his Schiff House at the Racquet Club, to design his new tennis estate.

One can easily recognize a few quintessential Frey characteristics: rolled roof, cantilevered carport, and an elevated pool. Desert Modernism as it was intended. 

Third Stop | Camp (Modernism Week Headquarters)

Camp was set under a vast white tent housing some of the newest products at Ferguson including Thermador, Corian, and DXV. We were immediately drawn to the Thermador cooking demonstration where Chef Michaela was cooking a Moroccan dish on the newest Freedom Series Induction Cooktop (revealed earlier this year at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, KBIS, held in Orlando, FL).

After the demonstration, we moved into another tent for a lunch & learn with Mike Hetherman. He gave a brilliant presentation on “The New Consumer”, consumers who are inclined to purchasing items they care about and connect with on a personal level.

Fourth Stop | Home Tour of West Elm House

This home's interiors and exteriors were designed by the West Elm Design Crew in Palm Springs! The crew did an outstanding job on selecting furniture, textiles, lighting, wallpaper and paint color. The beautiful contemporary wall art, by Richard Prescott and Bryan Boomershine, and photography pieces by Ryan Chesla, were truly the icing on the cake, and brought the walls to life. Another art element we loved were the eclectic art murals in the backyard by Shawn Savage and Robert Landry.

Before heading to the next stop, we couldn’t leave without stopping by the photo booth to take a picture with the gorgeous back drop of desert mountains and palm trees!

Fifth Stop | Home Tour of Steel & Glass House

Truly a work of art. This newly constructed home, designed by the late Donald Wexler and built by Yann Debonne of Hoffman Yann Builders, is entirely made from steel. Donald Wexler drew up the plans for this sophisticated post-and-beam more than ten years ago. The legendary modern architect, nicknamed “the Man of Steel” for his steel-and-glass houses, returned to update the project prior to his passing in 2015. This home takes full advantage of the desert views, with the vast glass windows and doors, bringing the outdoors in. It features some of our favorite art we saw at Modernism Week by Donald Wexler’s son Glen Wexler along with Cybele Rowe, Paul Ecke, Tom Burns and James Shilaimon.

Sixth & Last Stop | Home Tour & Poolside Reception at Moroccan Modern
Casa Estrella, a beautiful masterpiece that intertwines the iconic Palm Springs style with Moroccan elements. Designed in 1974 by architect Hal Lacy, this home features gorgeous entry doors in bold fuchsia on the front and charcoal grey on the back. The pop of color seen on the door is an iconic feature seen throughout the mid-century homes in Palm Springs, and truly pops against the white exteriors! Moroccan style tiles, rugs, and bold colors filled the home creating colorful corners throughout. The Moroccan Modern was the perfect way to end the day poolside with drinks, appetizers and live music by The Dreamboats! This wrapped up the perfect Modernism Week VIP Tour. We’d like to express our gratitude to Ferguson for the invitation to share in this extraordinary event and we are so looking forward to next year.