Modernism and the Future of Housing: A Symposium

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Where	Annenberg Theater at Main Museum
When	February 21, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Where

Annenberg Theater
at Main Museum

When

February 21, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Where	Annenberg Theater at Main Museum
When	February 21, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Where

Annenberg Theater
at Main Museum

When

February 21, 9:30am - 12:00pm

BUY TICKETS HERE

Museum Member: $75 Non-Member: $95 w/Home Tour, Museum Member: $175 w/Home Tour, Non-Member: $195

BUY TICKETS HERE

Museum Member: $75 Non-Member: $95 w/Home Tour, Museum Member: $175 w/Home Tour, Non-Member: $195

For Modernism Week, Palm Springs Art Museum, in partnership with Palm Springs Architectural Alliance, presents a symposium bringing together architects, critics, and designers to examine early modernist design principles and their influence on the future of housing. The program is followed by an optional self-guided home tour, offering access to a curated selection of historic and contemporary Desert Modernist residences, with materials provided for independent exploration.

Speakers

Los Angeles architects Brooks + Scarpa, AIA Gold Medal award recipients, will provide the keynote presentation.

Silvia Perea, Curator, Architecture and Design Collection, University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss the receptiveness to experimentation that has inspired both architecture and science fiction in the California desert.

Christopher Hawthorne, Senior Architecture Critic at Yale University, will present noteworthy examples of contemporary modernist housing.

Architects BassamFellows will share their experiences in updating and preserving Modernist architecture.

Event Details

Following the morning symposium, an optional afternoon self-driving tour (Symposium PLUS Home Tour Ticket) will feature significant individual and multiple dwellings of noteworthy Modernist design.

Symposium: 9:30 AM–12:15 PM
Self-Driving Tour: 1:00 PM–4:00 PM

Self-guided Tour sites

These homes are distinctly different examples of Desert Modernism offering a variety of remarkable solutions. Home Tour map and instructions will be provided at the symposium.

Rancho Mirage:

Kenaston House (1956) E. Stewart Williams - private residence
Sunny Lane Uno (2020), H20 Lance O’Donnell architect - private residence

Palm Springs:

Rosa Gardens (2011), Brooks and Scarpa, architects - Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
Aloe Palm Canyon (2025), Wil Carson, architect - Public / Private Senior housing project
Aluminaire (1931), Albert Frey - Modular housing prototype
Sagewood (1972), Donald Wexler, architect - condominium development
Hundred Mile House (1954, 2016), Duane Smith – private residence

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH