Modernism Week is a 501(c)(3) organization which provides public education programming fostering knowledge and appreciation of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

, the mid-century modern

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

movement, the Palm Springs School of Architecture, as well as contemporary considerations surrounding

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

, cultural heritage,

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

, and sustainable architecture. Modernism Week provides annual scholarships to local students pursuing college educations in the fields of architecture and design and supports local and state organizations' efforts to preserve and promote the region's modern architecture. The organization is centered in the greater Palm Springs, California area in the Coachella Valley which is home to a significant collection of extant residential and commercial buildings designed in the mid-century modern vernacular. Modernism Week Double-decker Bus Tour

Description

The primary event for the organization is an annual, eleven-day, region-wide advocacy and educational festival called “Modernism Week” which is held each February. Events are produced by Modernism Week and partner organizations and include symposia, films, lectures, tours, and a variety of opportunities to access architecturally significant buildings not otherwise available to the public. Educational programs explore the mid-century modern era as it applies to architecture, design, landscape, preservation, and culture. In addition to the primary event held each February, Modernism Week offers a “Fall Preview” four-day event each October. This “mini-Modernism Week” was developed to provide educational opportunities to seasonal visitors. Mid-century modern house in Palm Springs

Mid-century modern house in Palm Springs

History

Modernism Week began in 2006 as an adjunct to two existing programs exploring mid-century architecture and design: the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale and the annual

Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

Architecture & Design Council Symposium. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Palm Springs, California to its 2006 list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations, an annual list highlighting cultural tourism destinations for architecture. In 2009, Palm Springs was included on the List of Preserve America Communities and was welcomed to the program in a letter by then-First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2009, Modernism Week became a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In 2015, a physical headquarters for the event was launched enabling visitors to gather at a central location throughout the festival. Dubbed, CAMP (Community And Meeting Place), this festival hub provides services and programs throughout the festival including serving as a depot for bus tours, educational programming, ticket sales, demonstrations, social events, and the distribution of general information.

Attendance

From 2012 to 2018, annual attendance increased from 12,000 to 125,000. The number of programmed events in 2018 was 350 with attendees representing the 50 United States and 19 countries. In 2019, attendance increased 20% over 2018 to an estimated 152,000 participating in over 370 events resulting in an estimated economic impact for the Coachella Valley of $57 million. International visitors from 25 countries participated alongside attendees from all 50 United States. California residents accounted for the majority of attendees (54 percent) representing 445 of 482 cities in California. In February 2020, attendance was estimated at 162,000 across 375 events resulting in an estimated economic impact of $61 million. Attendees represented all 50 United States and 25 countries. In October 2020, the Fall Preview event, normally held in person, shifted to virtual programming in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Virtual programs were created specifically for the event. The 2021 Modernism Week festival was delayed from February to April allowing for a reduced program of in-person events aligning with relaxed County and State pandemic safety protocols. The event drew an estimated 14,000 attendees participating in 30 events. The 11-day festival generated an estimated economic impact of $5,250,000 for area hotels, shops, restaurants, and other businesses in the Coachella Valley.

Notable speakers

Todd Oldham Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; October 22, 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior desig ...

in 2015 and 2020 * Martyn Lawrence Bullard in 2018 *

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie ( he, משה ספדיה; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible des ...

in 2019 * Daniel Libeskind in 2020 *

Jeanne Gang Jeanne Gang (born March 19, 1964) is an American architect and the founder and leader of Studio Gang (established in 1997), an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Gang was first widely re ...

in 2022 *

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities po ...

announced for February 2023

Notable Palm Springs-region architects, designers, and developers of the era

* Barry Berkus *

Buff, Smith and Hensman Buff, Straub and Hensman is an architectural firm. The office has won more than 30 awards for house designs from the American Institute of Architects. The firm was known as Buff and Hensman when Cal Straub moved to Arizona and later Buff, Smith a ...

* Richard Lee Dorman * Richard Neutra *

John Lautner John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...

Donald Wexler Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

* Albert Frey *

William Krisel William Krisel (November 14, 1924 – June 5, 2017) was an American architect best known for his pioneering designs of mid-century residential and commercial architecture. Most of his designs are for affordable homes, especially tract housing, wi ...

* Paul Trousdale * William Francis Cody * John Porter Clark * Howard Lapham * Raymond Loewy *

Wallace Neff Edwin Wallace Neff (January 28, 1895 – June 8, 1982) was an architect based in Southern California and was largely responsible for developing the region's distinct architectural style referred to as "California" style. Neff was a student of ...

* Alexander Construction Company * E. Stewart Williams *

Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (March 31, 1890 – May 31, 1978), commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. He was a landscape architect for various Los Angeles projects (192 ...

* A. Quincy Jones *

William Haines Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...

* Arthur Elrod * Rudolph Schindler *

Paul Revere Williams Paul Revere Williams, FAIA (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. He practiced mostly in Southern California and designed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Frank Sina ...

* Hugh M. Kaptur *

John Carl Warnecke John Carl Warnecke (February 24, 1919 – April 17, 2010)Brown, "John Carl Warnecke Dies at 91, Designed Kennedy Gravesite," ''Washington Post,'' April 23, 2010.Grimes, "John Carl Warnecke, Architect to Kennedy, Dies at 91," ''New York Times,'' Ap ...

* Erle Webster and Adrian Wilson * Walter S. White * John Elgin Woolf *

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably pr ...

Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...

Craig Ellwood Craig Ellwood (April 22, 1922 – May 30, 1992) was an influential Los Angeles-based modernist architect whose career spanned the early 1950s through the mid-1970s. Although untrained as an architect, Ellwood fashioned a persona and career ...

Gallery

File:Mid-century modern home built by the Alexander Construction Company, Palm Springs, California LCCN2010630222.tif, Mid-century modern home built by the Alexander Construction Company, Palm Springs, California File:Coachella Valley Savings No. 2.jpg, Coachella Valley Savings, Palm Springs, 1960 by E. Stewart Williams File:Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms Estate, a spectacular example of mid-century architecture in the heart of Palm Springs, California LCCN2013635061.tif, Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms Estate, Palm Springs, 1947 by E. Stewart Williams File:Elvis Presley honeymoon house, Palm Springs, California LCCN2010630384.tif, Interior of Elvis Presley honeymoon house, Palm Springs File:Palm Springs Visitor Center Sideview-(revised)2.jpg, Albert Frey's Tramway Gas Station, 1965, now the Palm Springs Visitor Center File:2019 City Hall Palm Springs 2240.jpg, Palm Springs City Hall, 1952 by Albert Frey File:Built in 1959 for City National Bank, the Bank of America Building became a favorite stop on modern-architecture tours Palm Springs, California LCCN2013631314.tif, Palm Springs mid-century bank building, 1959, by Rudi Baumfeld

External links

Official website

References

{{reflist Architecture festivals Annual events in Riverside County, California Buildings and structures in Palm Springs, California Modernism