The Bailey House, Case Study House #21.

This 1959, Pierre Koenig design is oriented on a north/south axis to take advantage of winter sun and avoid the LA summer heat. Sliding doors for cross-ventilation and shallow reflective pools for evaporative cooling, demonstrate Koenig’s climate-minded approach to architecture.

At Modernism Week, Colin and Halsey spoke about six California architects who built on the beautiful, rugged Big Sur Coast from the ‘50-‘70s. These structures are just a few we have visited during our year-long research journey for “Mid-Coast Modern: Renegade Architects of the Big Sur Coast.”

This dramatic setting, known for inspiring writers like John Steinbeck and photographers like Edward Weston, also fueled the creativity of architects who sought a more organic, site-sensitive approach to building. Successors of Frank Lloyd Wright, including architects Mark Mills, George Brook-Kothlow, Mickey Muennig, Will Shaw, Henry Hill and Rowan Maiden invented a new approach to working in the sensitive wilderness environment of the Big Sur Coast at the dawn of the environmental movement. Often taking a hands-on approach to building their projects, these architects eschewed traditional forms in favor of organic shapes molded to the contours of the land.

@modernism_week

Over Modernism Week, Colin saw Frey House II in the rain - a very unique sight in the Coachella Valley which sees only a few inches of rain a year.

Built for himself in 1964, architect Albert Frey’s house in Palm Springs measures only 800 square feet and is one of the smallest homes he built, yet probably his best. Frey challenged himself by choosing a rocky, almost unbuildable lot on a steeply pitched piece of land on the lower slopes of Mount San Jacinto.

No house in Palm Springs is complete without an aqua blue swimming pool, even on this steep rocky site.

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@psartmuseum

High in the foothills of Chino Canyon in Palm Springs, sits the Edris House. Designed by architect E. Stewart Williams in 1954, this home is a defining example of Palm Springs desert modernism, architecture shaped by climate, and landscape.

Williams designed the home as a series of long, low forms built from native stone, with large expanses of glass. Roof overhangs and deep eaves help shield the home from the sun. The Edris House appears to grow naturally from its environment.

@modernism_week

Architecture Firm of the Year 2026

Thank you to the team at @mlinteriorsnewengland for this recognition. We are proud to have received this honor two years in a row.

Thank you to the Flavin Architects team, all our collaborators, and our clients. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible.

Read more at the link in our bio.

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Rudolph Schindler’s 1922 Kings Road House in West Hollywood, California, remains an inspiration. In his first built project, Schindler was able to design one of the word’s first truly modern houses.

An ensemble of interlocking interior and exterior spaces, intimate scale, and natural materials integrated this home into its environment in a way that hadn’t been seen before. Today, this home feels like a respite from the bustling neighborhoods of Los Angeles. @makcenter

The countdown to @modernism_week 2026 in Palm Springs is on.

On February 19th, Colin is speaking on six architects who popularized a design-build movement on the Midcoast of California. These architects formed a distinctive style closely linked to the Bohemian culture of Big Sur during the mid century.

Learn more at the link in our bio.

Yesterday’s snowfall at one of our Cambridge renovation projects. Stay warm all!

Thanks to our collaborators on this project.
@brookesandhillcustom