Stewarding the legacy of Palm Springs architectural excellence into the future.
Modernism Week 2026 Event
Small towns + Great Architecture: Modernism's Untold Stories
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026
Discover the surprising architectural riches of three unlikely American towns: Palm Springs, California; Sarasota, Florida; and Columbus, Indiana. With populations of just 50,000, each has become a world-renowned showcase of innovative design—far outpacing what their size might suggest.
The Palm Springs School
Our academic architectural book project, The Palm Springs School, Desert Modernism: 1934-1975, was released in February 2025, and has firmly established the Palm Springs School as a unique and special movement among other significant architectural movements like the Prairie School and Sarasota School. Alan Hess, architect and celebrated historian, is the author and Rizzoli is the publisher.
In recent years, we have examined the story of Palm Springs' talented architects, but their profound role in the larger story of modern architecture nationally and internationally had yet to be recognized--until now.
During Modernism Week in February 2025, the Palm Springs Art Museum in partnership with Palm Springs Architectural Alliance presented a symposium based on the book.
"Few locations are as synonymous with architecture as Palm Springs, California: Almost 100 years on, its modernist marvels remain in deep conversation with the remote, beguiling desert landscape. Alan Hess, an architect and historian, sheds light on the evolving vernacular ...Stunning archival photographs add vibrancy to this canonical coffee table book."
architectural digest
