With his innovative planning and cutting- edge designs, Krisel and his architecture helped to shape Desert Modernism.
Before the war, Krisel worked as an office boy for designer Paul Laszlo, where he gleaned knowledge about residential home architecture. Following the war, Krisel worked as a draftsman for architect Victor Gruen, another Modernist mentor. While working with Gruen, Krisel met Dan Saxon Palmer, forming an influential partnership in 1949.
Palmer and Krisel went on to work with the Alexander Construction Company ( formed in 1955) and changed the way that tract housing was perceived. Their Twin Palms development was constructed between 1956 and 1957 and had 90 homes, each featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a pool. With his smart planning and distinct rooflines, Krisel made each home look unique. “Even though there was only one basic floor plan, there were eight different variations to the exteriors, created by employing a variety of rooflines, such as the now famous butterfly. In addition, Krisel would rotate the house on the lot, orienting the front door to either an entry courtyard on the side or to the street at the front.”
Krisel also partnered with the Alexander Construction Company for the Ocotillo Lodge, located adjacent to the Twin Palms neighborhood. The hotel was used as a way to market the new homes they were building, drawing in prospective buyers with its tempting restaurant and sparkling champagne cork- shaped pool.
Located in the northern part of Palm Springs, Krisel’s Racquet Club Road Estates tract homes were largely the same as his Twin Palms designs, but on a slightly smaller scale. “Because of the smaller footprint, the design was cleverly adapted to feature an open kitchen that created the illusion of spaciousness.”
Krisel’s cutting- edge designs also include condominiums such as Canyon View Estates, with their distinctive “popup flat and gable clerestory window volumes in the central living space,” which made a relatively small space seem luxurious. Krisel also designed the Sandpiper units in Palm Desert, which showcase a sophisticated design that “allows one to live large in a smaller space.”
In the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood, you can find Krisel’s custom “House of Tomorrow” that was built for the Alexander family ( though perhaps better known as Elvis Presley and Priscilla’s “Honeymoon Hideaway”). Many of the nearby neighborhood tracts in Vista Las Palmas were also designed by Krisel.
The impact of Krisel’s designs is still felt today, with evergrowing interest in his modest desert homes that are still capturing our hearts some 60 years after their creation!
SPRING 2021