Modernism Week & IBS
Now that we've had time to digest our journey down to southern California earlier this year, we thought we'd share some of our thoughts and pictures from Modernism Week in Palm Springs and the International Builder's Show in Las Vegas.
Frey House II
Built into the foothills overlooking Palm Springs, this home by Albert Frey has an intimate relationship to it's surrounding context. Frey cleared the site by hand, leaving the boulders too heavy to move in-situ then using the environment's colors and large masses to inform the design. As clients increasingly value a direct connection to their natural surroundings, we’re looking forward to investigating similar design principles into our upcoming projects.
The Shag House
Designed by the artist Shag, this house shows how home design is as much of an art as sculpture or painting, rather with buildings and their materials as our medium. Going beyond simply styling a house, it is unapologetic in it’s commitment to the artist’s retro-futurist design language. We are reminded that it's important to continue to hone our skills as artists so we can continue to deliver unique and interesting designs for our clients. As designers, we can encourage clients not to be afraid of exploring playful elements in their homes. While perhaps not to the level of the Shag House, such playful expression can give a unique identity to a home and experiences within.
The Lautner Complex
A collection of small spaces well organized and programmed can deliver an experience that feels private and luxurious. Meant as a prototype for a future community, the layout for these units neatly tessellate into each other. Yes, squares neatly tesselate too - but these irregular shaped rooms allow for areas such as the kitchen, bed and sitting room to feel discreet. Privacy and natural light are not sacrificed in these arrangements, with skylights that wash neighboring plaster walls and a small private courtyard.
The House of Tomorrow
The program for this home is one of procession; walking you through a consecutive string of spaces, each with their own unique sub-program that commands the area. The recent remodel is a lesson in restraint; it would have been easy to remodel the house in traditional midcentury fixtures and finishes, arguably an authentic and sensitive way to treat a historic building. However the owners leaned more contemporary in their aesthetic, using a form and palette which accentuates the original midcentury charm. The lesson is to not always take the obvious aesthetic direction, and to explore other complimentary directions that allow for an opportunity for something unique.
The Vintage Trailer Show
Each trailer of this show was a mini case-study in interior aesthetic. It was enlightening to get a back-to-back showcase like this. These condensed, smaller spaces have to be meticulous in their execution, not just with layout but also in their decorative restraint. We’re always intrigued with how different people best take advantage of small spaces, both functionally and aesthetically.
International Builder's Show: Seminars
Most of the seminars and Q&A’s were focused on the business side of builders/ contractors, and the ones we attended gave us a look inside the processes and motivations of their operations. It became more obvious why contractors require so much input from designers during the planning and construction phases of a project; given the amount of project management and logistics required, it emphasizes the importance of us as designers to act as an effective conduit between client and contractor.
Talks on Interior design trends and best practices were plentiful; we saw many of the trends we’ve already explored in our past projects and some newer trends that gave us fresh ideas on what will be highly valued in years to come.
One hot topic during the conference was AI driven design and planning, with many tools becoming available to contractors and designers to better serve clients. AI has already become an indispensable tool in the designer's tool belt allowing us to more effectively communicate with clients and contractors without losing the artistry and bespoke nature of the design process.
While these tools will undoubtedly prove advantageous in helping efficently solve housing shortages, there is a danger in letting these tools dominate the way we think about design and how our homes serve us. It was especially interesting to note the contrast these tools had with current interior design trends that favor “authenticity”. Such as, using finishes that have a human quality to them (artisan ceramics, natural or hand wrought materials, etc). In the post-pandemic era, we've witnessed a growing desire for homes that foster authentic human connection through craftsmanship by real people, a trend our recent clients have enthusiastically embraced.
International Builder's Show: Floor Products
There was so much that impressed us on the show floor, it’s impossible to cover all that we liked. From new appliances by brands large and small, hardware and fixtures, faucetry, decking; you name it. Here are some highlights that caught our eye:
With just 3 days we didn't manage to stop at all the show floor booths or seminars we wanted, however we walked away informed and inspired. We look forward to using the lessons we learned and products we spied in upcoming projects.