Captivating free lectures at UCR Palm Desert in partnership with the Palm Springs Modern Committee

Landscapes for Leisure

6 p.m. Jan. 14, 2025

Architectural historian Steven Keylon explores the rich history of the designed landscape of the Coachella Valley during the 20th Century. Landscape architects working in this resort village created informal yet functional spaces for active outdoor living. Using examples from the 1920s through the 1960s, Steven will explore the landscapes and practitioners responsible for the evolution of modernist landscape design within the broader context of 20th-century modernism. RSVP.

A Few Things to Say About My Father – Architect Donald Wexler

6 p.m. Feb. 11, 2025

Gary Wexler provides his personal insights to the architect’s career, the projects and partnerships. Stories from inside his father’s office, unbuilt and preliminary drawings, masterful designs that went unnoticed, and connecting the dots between the work and legacy. RSVP.

The Palm Springs School: Desert Modernism 1934-1975

6 p.m. March 11, 2025

Using a striking selection of architectural photographs, Janice Lyle and Sidney Williams will present an entertaining look at the three-year process of shepherding the Palm Springs School book project to completion. They will discuss the issues that needed to be addressed to ensure that a new book about Palm Springs architecture was meaningful and noteworthy. The basic concepts of the Palm Springs School, as outlined by author Alan Hess, will be shared. The insightful perspectives of the five essayists who place Palm Springs in the national conversation about midcentury modern architecture will provide further understanding. Lyle and Williams will bring you behind the scenes of book publishing where the twofold goals were to define the Palm Springs School of Architecture and to achieve international distribution. RSVP.