palm springs architect william krisel, 84, brought elegant modern design to mass-produced housing. he entered the arena of architecture in the boom times that followed world war II and left in 1979when the profession became ‘too uptight’ as a result of lawyers and stricter building codes. during his career he built more than 30,000 houses throughout southern california.

the alexander residence, royal desert palms (twin palms) in palm springs, 1957 built by alexander homes, one of the biggest single-family-house developers of the modernist era. photo by julius shulman © j. paul getty trust

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william krisel affordable modernismtwin palms back yard photo by julius shulman© j. paul getty trust

william krisel affordable modernism photo by julius shulman© j. paul getty trust

william krisel affordable modernism william krisel portrait © designboom

krisel never won as much acclaim as richard neutra or albert frey, architects who designed the custom homes that defined midcentury desert modernism, but krisel was able to offer affordable modernism. rather than designing individual homes, he has worked for a succession of production builders since the early 1920s. he had pared the houses down to essentials. they were of modest size and made of modest materials. houses with a minimal square footage that have all the comforts of an expensive place; ‘after all,’ he said, ‘budgets and costs aren’t criteria for doing good design. modernism isn’t a style or a trend. it’s a language, a philosophy. the components of a structure become its ornamentation.’

william krisel affordable modernismat dwell on design conference krisel said today’s architecture industry needs to reclaim its soul. image © designboom

william krisel affordable modernism the butterfly house was restored in 2006 under the supervision of krisel himself. krisel also did all the landscaping with these round grass features dropped into neat rock- or gravel-filled grids. photo by john ellis

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william krisel affordable modernismwilliam krisel also built the house of tomorrow, a futuristic house conceived as an experiment in modern living.william krisel affordable modernismthe house later gained fame as the honeymoon home of elvis and priscilla presley. william krisel was born in 1924 in shanghai of american parents working overseas for the U.S. state department. lived in china until age 13, when his family returned to the US, where he attended beverly hills high. while at USC in the 1940s, krisel studied under modern landscape pioneer garrett eckbo, a student of bauhaus founder walter gropius. palmer & krisel architects was founded by bill krisel and his partner, dan palmer. 20 years have passed since he retired as a practicing architect. the getty museum has just acquired his papers.