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During Palm Springs’ Modernism Week in 2018, the nearby City of Palm Desert’s Redevelopment Agency put a tumbledown, 1950s Walter White house, nicknamed the Wave House for its undulating roof, up for auction. They were aware of the risk: Many people interested in the property would prefer to knock it down and build condos. So they sweetened the deal for potential restorers with $50,000 in matching funds. The city found what it was looking for in the family-run Los Angeles firm Stayner Architects, who acquired the property for a song, at just $360,000.
“It had virtually no resemblance to the house that Walter White designed in 1954,” says Christian Stayner who will unveil the renovated property during this year’s Modernism Week, which runs through February 23. Soon it will be available as an event space and vacation rental. “But if you looked closely, you could see bits and pieces, little corners of the original architecture were visible.” Before bidding, Christian's father and partner Gil, had studied the floor plan: “There was this moment where we realized this was something special—a very well designed, extremely efficient plan.”
Built for the local artist Miles C. Bates, the one-bedroom house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was a study in efficiency and form. And with its signature double curve, wave-like roof that hovers over concrete block and glass walls, it is recognized as one of Walter White’s most significant projects. But after a series of ill-advised remodels and additions, an overall lack of maintenance, and an artsy owner who really liked to paint the walls, the property had become altogether disfigured.
Stayner Architects vowed to, in Gil’s words, “replicate exactly what we thought White would do.” And much of that meant carefully, almost surgically, removing additions—boxes tacked onto the front of the house to double the square footage, walls that were added to enclose designated outdoor space, the slapdash triplex built out back, and the layers of paint that covered walls and windows. “So much of the house was in decent shape once you pulled off the stuff that was hiding it,” Christian explains. “That was the exciting part.”
After removing layers of paint and textured drywall, they discovered the home’s natural ash paneling. Beneath carpet was the original terrazzo. And in one of the bathrooms, they discovered White’s original plan did not include a floor (“The intent was for the shower floor to be gravel or dirt and for water to percolate into the desert floor,” says Christian). The Stayners opted for a pebble finish that would deliver the same rustic effect, with cleaner feet.
The home’s piece de resistance—the undulating roof design that White had patented—was actually in fairly good shape. Insulation was added to make the place more energy efficient (originally, the roof and ceiling were the same piece of wood). And when a few water damaged sections needed replacing, the team made another surprising discovery: there was a cache of 1960s Douglas fir—a perfect match to what White used—right on the property.
Some things did need replacing, and Christian, who meticulously studied White’s archive at the University of California Santa Barbara, made efforts to use materials which he thought White would approve of. Steel door frames (most of the originals had rusted out) and windows were custom fabricated to replicate the originals. Terrazzo floors were patched with aggregate from the same quarry White used. And in the kitchen and bathrooms, where new fixtures were installed, Stayner Architects drew a distinction with materiality: All the new fixtures are in stainless steel, while all the fixtures White used were in brass.
Creating a 21st century kitchen in a 1954-designed home was tricky. They opted to replicate the original kitchen, hiding modern conveniences out of sight: a refrigerator is nestled behind a wall panel, and two drawers pull out to reveal a freezer and ice maker; there’s also an oven and induction cooktop cleverly tucked out of view. What remains visible, such as several Arne Jacobsen fixtures, still in production, are in line with the aesthetics of the time.
That same logic was applied to the furnishings, many of which were extracted from Christian’s personal collection of vintage Scandinavian design from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. “We didn’t want to freeze time. We just tried to choose items that had a sympathetic quality to the house and its construction.” Contemporaneous textiles were sourced from Tibor LTD, the estate of a post-war British designer and a smattering of vintage kitchenwares (including vintage Russell Wright tableware) add to the retro-chic vibe.
According to Gil, the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. A happy vote of approval, considering the Stayners plans to add two new structures (1400-square-feet in total) to what they’re calling Desert Wave, a hotel compound that will include shared pool and courtyard areas. “I have yet to find anyone who wasn’t pleased this house was saved and really excited when they see it,” he explains. “That’s an architect’s dream. Our role was simply to bring it back. And I think we got just about as close as we could to when Miles Bates walked up in 1955.”
The Wave House will be on tour during Modernism Week and host artist residencies, cultural events, and be available for rental after February 2020.
