The rows of bright orange buttresses (known as flying-sevens) that support the patio roofs are said to represent the stabilizers on outrigger canoes. Tiki styling takes on abstract shapes at the Royal Hawaiian Estates. Wooden tiki ornaments and other playful details give the buildings and the grounds a fanciful tropical flavor. Photo © Daniel Chavkin, courtesy Royal Hawaiian EstatesĪrchitects Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison combined modernist ideas with Polynesian themes when they designed the Royal Hawaiian Estates condominium complex at 1774 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California.Ĭonstructed in 19 when tiki architecture was in fashion, the complex has 12 buildings with 40 condominium units on five acres. Palm Springs Pictures: The Royal Hawaiian Estates Royal Hawaiian Estates, Palm Springs, California. 3100, 3125, 3133, and 3165 Sunny View Drive, Palm Springs, California.300 and 330 East Molino Road, Palm Springs, California.290 Simms Road, Palm Springs, California.Nevertheless, the steel houses that Donald Wexler designed inspired similar projects across the country, including a few experimental houses by real estate developer Joseph Eichler. But, the rising cost of the prefabricated building parts made the Alexander Steel Homes impractical. Architect Donald Wexler combined prefab construction techniques with upscale modernist ideas. The Lustron Corporation went bankrupt in 1950.Īlexander Steel Homes were much more sophisticated than Lustron Homes. His company, the Lustron Corporation, shipped some 2,498 Lustron Steel Homes throughout the United States. However, these sophisticated houses were expensive custom designs, and they were not made using prefabricated metal parts.ĭuring the 1940s, businessman and inventor Carl Strandlund launched a business making steel homes in factories, like cars. Many other twentieth century architects, from Albert Frey to Charles and Ray Eames, experimented with metal construction.
In 1929, architect Richard Neutra built the steel-framed Lovell House. The one shown here is at 330 East Molino Road.ĭonald Wexler and the Alexander Construction Company were not the first to envision houses made of steel. The Alexander Construction company contracted Wexler to design prefab steel houses for a tract neighborhood in Palm Springs, California. Wexler believed that the same methods could be used to build stylish and affordable homes. Working with Richard Harrison, architect Donald Wexler had designed many school buildings using new approaches to steel construction. Palm Springs Pictures: Steel House Built by the Alexander Construction Company Between 19, the Alexander Construction Company set a new tone for prefab housing with several steel houses in Palm Springs, California.
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