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Great Tours: Frey House II

One of the big draws in Palm Springs has to be the modernist architecture. Some amazing examples of desert modernism are easy to see from the side of the road in the comfort of your car. But to get a little something more in-depth, you’ll want to get inside the Frey House II.

While the ever-popular Modernism Week each February is a massive draw for house hunters and architecture buffs, there’s another 51 weeks of the year when you might want to visit.

Tour Frey House II — Palm Springs Art Museum

Visitors who’ve done even cursory reading on Palm Springs and modernism are likely familiar with the name Albert Frey.

This ‘starchitect’ was and still is well known for his use of minimalism in his home and building designs. He created private homes, hospitals, churches and offices. But perhaps one of his most famous works is one of the two homes he chose to live in himself.

Perched on a cliff overlooking downtown Palm Springs, and tucked up behind the Palm Springs Art Museum is his 800 square foot open concept house.

A study in modernism

Crafted with corrugated metal, floor-to-ceiling windows, and even incorporating a massive boulder into the design, the home is absolutely striking.

While passerby can get a peek at it from the museum parking lot, the best way to experience this architectural gem is to get up close and personal but that’s not easy since only a private gated road leads directly to the house, and general public access is forbidden.

Private tours for students & professionals + public tours available

Architecture students and some professionals are able to inquire about private tours through the Palm Springs Art Museum, since in his will Frey wanted his home to be accessible, and place for reflection and study.

Fortunately there’s another way to get a look inside. The general public can sign up for tours of the iconic home through  Michael Stern’s The Modern Tour company , the official tour operator of the home’s owner, the Palm Springs Art Museum.

What you’ll see at Frey House II House

Arriving at the driveway or carport level doesn’t give you an adequate sense of what you’re about to see. But once you climb the curving staircase to the house and pool level, you realize what a breathtaking home you’re about to experience. (For a hint,  watch my video tour , guided by the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Centre’s Brooke Hodge.)

Frey designed his home with the pool facing south so it could be heated naturally by the sun’s rays. Ringed with a low stone wall that casts rectangular shadows around the patio area there’s lots to take in, from the expansive views to the  built-in concrete lounge chairs with custom made cushions that bridge the area between the pool and the home’s many windows.

Stepping through a rather ordinary door you’ll find yourself in a small hallway that features a drafting table said to be used by Frey as a home office.

The narrow galley kitchen is definitely a bachelor special, but Frey’s use of corrugated fiberglass as cupboard doors, (and to keep dishes organized inside) shows the architect’s mind at work.

The small kitchen has a window overlooking his beloved pool, but it’s once you step through the kitchen and into the large living room/dining room/bedroom that you really see what the home is about.

A floor to ceiling boulder that seems to tear out of the floor and attempt to punch through the ceiling separates the bedroom from the main living area. There is some belief that Frey thought this boulder might retain heat from the desert sun for the home, though that’s unclear if it actually did.

Step back in time

All the original fixtures are still intact in this room, including the yellow curtains, as well as an original stereo system, and hanging globe. Hovering above the main living room is a long table and some woven rope chairs. It’s easy to picture the architect sitting here overlooking his uncluttered home and looking out over the desert valley below while dreaming up new designs.

The Frey House II mom is an icon of modernism and a true gem in the Palm Springs area. If you are able to get tickets to view it during Modernism Week, make sure you do. Otherwise contact tour operator The Modern Tour, and sign yourself up for a visit. For a guided view of the home’s interior, watch the video here .

Stay at the Frey

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Frey House II

Top ways to experience Frey House II and nearby attractions

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Frey House II - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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A Study in Modernism

Built using corrugated metal, with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, and even incorporating a massive desert boulder into the design, the home is absolutely breathtaking.

Frey II House

Palm Springs is a modernist architectural paradise, and amazing examples of desert modernism are easy to see in almost any neighborhood.

While the hugely popular Modernism Week each February is a massive draw for house porn-lovers and architecture buffs, there’s another 51 weeks of the year when you might want to visit. Fortunately, there’s plenty of homes you can see yourself from the side of the road and the comfort of your car. But to truly get to know how the modernists live, nothing beats getting inside.

Want to see Palm Springs architecture & history for yourself? Check out the tours available TODAY!

Tour Frey II House — Palm Springs Art Museum

Visitors who’ve done even cursory reading on Palm Springs and modernism are likely familiar with the name Albert Frey.

This ‘starchitect’ was and still is well known for his use of minimalism in his designs. He created private homes, churches, hospitals and offices. But perhaps one of his most famous works is one of the two homes he chose to design, build and live in himself.

Sitting proudly on a cliff overlooking downtown Palm Springs, and vith views to the Palm Springs Art Museum is Frey II House, his 800 square foot open concept home.

Frey II House — A study in modernism

built using corrugated metal, with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, and even incorporating a massive desert boulder into the design, the home is absolutely breathtaking.

While passerby can barely get a peek at it from the museum parking lot, the best way to experience this architectural gem is to get up close and personal. Too bad that only a private gated road leads directly to the house, and general public access is off limits.

Private tours for students & professionals

Architecture students and some professionals are able to ask about private tours through the Palm Springs Art Museum, thanks to a provision in his will where Frey stipulated his home should be accessible to those seeking architectural and design knowledge, and place for reflection and study.

What you’ll see at Frey II House in Palm Springs

Arriving at the driveway or carport level you won’t have much of a sense of what you’re about to see. But climbing the curved staircase to the house and pool level, you’ll see what a breathtaking home you’re about to experience. (For a hint, watch my video tour, guided by the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Centre’s Brooke Hodge.)

Frey designed his home with the pool on the south side of the home’s mountainside property, so it could be naturally warmed by the sun’s rays. The patio is edged by a low stone wall that casts interesting rectangular shadows around the patio area, there’s lots to take in before you even walk inside. From the expansive views over the Coachella Valley, to the built-in concrete lounge chairs with custom made cushions that bridge the area between the pool and the home’s many windows it’s architectural eye candy.

Stepping through a rather ordinary door you’ll find yourself in a small hallway where a drafting table Frey worked at still sits.

The narrow galley kitchen is definitely made for a single bachelor, with just the basic amenities and limited storage a bachelor special, but Frey’s use of corrugated fibreglass as cupboard doors, (and to keep dishes organized inside) shows the architect’s mind at work. A set of dishware gifted to Frey by a local artisan ceramic artist is still on display.

The small kitchen has a window overlooking the dazzling pool, but it’s once you step through the kitchen and into the large living room/dining room/bedroom that you really see what the home is truly about.

A massive boulder that seems to rip through the floor and attempt to punch through the ceiling divides the bedroom from the main living room.

Step back in time at Frey II House

All the original fixtures, furniture and design elements are still intact in this room, including the golden yellow curtains, as well as an original stereo system, and hanging globe.

Perched a couple steps above the main living room is a long table and some woven rope chairs. It’s easy to picture Frey sitting here overlooking his uncluttered modernist home and looking out over the desert valley below while dreaming up new designs.

The Frey II Home is an icon of modernism and a true gem in the Palm Springs area. If you are able to get tickets to view it during Modernism Week, make sure you do.For a guided view of the home’s interior, watch the video above.

The Modern Tour is the official tour of the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture + Design Center!  A portion of all fees supports the mission of the Center.  To date, we have given over $200,000 to the Architecture + Design Center.

WE GO INSIDE HOUSES ON EVERY TOUR THAT WE DO --

YOU WILL SEE SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR

PRIVATE RESIDENCES IN PALM SPRINGS!

Enjoy a highly curated tour of some of Palm Springs' finest examples of Mid-Century Modern architecture and design.  Tours last approximately 2 hours..  Please visit our RESERVATIONS page for inquiries.  Mobile users, please turn your phone horizontally to view the site.

View the work of noted architects, including Richard Neutra, Donald Wexler, Albert Frey, E. Stewart Williams, William Krisel and William Cody, several of whom were personal friends of your tour guide.

Celebrity homes include Frank Sinatra,  William Holden, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford and numerous others.

Check out our new Press page and see what the media is saying about our tours!

TOUR GUESTS WILL BE DRIVING IN EITHER LUXURY CHAUFFEURED TRANSPORTATION OR IN THEIR OWN VEHICLES WITH TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR TOUR GUIDE SO ALL TOUR GUESTS WILL CLEARLY HEAR THE GUIDE, AND TOUR GUESTS CAN ASK QUESTIONS AT ANY POINT DURING THE TOUR.

Tours for individuals and small groups desiring Private Tours are available for an additional fee of $1,000 (not per person) which is added to the per person fee of the desired tour.

Discretion is assured for our high-profile tour guests.

$200 per person

ADVANCE RESERVATION REQUIRED

ALBERT FREY HOUSE II

We are now showing the Albert Frey House II ("Frey House") (1964) on select tours.  This is one of the most iconic and spectacular residences in Palm Springs.  Its innovative nature virtually transcends the realm of architecture placing this home closer to the realm of art.  It is a unique home situated on an elevated site with stunning views of the valley below.  Please let us know if you would like us to inquire about the availability of the Frey House for your tour.  Tours that include to the the Frey House incur an additional fee of $25 per person.  The Frey House tours are offered exclusively as an add-on to our standard tour, which features additional interiors.  Visits to the Frey House require advance reservations with a minimum of 48 hours notice.  As the official tour of the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, we are given special consideration to view the house, however, please note that it is not always available.  Tours of the Frey House are not available on weekends or during Modernism Week.

William Cody Residence

This was the home of the great Palm Springs architect, William Cody.  The house is wildly interesting as the flow between indoors and outdoors is seamless.  Also, the views from the huge windows in the house showcase various views from one space to another, as opposed to a unified view of the backyard, which creates a series of vignettes when viewed from various places in the house.

Frederick Loewe Estate

It is an honor to be showing legendary Broadway composer Frederick Loewe's  amazing estate.   The house sits on 2-1/2 acres of gloriously landscaped gardens on an elevated site with wonderful views of the valley below. Visits to the  Frederick Loewe Estate incur an additional fee of $25.  Visits to the Frederick Loewe Estate   are subject to very limited availability.  It is AMAZING.

Video of Frederick Loewe Estate

Corporate Tours and Event Planning are also a specialty.  We have done tours that range from 10 guests to more than 150 guests.  We have done tours for Nike (7 tours), Interior Design Magazine (4 tours), Amazon (4 tours), Cadillac (4 tours), NBC, Volkswagen, Christian Dior, The Getty, The American Institute of Architects, Louis Vuitton, Vans and many more.  Please see our Corporate and Group Tour Page for additional info.

Frey House II Tour + Museum Day Passes

Hosted by the Palm Springs Art Museum, these self-guided tours are a rare opportunity to see the residence of modernist architect, Albert Frey. A limited number will enjoy this unique experience and gain insight into this modern master’s architectural sensibility. A shuttle van will transport ticket holders from Palm Springs Art Museum’s Buddy Rogers Box Office to Frey House II.

As a bonus, you may also use your tour ticket for free admission to both the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Architecture & Design Center.  Passes can be used February 16 – 28, 2023 for any day except the days the museum is closed.  

A twilight tour and champagne reception for a limited number of guests at FREY II is available at 4:30pm each evening. This tour is for ages 21 and older.

Things to Know

Ticket holders who do not  check-in  at the registration table  15 minutes prior  their scheduled tour time, may lose their seats on the shuttle van. The expected time for the tour, including the shuttle, is 30 to 40 minutes.  Please plan accordingly. Events will be occurring in and around the museum, and parking will be congested. The shuttle van will depart promptly at the designated time in front of the Check – in table (Buddy Rogers Box Office) in order to maintain the schedule and honor the designated tour time for all ticket holders. There is no other way to access the Frey House II; maximum occupancy is limited to seats on the shuttle van. Frey House II is not ADA accessible and commercial photography is not permitted . No food or beverages permitted. Tours are open to children 10 years of age and older, and all children must be accompanied by an adult. The organizer of this event is  Palm Springs Art Museum .

Event Check-in Location

Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 N Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262 View Map

Photo Credits:  Photos by Dan Chavkin.

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The Frey House II Photo Tour

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Desert Modernism in Palm Springs, California

Jackie Craven

The Frey House II appears to grow from the craggy rocks of the San Jacinto mountain overlooking Palm Springs, California. Architect Albert Frey spent years measuring the movement of the sun and the contours of the rocks before he selected the site for his modernist home. The house was completed in 1963.

Widely praised as a landmark example of Desert Modernism , the Frey II house is now owned by the Palm Springs Art Museum. However, to protect the structure, it is rarely open to the public.

Join us for a rare inside look at Albert Frey's mountainside home.

Foundation of the Frey House II

Heavy concrete blocks form a fortress-like wall at the base of the Frey House II in Palm Springs, California. A carport is tucked into the wall, with a patio above.

The house is framed in steel and many of the walls are glass. A light-weight corrugated aluminum roof follows the slope of the mountain. Since aluminum can't be welded to steel, the roof is secured to the frame with hundreds of screws set in silicon.

Doorway to the Frey House II

The doorway to the Frey House II is painted gold to match the desert flowers that bloom on the sandstone hillside.

Corrugated Aluminum at the Frey House II

The corrugated aluminum sheathing and roof panels came from the manufacturer pre-finished in a vivid aqua color.

Galley Kitchen of the Frey House II

From the main entrance, a narrow galley kitchen leads to the living area of the Frey House II. High clerestory windows illuminate the narrow passageway.

Living Room of Frey House II

Measuring only 800 square feet, the Frey II house is compact. To save space, architect Albert Frey designed the home with built-in seating and storage. Behind the seating are bookshelves. Behind the bookshelves, the living area rises to an upper level. The top of the bookshelves forms a work table that spans the length of the upper level.

Bathroom at the Frey House II

The Frey House II has a compact bathroom located on the upper level of the living area. The pink ceramic tile was typical of the 1960s, when the home was built. A space-efficient shower/tub fits into a corner of the room. Along the opposite wall, accordion doors open to a closet and storage area.

Nature's Colors at the Frey House II

The glass-walled Frey House II celebrates earth. An enormous boulder from the mountainside juts into the house, forming a partial wall between the living area and the sleeping area. The pendant light fixture is an illuminated globe.

Colors used for the exterior of the Frey House II are continued inside. The curtains are gold to match the spring-blooming Encilla flowers. The shelves, ceiling, and other details are aqua.

Sleeping Area at the Frey House II

Architect Albert Frey designed his Palm Springs home around the contours of the mountain. The slope of the roof follows the slope of the hill, and the north side of the house wraps around an enormous boulder. The boulder forms a partial wall between the living and sleeping areas. A light switch is set into the rock.

Swimming Pool of the Frey House II

Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism

The glass walls of the Frey House II slide open to the patio and swimming pool. The room at the far end of the house is a 300-square-foot guest room, added in 1967.

Although the glass walls face south, the house maintains a comfortable temperature. In the winter, the sun is low and helps heat the house. During the summer when the sun is high, the wide overhang of the alumimum roof helps maintain cooler temperatures. The drapes and reflective Mylar window shades also help insulate the home.

The rock that extends inside the rear of the house maintains a fairly constant temperature. "It is a very livable house," Frey told interviewers for Volume 5 .

Source: "Interview with Albert Frey" in Volume 5 at http://www.volume5.com/albertfrey/architect_albert_frey_interview.html, June 2008 [accessed Feb 7, 2010]

Magnificient Views at the Frey House II

Architect Albert Frey designed his Palm Springs, California home to blend with the natural landscape. The glass-walled house has unobstructed views of the swimming pool and the Coachella Valley.

The Frey House II was the second home that Albert Frey built for himself. He lived there for some 35 years, until his death in 1998. He bequeathed his the house to the Palm Springs Art Museum for architectural learning and research. As a fragile masterpiece set in a rugged landscape, the Frey House II is seldom open to the public.

 "Interview with Albert Frey" in Volume 5 at http://www.volume5.com/albertfrey/architect_albert_frey_interview.html, June 2008 [accessed Feb 7, 2010]; Palm Springs Modern: Houses in the California Desert , book by Adele Cygelman and others

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary transportation and admission for the purpose of researching this destination. While it has not influenced this article, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.

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Iconic spaces: take a tour of beloved Palm Springs landmark...

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Iconic spaces: take a tour of beloved Palm Springs landmark Frey House II

A California dream

Photography: Rosella Degori

Palm Springs is the self-proclaimed capital of the Desert Modernist movement and has been a playground for visionary architects since the 1920s.

Midcentury starchitects like John Lautner, Richard Neutra, E Stewart Williams, Donald Wexler, John Porter Clark and Albert Frey, all contributed to its making it a modernist mecca for design enthusiasts from all over the world.

We made a pilgrimage to the Californian desert haven to immerse ourselves in midcentury architecture and visit one of the city’s most extraordinary landmarks – Frey House II, designed by Swiss architect Albert Frey in 1964 as his second Palm Springs home.

Built out of cinder blocks, steel, aluminium and glass, Frey House II perches on a hillside overlooking the Coachella Valley. Innovative materials and building techniques minimise its impact on the environment and blend it into the rocky landscape.

While designing the modernist house, Frey spent a year measuring the movement of the sun across the seasons to select the ideal site for his abode. He also incorporated a giant boulder  into the house’s design, using it as a partition between the living room and glass-walled sleeping area.

The interiors of the iconic building are full of midcentury innovations: built-in furniture, including a record player, is bespoke, while the pool deck has cushioned books for relaxing in.

If you’re feeling inspired, you can book a visit to Frey House II through the Modern Tour.

Why the desert is a foil for contemporary architecture

• 1 Near San Diego, a striking home by a Frank Lloyd Wright protege asks for $7m
• 2 In West Vancouver, a mountainside treehouse home asks for $2.4m
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• 4 A Victorian ‘office mansion’ by Casa Loma’s architect comes to market in Toronto
• 5 This West Country farmhouse comes with two converted barns and a seaside lifestyle
• 6 The Grand Hotel Bellevue is a calm port in the storm of London’s Paddington
• 7 A youth theatre group in Wales gets a new creative space
• 8 Yasmin hits London’s Soho in time for summertime fun

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Look Inside Midcentury Architect Albert Frey’s First Desert Home

In frey house i, his living laboratory, architect albert frey exploited exciting contrasts between technical materials, flat shapes, and nature..

Ronald Ahrens January 29, 2024 History , Home & Design

A conical fireplace adjacent to the indoor pool draws the eye. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIUS SHULMAN, COURTESY  © J. PAUL GETTY TRUST, GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, LOS ANGELES (2004.R.10)

In one sense,   Albert Frey ’s tiny Palm Springs bungalow wasn’t all that different from the Palace of Versailles. The architect who broadly established modernism in the desert broached the comparison himself in his lofty 1939 tract In Search of a Living Architecture . The château, he wrote, had been “organized into one general volume for the purpose of a desired psychological impression.”

Frey’s own house, built in 1940, fit the same description. With its rectangular shape, it too could be “grasped at once with no possibility of ambiguous interpretation.” There were differences, of course. The château encompasses 721,206 square feet. Built on a 16-by-20-foot pad, Frey House I, as it came to be known, measured 320 square feet, closer in size to Marie Antoinette’s cake plate. Yet it appeared larger because of wing walls and roof extensions that stretched off toward the horizon, a sort of architectural trompe l’oeil riff he picked up from Mies van der Rohe, designer of the Barcelona Pavilion of  1929. In all, it gave a twist to the saying, “A man’s home is his castle.”

Albert Frey poses in front of the erstwhile Frey House I. The second-story turret and corrugated fencing were additions. 

Frey liked to build with the idea of getting the most for his dollar. “It’s easy to splash and spend a lot of money, but that’s not very interesting,” he said much later in an interview with author Jennifer Golub.

The Zurich, Switzerland, native had been in Palm Springs for six years when he built his first home on 2 acres at 1150 Paseo El Mirador. Primary building materials included corrugated aluminum, plate glass, and 4-by-8-foot cement-asbestos panels over a wooden framework. The panels provided the dimensions that served as the basis for the whole plan, and manufacturer Johns-Manville made them available in rose and sage green, colors that in their own way referred to the landscape.

• LEARN MORE: See the Albert Frey retrospective at Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Center.

“They were very good colors,” Frey told Golub, “and they were all mixed into the material, so if you cut it or anything happened, it’s still the same color.”

The house was “just one room for living and sleeping with a kitchen and bath.” Folding partitions allowed the interior to be left open or divided into units. Furniture upholstered in orange was sparse and cube-shaped: no armoire, buffet, or credenza. The aluminum ceiling was painted blue for a homey touch suggesting the sky. An evaporative cooler refreshed the interior on hot days, and a couple of   in-wall Thermador electric heaters warmed it on chilly ones. A drawing shows the water heater located under the kitchen counter. Wastes went to a septic tank.

The architect cast concrete chairs into the pool’s surrounding hardscape; eventually, Frey fenced in the yard.

Wing walls and roof extensions gave the diminutive Frey House I a larger-than-life presence.

Out back, Frey would build a small guesthouse, and his father, Albert Sr., came from Zurich and stayed there until the end of his life. The “car shelter” — Frey’s term — housed a smart-looking 1941 Ford convertible. He always had nice cars, cameras, and clothing of the Haggar Sansabelt variety, usually in white or solid colors. Rarely if ever did he wear a tie.

For Frey, economy ruled, as it had for Henry David Thoreau in his 10-by-15-foot cabin at Walden Pond. Thoreau’s list of  building materials included shanty boards ($8.03), refuse shingles ($4), 1,000 old bricks ($4), and other miscellany for a total spend of $28.12. Frey’s ever-so-humble list was as follows:

• Land: $2,426.94
• Original house: $3,447.25
• First addition: $20,585.63
• Second addition: $8,165.56
• Total: $34,625.28

Guests strike a pose poolside prior to addition of the roof extension and second story. 

The greatest opulence  came from an unusual idea, one of many that would have made Thoreau’s head swim. “First, I built an indoor pool, so that instead of just looking out, I had a little intimate pool area,” Frey said. “I had fly screens stretched over the top. It was nice to have water inside, and I could bathe in privacy to cool off on a hot summer day.” It presaged his 1946 Raymond Loewy House, which incorporated a smidge of the outdoor swimming pool encroaching into the living room.

When Frey added an outdoor pool, it was large, with five steps down into the shallow end. The surrounding hardscaping included concrete seats cast in place. He liked to make 8-millimeter movies of reflections playing upon the water or the aluminum panels of the house. Once again extending the built structure, he placed bold overhead gridwork atop poles to  outline the patio, reaching toward infinity. Conversely, in his tract, he had preached: “Dependable rectilinear shapes aid our efficiency in work, but we prefer, by contrast, the more tolerant vagueness of curvilinear outlines in relaxation.” Yet water, he continued, was “simultaneously shape, transparent space, and a surface that reflects surrounding objects.”

• GET TICKETS: Tour Frey House II (his second desert home) during Modernism Week, Feb. 15–25, 2024.

According to the critic Alan Hess, it is possible to see Frey I representing a break with the dogmas propounded by Le Corbusier and van der Rohe. Living in the desert and building for it changed Frey. It conformed to his emerging ideas about “spiritual enjoyment” as outlined in 1939.

“His buildings embody this,” says Hess, the Modernism Week board member whose 22nd book, The Palm Springs School , is due next year. “They are taking modernism into a new dimension of pleasure. The early European modernists talked mostly about efficiency — and machine-like precision to bring about a new world with efficiency. Frey had this feeling for pleasure. So he has swimming pools, beautiful views, curves, colors, the delightful mix of different surfaces and textures, all meant to be pleasurable to the eye.”

Frey prioritized the “intimate little pool area” inside his home.

There was also Frey’s experimental, inventive side. As a boy, he built canoes of wood and canvas and paddled them on Lake Zurich. He assembled radio receivers and electric-motor kits. In the intimate dining area of Frey I, which was enclosed by a sliding glass door and screen, and bounded on one side by rose panels leading the way to a point between a cactus patch and the pool, he created an uncanny table suspended 8 feet below the ceiling by nine aluminum wires anchored to wooden joists. Hanging 25 inches above the patio, the table was just high enough to keep a chuckwalla from jumping into the potato salad. The disc — 5 feet, 8 inches in diameter — comprised two thicknesses of  ¾-inch plywood covered in rose-tinged vinyl and edged in aluminum.

“Instead of having big, bulky legs to support it, these are actually clothesline-type plastic-covered metal cables,” the architect reported. “I figured out the triangulation and the weight of the table so it wouldn’t move.”

Glass panels and deep overhangs framed views of the natural landscape.

Despite the international scope and significance of  this work, Frey (1903–1998) was very much a local architect. He enjoyed his biggest fame late in life, yet the uniqueness of Frey I reverberated far and wide. In September 1946, long before the dramatic remodeling to come, the distinguished Italian magazine Domus made “Casa in California” a cover story. It praised the decorative value of precast poolside seats, with more praise for the undulating aluminum panels that defended the house from the sun.

If  the lack of columns, arches, pilasters, or cornices — ornament in general — troubled anyone, Frey addressed that with his 1953 remodeling. Every castle has a tower, so why not a new, cylindrical bedroom addition rising from the existing footprint, with passage to it gained via a spectacular floating staircase leading to a cutout in the blue ceiling. Gloria Koenig, author of Albert Frey , explains that the staircase “was suspended from the ceiling  with a  shining  maze of  ¼-inch-diameter aluminum rods.” In cross-section, the house now suggested an ultramodern aeolian harp, with the conical fireplace chimney seemingly capable of adding low-frequency, bassoon-like sounds.

Perching upon the roof, the circular enclosure wore a breastplate of diamond-embossed aluminum with round openings for eight windows, each with a cylindrical shade. The shades were of different lengths, articulated according to Frey’s studies of solar position. Four of the ports had a pivot mechanism inside to rotate the glass for ventilation. Altogether, the new structure begged for official designation as a UFO docking station.

In response to a question from Jennifer Golub about formal austerity, Frey replied, “No, you have to have your fantasy going, too. After all, that’s what life is. When you think what nature produces in fantastic forms, in birds and animals and everything, that’s where creativity comes in.” His fantasy became known as the Flash Gordon Suite after the space explorer from the Sunday funnies.

Frey House I pool.

Part of the fantasy entailed the use of vinyl. Invented in 1920, vinyl was another of  the technical materials that fascinated Frey. He swaddled the bedroom in tufted yellow vinyl and hung floor-to-ceiling drapes. “And these drapes were also plastic [vinyl] and kind of a midnight blue, so when you drew them at night, you felt it was good for sleeping,” he said. Acoustic tiles, also in blue, made up the ceiling.

Frey attributed the inspiration to Thomas Jefferson’s domed Monticello residence, which also had round windows. (For the record, Jefferson never posed out front with an Austin Healey 100 roadster.) Another citation went to the Mayan observatory in Chichén Itzá. Whatever its sources, the expressionistic touch drew plenty of  interest, not always appreciative. Frey’s colleague and rival, E. Stewart Williams, called the 1940 house “a gem.” The addition, though, was another story in more than one way. “He screwed it up,” Williams told Alan Hess in 1999. “He added that damn round turret. It never fit on the box.”

The architect tested his shaded portholes in a cylindrical bedroom addition.

Taking a turn as an architectural critic, the writer Tom Wolfe came along and, while never mentioning Frey, savaged Le Corbusier and van der Rohe, comparing the buildings they engendered to insecticide refineries. With an exception made for Frey’s use of color, it loosely fit when Wolfe wrote, in a kind of  inversion of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl”: “I once saw the owners of such a place driven to the edge of sensory deprivation by the whiteness & lightness & leanness & cleanness & bareness & spareness of it all.”

As part of the remodeling of Frey I, aluminum trelliswork replaced the original wooden overhead gridwork at the pool’s perimeter, and fiberglass panels in light yellow capped the elevated structure to provide variety and relief. Frey I had become part of a growing neighborhood with less privacy, so an enclosure went up. As usual, the architect stayed away from heavy fortification, opting instead for thin fiberglass panels in rose and sage.

“That was a structural challenge, this wall,” Frey said. “You see, like a water tank, it’s corrugated and stands up by itself on account of the curve.”

The architect repeated themes from Frey I in subsequent projects, whether with colorful canopies or corrugated fiberglass partitions. He included shaded portholes in his designs for the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club and the Riviera Apartments and precast poolside seats at his second home, Frey House II.

The corrugated aluminum ceiling was a Frey signature.

The architect suspended his dining table with metal cables.

Thoreau rejoined 19th-century Massachusetts society after a year and a half; his cabin was moved, used as a granary, and finally scrapped out. Frey had his first house from 1940 to 1964. He sold it to a speculator who tore it down to build a four-unit development on those 2 acres that went bust. Meanwhile, Frey devoted himself to creating Frey II, hugging the mountainside on Palisades Drive. No comment from the architect about the demolition of his concept house seems to be on record. He went on with his work, as if abiding by the Thoreau adage: “Only that day dawns to which we are awake.”

• READ NEXT: Midcentury architect Albert Frey also designed furniture.

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Frey House II

Albert frey.

686 Palisades Drive, Palm Springs, California, USA Website

The Aalto House

Alvar aalto, 1935-1936, finland.

Riihitie 20, Helsinki, Finland

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Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery

1927-1929, czech republic.

U Stareho hrbitova 40/6, Prague, Czech Republic Website

Appartement - Atelier de Le Corbusier

Le corbusier and pierre jeanneret, 1931-1934, france.

24 rue Nungesser et Coli, 75016 Paris, France Website

Arne Jacobsen’s own house in Charlottenlund

Arne jacobsen, 1929/1931, denmark.

Gotfred Rodes Vej 2, 2920 Charlottenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark Website

Arne Jacobsen’s own house in Klampenborg

1951, denmark.

Strandvejen 413, 2930 Klampenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark Website

Atelier Volten

Johannes hendrik mulder jr, 1927, the netherlands.

Asterdwarsweg 10, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Website

Boyd House II

1959, australia.

290 Walsh Street, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Website

Brummel House

1928-1929, czech republic.

Husova 58, 301 01 Plzeň, Czech Republic Website

Van Buuren Museum & Gardens

Léon govaerts, alexis van vaerenbergh, 1928, belgium.

Avenue Léo Errera 41, Uccle, Brussels, Belgium Website

1971, Spain

Mallorca, Spain Check rates & availability

Casa Bloc Museum-Apartment

Josep lluís sert, josep torres clavé, 1932-1939, spain.

Carrer de l’Almirall Pròixida, 1 (at the corner of Passeig Torras i Bages), Barcelona, Spain Website

Casa Broner

Erwin broner, 1960, spain.

Travesia Peña 15, Ibiza, Illes Balears, Spain Website

Casa Cattaneo

Cesare cattaneo, 1939, italy.

Via Regina 41(P), 41/a, 22012, Cernobbio, Italy Website

Casa das Canoas

Oscar niemeyer, 1952, brazil.

Rua Conde Lages, 25 - Glória, CEP: 20241-080, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Casa das Marinhas

Alfredo evangelista viana de lima, 1954, portugal.

Rua 24 de Junho, 4740-223, Esposende, Braga, Portugal Website

Casa de Vidro

Lina bo bardi, 1951, brazil.

Rua Almeiro de Moura 200 - Morumbi, 05690-080, São Paolo, Brazil Website

Casa del Puente / Museo Casa sobre el Arroyo

Amancio williams and and delfina gálvez bunge, 1943-1945, argentina.

Quintana 3998 (Funes Corner), Mar del Plata, Argentina Website

Casa-Estudio Max Cetto

1949, mexico.

Agua 130, Jardines del Pedregal de San Ángel, Mexico City, Mexico Website

Casa Luis Barragán

Luis barragán, 1948, mexico.

General Francisco Ramirez 14 Col. Ampl. Daniel Garza, Miguel Hidalgo district, Mexico City, Mexico Website

Rafael Masó

1920, spain.

Ballesteries, 29, Girona, Catalonia, Spain Website

Casa Milà/La Pedrera

Antoni gaudí i cornet, 1912, spain.

Passeig de Gràcia, 92, Barcelona, Spain Website

Casa Moratiel

Josep maria sostres i maluquer, 1958, spain.

Carrer Apel les Mestres, 19, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain Until 2026 visits are limited to architects and architecture students. For a visit, send an email to Batlle i Roig Arquitectura.

Casa Orgánica

Javier senosiain, 1984, mexico.

Acueducto de Morelia No. 26, cp. 53296, Vista del Valle, Naucalpan estado de México Website

Casa Oscar Americano

Oswaldo bratke, 1953, brazil.

Avenida Morumbi, 4077, Morumbi, São Paulo, 05650-000, Brazil Website

Casa Saldarini / Casa Dinosauro

Vittorio giorgini, 1965, italy.

Località Villini, Baratti, Piombino, Italy Website

Casa Salvati

Alberto salvati ambrogio tresoldi, 1972, italy.

Via Vigole 37 Toscolano-Maderno, Toscolano- Maderno, Italy Website

Casa Walther Moreira Salles

Olavo redig de campos, 1948-1951, brazil.

Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 476 - Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22451-040, Brazil Website

Case Study House #26

Beverley david thorne.

177 San Marino Drive, San Rafael, CA, USA Check rates & availability

Chabot Museum

1938, the netherlands.

Museumpark 11, 3015 CB, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Website

Cossitt Cottage, Number 1

Irving j. gill.

3729 8th Avenue, CA, San Diego, USA Website

Country Residence/Museum Jachthuis Sint Hubertus

H.p. berlage, 1920, the netherlands.

Houtkampweg 9, 6731 AV, Otterlo, The Netherlands Website

Cuadra San Cristóbal

1968, mexico.

Manantial Oriente 20, 52958 Atizapan, Estado de Mexico, Mexico For a visit, send an email

1984, The Netherlands

Overblaak 70, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Website

Cuypershuis

Pierre cuypers, 1853, the netherlands.

Pierre Cuypersstraat 1, Roermond, The Netherlands Website

78 Derngate

Charles rennie mackintosh, 1917, united kingdom.

82 Derngate, Northampton, United Kingdom Website

Diagoon House

Herman hertzberger, 1971, the netherlands.

Gebbenlaan 32, 2625 KB, Delft, The Netherlands By appointment only Website

The Didrichsen Art Museum

Viljo revell, 1957, 1964, finland.

Kuusilahdenkuja 1, Helsinki, Finland Website

Dijkstra House

Ben merkelbach and charles karsten, 1934, the netherlands.

Nieuweweg 2, Groet, The Netherlands Check rates & availability

Van Doesburg Rinsemahuis

Theo van doesburg, 1921, the netherlands.

Torenstraat 3, Drachten, The Netherlands Website

Van Doesburg's Studio House

1930, france.

Rue Charles Infroit 29, 92190, Paris - Meudon-Val-Fleury, France By appointment only Website

Domenig Steinhaus

Günther domenig, 2008, austria.

Uferweg 31, 9552, Steindorf, Kärnten, Austria Website

Dorich House Museum

Dora gordine, 1936, united kingdom.

67 Kingston Vale, SW15 3RN, London, United Kingdom Website

Eames House

Charles and ray eames.

203 Chautauqua Blvd., Pacific Palisades, California, USA Website

Edith Farnsworth House

Ludwig mies van der rohe.

14520 River Rd, Plano, IL 60545, Illinois, USA Website

Van Eesteren House Museum

Nielsen, spruit & van de kuile, 1952, the netherlands.

Freek Oxstraat 27, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Website

Ein Haus WOBA

Artaria & schmidt, 1930, switzerland.

Im Surinam 126, Basel, Switzerland Website

El Capricho de Gaudí

1883-1885, spain.

Barrio Sobrellano s/n, Comillas, Spain Website

Erasmuslaan Model Home

Gerrit rietveld, 1931, the netherlands.

Erasmuslaan 9, 3584 AZ Utrecht, The Netherlands Website

Fallingwater

Frank lloyd wright, 1936-1939, usa.

1491 Mill Run Road, Mill Run, Pennsylvania, USA Website

Finn Juhl's House

1942, denmark.

Vilvordevej 110, 2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark Website

Fitzpatrick-Leland House

R.m. schindler.

Mulholland and Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California, USA Website

Fondation Hartung-Bergman

Mario jossa, 1973, france.

173 Chemin du Valbosquet, Antibes, Frankrijk Website

Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio

1889 and 1898, usa.

951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA Website

The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park

120 N. Ballas Rd, Kirkwood, MO, USA Website

Frank Lloyd Wright's Mäntylä

187 Evergreen Lane, Acme, PA, USA Website

Frederick C. Robie House

1908-1910, usa.

5757 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, Illinois, USA Website

Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio

Suzy frelinghuysen, george l.k. morris.

92 Hawthorne Street, Lenox, MA 413, USA Website

Frida Kahlo Museum

Frida kahlo, 1904, mexico.

247 Londres St., Colonia Del Carmen, Delegacion Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico Website

Futuro House

Matti suuronen, 1968, finland.

Ahertajantie 5, 02100, Espoo, Finland Website

Gallen-Kallela Museum

Akseli gallen-kallela, 1913, finland.

Gallen-Kallelan tie 27, 02600, Espoo, Finland Website

The Gamble House

Charles and henry greene.

4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena, California, USA Website

Georg Kolbe Museum

Ernst rentsch, paul linder, georg kolbe, 1928-1929, germany.

Sensburger Allee 25, 14055, Berlin, Germany Website

The Glass House

Philip johnson.

199 Elm Street, New Canaan, Connecticut, USA Website

Gropius House

Walter gropius.

68 Baker Bridge Road,Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA Website

Haus Am Horn

G. muche (design), w. gropius and a. meyer (execution), 1923, germany.

Am Horn 61, Weimar, Germany Website

Haus Auerbach

1924, germany.

Schaefferstrasse 9, Jena, Germany Website

Haus Deiters

Joseph maria olbrich, 1901, germany.

Mathildenhöhweg 2, Darmstadt, Germany Website

Haus Dellacher

Raimund abraham, 1969, austria.

Grazerstrasse 169, 7400, Oberwart, Burgenland, Austria Website

Haus Duldeck

Rudolf steiner, 1916, switzerland.

Rüttiweg 15, 4143, Dornach, Switzerland Website

Haus Hohe Pappeln

Henry van de velde, 1907, germany.

Belvederer Allee 58, Weimar, Thuringia, Germany Website

Haus Lange Haus Esters

1930, germany.

Wilhelmshofallee 91-97, Krefeld, Germany Website

Adolf Rading

Ebertstraße 26, Zwenkau, Germany Website

Haus Rietveld in Werkbundsiedlung

1931, austria.

Woinovichgasse 14, Vienna Austria Website

Haus Schminke

Hans scharoun, 1933, germany.

Kirschallee 1b, Löbau, Germany Check rates & availability

Haus Ungers

O.m. ungers, 1959, 1989, germany.

Belvederestrasse 60, 50933, Cologne, Germany Website

The Hill House

1904, united kingdom.

Upper Colquhoun Street, Helensburgh, United Kingdom Website

1908, Germany

Stirnband 10, Hagen, Germany Website

Horta Museum

Victor horta, 1898-1901, belgium.

25, rue Américaine
, 1060, Saint-Gilles, Brussels, Belgium Website

Hotel Avion

Bohuslav fuchs, 1928, czech republic.

Česká 150/20, Brno, Czech Republic Website

Hotel Le Corbusier

Le corbusier, 1947-1952, france.

In Cité radieuse 280, Boulevard Michelet, 13008 Marseilles, France Check rates & availability

Huis Billiet

Maria van Bourgondiëlaan 13, Bruges, Belgium Website

Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen

1903, finland.

Hvitträskintie 166, 02440 Luoma, Kirkkonummi, Finland Website

Isokon Flats

Wells coates, 1934, united kingdom.

Lawn Road, NW3 2XD, London, United Kingdom Website

James Rose Center

James c. rose.

506 East Ridgewood Avenue, 07450, Ridgewood, NJ, USA Website

Jan de Jong House

Jan de jong, 1956-1983, the netherlands.

Rijksweg 56, Schaijk, The Netherlands Website

Joris Lens House

1934, belgium.

Schuttersvest 7, Mechelen, Belgium Facebook

Josef Hoffmann Museum

Josef hoffmann, interior, 1907, czech republic.

namesti Svobody 263, 588 32 Brtnice, Czech Republic Website

Jurkovič House

Dušan samo jurkovič, 1906, czech republic.

Jana Nečase 2, Brno, Czech Republic Website

Keret House

Jakub szczęsny, 2012, poland.

In between Żelazna 74/ Chlodna 22, 00-875 Warsaw, Poland Website

The Kiefhoek House Museum

1930, the netherlands.

Hendrik Idoplein 2, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Website

Kings Road / Schindler House

Rudolph schindler.

835 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood, California, USA Website

Kunio Maekawa House

Kunio maekawa, 1942, japan.

3-7-1 Koganei-shi, Tokyo, Japan Website

Antonio Bonet Castellana

1949-63, spain.

El Prat de Llobregat, Spain For a visit, send an email

1952, France

Sentier Le Corbusier, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France Website

Lenglet House

Louis herman de koninck, 1927, belgium.

Avenue Fond'Roy 103, 1180, Brussels, Belgium Website

Les Colombières

Ferdinand bac, 1924, france.

312 route de Super Garavan, 06500, Menton, Alpes Maritimes, France Website

Liljestrand House

Vladimir ossipoff.

3300 Tantalus Drive, 96822, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Website

Lunuganga Estate

Geoffrey bawa, 1948, sri lanka.

Dedduwa, Bentota, Sri Lanka Website

Maison Bernard

Antti lovag, 1970's, france.

Port la Galère, 06590, Théoule-sur-Mer, France Website

Maison blanche

Charles-edouard jeanneret (le corbusier), 1912, switzerland.

Chemin de Pouillerel 12, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland Website

Maison Cauchie

Paul cauchie, 1905, belgium.

5, rue des Francs, Brussels, Belgium Website

Maison Cazenave

Hans demarmels, 1967, france.

30, Allée des Châtaigniers, Lanneplaà, France Website

Maison Jean Prouvé

Jean prouvé, 1954, france.

4-6, rue Augustin Hacquard, Nancy, France Website

Maison La Roche

1923-1925, france.

8/10 square du Docteur Blanche, Paris, France Website

Maison Louis Carré

1959-1963, france.

2 chemin du Saint Sacrement, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (near Paris), France Website

Russel Wright, designer, with David Leavitt architect

Interior and Woodland Garden Design, Russel Wright 584 Route 9D, Garrison, NY, USA Website

Marcel Breuer House at Pocantico

Marcel breuer.

200 Lake Road, 914, Tarrytown, NY, USA By appointment only Website

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Zentrum

Margarete schütte-lihotzky, 1970, austria.

Franzensgasse 16/40, Vienna, Austria Website

Markeliushuset Collective House

Sven markelius, 1935, sweden.

John Ericssonsgatan 6, Stockholm, Sweden Website

Ernst May, Carl-Hermann Rudloff

1927/1928, germany.

Im Burgfeld 136, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Website

MHA Site Office

A. quincy jones, whitney r. smith, and edgardo contini.

990 Hanley Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA Website

Mies van der Rohe Haus

1932/1933 - germany.

Oberseestrasse 60, Berlin, Germany Website

Miller House and Garden

Eero saarinen.

506 Fifth Street (Visitors Centre), Columbus, IN, USA Website

The MODULIGHTOR Building

Paul rudolph, 1989-1994, usa.

246 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA Website

Munch’s house

Edvard munch, 1947, norway.

Edvard Munch’s gate 25, Åsgårdstrand 3179, Norway Website

Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

Juan o’ gorman, 1931, mexico.

Av. Altavista esq. Diego Rivera, Col. San Ángel Inn, Del. Álvaro Obregón, D.F., C.P. 01060, Mexico Website

Museo Chillida Leku

Eduardo chillida, 2000, spain.

B Jauregi 66, Caserio Zabalaga, Hernani, 20120, Spain Website

Museu da Chácara do Céu

Wladimir alves de souza, 1958, brazil.

Rua Murtinho Nobre 93, Santa Teresa, 20241-050, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Website

Museum De Dageraad

Michel de klerk, piet kramer, 1923, the netherlands.

Burgemeester Tellegenstraat 128, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Website

Museum Het Schip Model Home

Michel de klerk.

Oostzaanstraat 45, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Website

Muuratsalo Experimental House

1952-1954, finland.

Melalammentie 2, Säynätsalo (Jyväskylä), Finland Website

Museum of Sopot

Walter schulz, 1904, poland.

Księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego 8, Sopot, Poland Website

Neutra VDL Studio and Residences

Richard neutra and dion neutra, 1932, 1939 and 1965, usa.

2300 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA Website

R.W. van de Wint

2006 (and still in progress), the netherlands.

Burgemeester Ritmeesterweg 10, Den Helder, The Netherlands Website

1960-1970, Sri Lanka

33rd Lane Colombo 03, Sri Lanka Website

Oskar Hansen House

Oskar & zofia hansen, 1968-1970, poland.

Mlekicie 4, 07-130, Szumin, Poland Website

De Papaverhof

De Papaverhof, The Hague, The Netherlands Website

Pearl M. Mackey Apartments

1137 South Cochran, Los Angeles, California, USA Website

The Plant at Kyle

Lake flato architects.

157 Bill Kuykendall Rd, Kyle, TX, USA Website

Plečnik House

Jože plečnik, 1929, slovenia.

Karunova 4-6, Ljubljana, Slovenia Website

Polman House

Lotte stam-beese and ernest groosman, 1956, the netherlands.

Karwijhof 20, Nagele, The Netherlands Website

Pope-Leighey House

9000 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria, Virginia, USA Website

Quartiers Modernes Frugès

1924-1926, france.

Rue Le Corbusier, Pessac, France Website

Renaat Braem Huis

Renaat braem, 1958, belgium.

Menegemlei 23, Antwerpen-Deurne, Belgium Website

Rietveld Schröder House

Gerrit rietveld and truus schröder-schräder, 1924, the netherlands.

Prins Hendriklaan 50, Utrecht, The Netherlands Website

Rietveld's Van Daalen House

1958, netherlands.

Domineestraat 8a, Bergeijk, Netherlands Website

Jean-Baptiste Dewin

Boulevard du Jubilé, 86, Brussels, Belgium Website

Robijnhof Model Home

1958, the netherlands.

Robijnhof 13, 3523 BS Utrecht, The Netherlands Website

Rose Seidler House

Harry seidler, 1950, australia.

71 Clissold Road, Wahroonga, Australia Website

Saarinen House

Eliel saarinen.

39221 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303, Michigan, USA Website

Van Schijndel House

Mart van schijndel, 1992, the netherlands.

Pieterskerkhof 8, Utrecht, The Netherlands Explore Minimalist masterpiece Van Schijndel House on a pre-booked guided tour. Book your tour HERE.

Schweikher House

Paul schweikher.

645 Meacham Road, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA Website

Semler Residence

Adolf loos, heinrich kulka, 1932-1934, czech republic.

Klatovska 110, Pilsen Czech Republic Website

Serralves Villa

Charles siclis and josé marques da silva, 1944, portugal.

Rua de Serralves 1052, Porto, Portugal Website

Sonneveld House

Brinkman & van der vlugt, 1933, the netherlands.

Jongkindstraat 12, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Website

The Strutt House

James william strutt, 1956, canada.

1220 Chemin de la Montagne, Gatineau, QC J9J 3S4, Canada Website

Studio Aalto

1954-1955, 1962-1963, finland.

Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, Finland Website

Sunnylands Center & Gardens

A. quincy jones.

37977 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270, USA Website

SWB Gästewohnung Neubühl

Architect collective around paul artaria, 1932, switzerland.

Nidelbadstrasse 79, Zurich, Switzerland Check rates & availability

Sybold van Ravesteyn House

Sybold van ravesteyn, 1932, the netherlands.

Prins Hendriklaan 112, Utrecht, The Netherlands Check rates & availability

Taliesin West

12621 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA Website

5481 County Highway C Spring Green, Wisconsin, USA Website

Taut‘s Home

c/o Parchimer Allee 81b, Berlin, Germany Holiday rental only Check rates & availability

The Tempelhof

Huub & adelheid kortekaas, 1995-1999, the netherlands.

Haneman 2-b, 6645 CA Winssen, The Netherlands Website

The Umbrella House

1300 Westway Drive, Sarasota, Florida, USA By appointment only Website

Unité d’Habitation

280, Boulevard Michelet, 13008 Marseilles, France

The Vigeland Museum

Gustav vigeland, 1930, norway.

Nobels gate 32, 0268, Oslo, Norway Website

Vila Volman

Karel janů, jiří štursa, 1938-1939, czech republic.

Stankovského 1200/46, Čelákovice, Czech Republic Website

Josef Frank and Oskar Wlach

1930, austria.

Wenzgasse 12, Vienna, Austria Website

Villa Bílek

František bílek, 1911, czech republic.

Mickiewiczova 233/1, 16000, Prague 6, Czech Republic Website

Villa Cavrois

Robert mallet-stevens, 1932, france.

Corner av John-Fitzgerald Kennedy, av François Roussel, Beaumont, Croix, Lille, France Website

Villa E-1027

Eileen gray, 1926-1929, france.

Gather at Association Cap Moderne, Esplanade de la gare SNCF de Cap-Martin Roquebrune (sometimes called Cabbé station), Avenue Le Corbusier, Roquebrune Cap-Martin, France Website

Villa Empain

Michel polak, 1930, belgium.

Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 67, Brussels, Belgium Website

Villa Esche

1903, germany.

Richard-Wagner Str. 55, Chemnitz, Germany Website

Villa Gallery

Gustaw landau-gutenteger, 1903, poland.

Wólczańska 31, 90-607, Łódź, Poland Website

Villa Le Lac

1924, switzerland.

Route de Lavaux 21, Corseaux, Switzerland Website

Villa Leoni

Pietro lingeri, 1944, italy.

Strada provinciale 2, Ossuccio, Tremezzina 22016, Italy Check rates & availability

Villa Mairea

1939, finland.

Pikkukoivukuja 20, Noormarkku, Finland Website

Villa Majorelle

Henri sauvage, 1901-1902, france.

1, rue Louis Majorelle, Nancy, France Website

Villa Morassutti

Bruno morassutti, 1958, italy.

Via Vittore e Giovanni Toffol 10, San Martino di Castrozza Trento, Italy Check rates & availability

Villa Müller

1928-1930, czech republic.

Nad Hradním vodojemem 14/626, Prague, Czech Republic Website

Villa Noailles

1923-1932, france.

Montée de Noailles, Hyères, France Website

Villa Planchart / El Cerrito

1957, venezuela.

Calle La Colina, Urbanización Colinas de San Román, Caracas, Venezuela Website

Villa Rothmayer

Otto rothmayer, 1929, czech republic.

U Páté baterie 896, 16200, Prague, Czech Republic Website

Villa Savoye

1931, france.

82 rue de Villiers, Poissy (near Paris), France Website

Villa Skeppet

1970, finland.

Snäcksundsvägen 8, Ekenäs, Finland Website

Villa Stenersen

Arne korsmo, 1939, norway.

Tuengen Allé 10C, 374, Oslo, Norway Website

Villa Stiassni

Ernst wiesner.

Hroznová 82/14, Brno, 603 00, Czech Republic Website

Villa Suissa / Villa Zevaco

Jean-françois zevaco and paolo messina, 1947, morocco.

2004 Andy Martin Studio, Corner Boulevard D'Anfa / Boulevard Moulay Rachid, Casablanca, Morocco

Villa Tammekann

1932, estonia.

Kreutzwaldi 6, Tartu, Estonia Check rates & availability

Villa Trapenard

5 Avenue Le Notre, Sceaux, France Website

Villa Tugendhat

1930, czech republic.

Černopolní 45, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic Website

Villa Winternitz

Adolf loos and karel lhota.

Na Cihlářce 10, Prague 5, 150 00, Czech Republic Check rates & availability

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

F. burrall hoffman and paul chalfin.

3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129, USA Website

Wall House #2

John hejduk, 2001, the netherlands.

A.J. Lutulistraat 17, 9728 WT, Groningen, The Netherlands Website

Van Wassenhove House

Juliaan lampens, 1974, belgium.

Brakelstraat 50, 9830, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium Check rates & availability

Weidlinger House

Paul weidlinger.

54 Valley Road, Wellfleet, MA, USA Check rates & availability

Weissenhofmuseum im Haus Le Corbusier

1927, germany.

Rathenaustrasse 1, Stuttgart, Germany Website

Van Zessen House

Cornelis van eesteren.

West Kinderdijk 89, 2953 XP, Alblasserdam, The Netherlands Website

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Frey house ii.

• Location: Palm Springs California Regional Essays: California Riverside County Architect: Albert Frey Types: houses historic house museums (buildings) Styles: Modernist Mid-Century Modernist California Modernism Materials: cast-in-place concrete concrete steel (alloy) glass (material)

What's Nearby

Brooke Devenney, " Frey House II ", [ Palm Springs , California ], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/CA-01-065-0113 . Last accessed: April 28, 2024.

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Albert Frey was one of a select group of “Desert Modernists” working in the Palm Springs area in the postwar period. In her book Frey , Gloria Koenig notes that Frey’s work with Le Corbusier influenced his design choices, which went beyond the more well-known suburban tract housing models of the time. Frey grew up in Zurich, Switzerland, and studied architecture at the Institute of Technology at Winterthur, receiving his degree in 1924; by 1928 he was working in the office of Le Corbusier. During this time he assisted on the Centrosoyus Administration Building in the Soviet Union. He resigned from the firm in the summer of 1929 due to a lack of work and eventually made his way to New York in 1930, where he secured a job as an associate architect in A. Lawrence Kocher’s firm. By the mid-1930s he was overseeing the construction of the Kocher-Samson building, the project that would bring him to Palm Springs. There, he joined the firm of John Porter Clark in Palm Springs in 1939.

Situated 300 feet above the valley floor in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs, Frey House II is the second of two houses Frey built for himself in the California desert. Frey House I, built on the valley floor, has since been destroyed. Combining International Style principals with the lyricism of the desert landscape, Frey House II has an established place within the canon of California modernist architecture. It is an example of the regional vernacular style known as Desert Modernism because it integrates elements specific to its site in the Coachella Valley desert. These include considerations of seasonal sun exposure, extreme temperature, and native vegetation, like the cholla cactus and the California brittlebush. Completed in 1964, the original house had only 800 square feet of living space, although Frey later added a 300-square-foot addition. Following the tenets of postwar modernism, Frey used mass-produced materials and prefabricated elements to construct this small yet efficient residence.

Inspired by the principles established in Le Corbusier’s “Dom-ino House,” the structure consists of a poured-in-place concrete foundation and industrial scale H-columns as vertical supports. This simple slab-and-beam construction allows for non-load bearing walls and a flexible interior program. Minimal sections of corrugated steel sheeting are used on portions of the exterior that enclose the kitchen and bathroom. As a result, the exterior walls consist almost entirely of prefabricated floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, giving the house a strong physical and visual connection to the panoramic view outside. Yet the strategic placement of these glass facades also contributes to the energy efficiency of the structure.

This narrow, rectangular building is nestled into a precarious mountainside lot, protected by an earth berm on the northern side of the house. Its east-west orientation also allows the building to take advantage of passive solar heating and cooling through mitigation of the intense northern sunshine in the summer and southern sunshine in the winter. In acknowledgment of the mountainside location, Frey left a large boulder on the site and anchored the house around it. The interior layout radiates out from this large central boulder, each area gently separated by low built-in furniture units, including the bed, settees, dining room/drafting table, entertainment system (a record player and built-in radio), and storage. The combination of an open floor plan and built-in furniture gives the house an efficient yet flexible quality.

Frey’s ingenious handling of the built-in furniture of the kitchen and bathroom areas is also significant. In the narrow galley-style kitchen, he used lateral sliding cabinet doors on one full side, while, on the opposite side, traditional pull-out drawers allow for more storage. This alternating storage unit configuration eliminates the possibility of colliding cabinet doors and obstruction of the passageway and allowed Frey to use opaque corrugated fiberglass for a portion of the cabinetry, another affordable prefabricated material. The bathroom in Frey House II is characterized not only by its distinctive pale pink tile, but also by its built-in toilet. Other small elements carry this theme through, like a vertical pivot drawer that houses the trash unit just below the sink, and lateral accordion doors that enclose the linen closet and clothing storage area on the exterior wall opposite the sink, toilet, and shower.

Frey’s Desert Modernism is also evident in his distinctive use of color. The foundation and cement blocks that encase the carport and pool area are tinted a shade of muted pink to match the natural oxidization of the mountainside rock. Turquoise-colored metal cladding on the exterior walls, interior roof, and interior vinyl curtains provide visual connections to native cholla cactus on the site. Yellow curtains on the interior also reference the bright yellow seasonal California brittlebush flowers that come to full bloom during the Coachella Valley’s winter months.

Frey made other considerations for the location, including the stepped elevation of the house itself. As one ascends the stairs to the house, it becomes obvious that the pool is situated on top of the cantilevered wall that makes up the ceiling of the carport. This ingenious use of space expands the footprint of the house both visually and physically. Up a few stairs from the pool area and into the house is the main level, housing an open floor plan that includes the master bedroom, living room, and kitchen areas. On the third level one finds the dining/drafting table and the bathroom. The elevation change from one level to the next is subtle, roughly three steps each, but this allows Frey House II to integrate into the mountainside, stepping gradually with the natural elevation of the hillside.

Rounding out Frey House II’s position on the site, a retaining wall connects the house to the driveway below. Again Frey used prefabricated elements to create an aesthetic element on the site. Instead of adapting the shape of the blocks to curve around the east side of the wall, Frey pivots the blocks on their horizontal axis, creating texture and interest. As this portion of the retaining wall meets the interior carport wall, Frey interlocks the bricks creating another patterning effect. To construct the carport column, Frey used a full-block/half-block alternating pattern to create perforations that give a sense of weightlessness and transparency. He even used the openings created by this pattern to insert a porch light and a small mailbox.

Overall Frey House II represents an innovative adaptation of classical modernist principals, where Frey’s love of the desert comes through in every detail. Upon his death in 1998, the house was transferred via Frey’s bequest to the Palm Springs Art Museum. It is now one of two pieces of architecture in the museum’s permanent collection, including the former Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan Building by E. Stewart Williams (1961), now known as the Palm Springs Art Museum, Architecture and Design Center.

Frey, Albert. In Search of a Living Architecture . New York: Architectural Book Publishing Company, 1939.

Golub, Jennifer. Albert Frey Houses 1 + 2 . New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

Koenig, Gloria. Frey . Köln, Germany: Taschen, 2008.

Rosa, Joseph. Albert Frey, Architect . New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

Writing Credits

• Location: Palm Springs, California Regional Overviews: Riverside County Architect: Albert Frey Types: houses historic house museums (buildings) Styles: Modernist Mid-Century Modernist California Modernism Materials: cast-in-place concrete concrete steel (alloy) glass (material)

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SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

Home Page › Our tours › Moscow tours

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Interpreting and assistance at exhibitions and conferences, our garage ( vehicles+drivers), where to stay in moscow, what and where to eat in moscow, visa support, learning and discovery, our partners (trips to st.petersburg).

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Moscow Free Tour

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Description

Highlights:.

• Hit the Red Square;
• Explore the nooks and crannies of Alexander Garden;
• Get a taste of the ancient Kitay Gorod;
• Learn about the tragic destiny of the Christ the Savior Cathedral;
• Roam through the heart of Moscow.

Walking Tour Itinerary:

Here are our TOP 7 things to help you start your Russian adventure or tick off before you say goodbye to Moscow.

Wander around the vast cobblestone square with rich past, gorgeous architecture, incredible GUM , bright colors of the Kremlin and swirling Saint Basil’s Cathedral .

Kitay Gorod

Walk across the Red Square to see the embankment of old Moscow river and plunge into the atmosphere of ancient Russian village where nobles preferred to settle in XV century.

Varvarka street

Walk up Varvarka street to find the landmark of Kitay Gorod - Palace of the Romanov Boyars, which was built in the XVI century and where lived the first Tsar from the Romanov dynasty.

Old English Court

Look at the Old English Court , which used to be the English Embassy in Moscow and where Ivan the Terrible confined the envoy from England, because Queen Elizabeth I refused to marry him.

Alexander Garden

Watch the solemn ceremony of the Changing of the guards , pay respect to the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , and the stone Grotto , The huge fountain in the centre adds a sophisticated feel to the almost 200 year old garden.

Christ the Savior Cathedral

Walk to the cathedral which is of a great cultural value to Russians. Its marvelous exterior, enormous golden domes, colossal bronze doors and pristine white walls will touch your feelings.

Patriarch’s Bridge

Pause on the bridge and marvel at the Kremlin, river cruises, monument after Peter the Great and Red October Chocolate Factory , which is now a nightlife hub for youngsters.

About Moscow:

We picked up a list of article that might be useful and helpful to you during your stay in Moscow. These are things to do in Moscow, tips about Moscow, best cafes in Moscow and simply fun facts about Moscow. Enjoy reading!

Before coming to Moscow:

• Our fun guides sharing their observations about their tours and best practices:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-private-guides-on-tours-in-moscow
• What you should know about Moscow:  
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/5-things-to-know-before-you-go-to-moscow

Off the beaten path of Moscow:

• Kitay Gorod:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-must-see-fun-facts-about-kitay-gorod
• Zamoskvorechye:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-must-see-fun-facts-about-zamoskvorechye
• White City:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-off-the-beaten-path-white-city  

The best parks in Moscow:

• Muzeon Statues Park:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-off-the-beaten-path-muzeon-park
• Gorky Park: 
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-gorky-park
• Tsaritsino Park: 
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-must-see-37-reasons-to-visit-tsaritsyno
• Kolomenskoe Park:
•   https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/things-to-do-in-moscow-kolomenskoe-museum-reserve

The most historical and beautiful streets of Moscow:

• Arbat  srreet: 
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/things-to-do-in-moscow-arbat-street
• Tverskaya street: 
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-things-to-do-tverskaya-street
• Downtown of Moscow: 
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/things-to-do-moscow-streets

What to do in Moscow:

• How to have a Real Russian Experience:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/real-russian-experience
• Things to do in Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/21-things-to-do-in-moscow
• Architectural masterpieces, hidden gems of Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/things-to-do-in-moscow-off-the-beaten-path
• Top Moscow attractions:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/top-10-moscow-attractions

Budget travel:

• How to have fun in Moscow for less than $4:
• How to save money in Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/7-ways-to-save-money-while-travelling-to-moscow

Cafes & restaurants in Moscow:

• Moscow cafes with Russian breakfast:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-cafes-with-russian-breakfast
• Best Moscow restaurants:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/best-moscow-restaurants
• Best coffee shops in Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-best-coffee-shops

Moscow Metro:

• Facts about Moscow Metro:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/fun-facts-about-moscow-metro
• Myths about Moscow Metro:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/7-myths-about-moscow-metro
• Facts about Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/fun-facts-50-facts-about-moscow
• Fun Facts about Kremlin:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/33-fun-facts-from-our-kremlin-tours
• The best flea markets in Moscow:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/moscow-best-flea-markets
• Top 5 Russian souvenirs:
• https://friendlylocalguides.com/blog/top-5-russian-souvenirs

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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Frey House II Tour + Museum Day Pass

Tour: $75 Twilight Tour: $125

Hosted by the Palm Springs Art Museum, these self-guided tours are a rare opportunity to see the residence of modernist architect, Albert Frey. A limited number will enjoy this unique experience and gain insight into this modern master’s architectural sensibility.

A shuttle van will transport ticket holders from Palm Springs Art Museum’s Buddy Rogers Box Office to Frey House II.

As a bonus, you may also use your tour ticket for free admission to both the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Architecture & Design Center.  Passes can be used February 16 – 28, 2023 for any day except the days the museum is closed.  

A twilight tour and cocktail reception for a limited number of guests at FREY II is available at 4:30pm each evening. This tour is for ages 21 and older.

More to See

Frey house ii tours.

Palm Springs Art Museum

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May 25, 2024

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• Tours in Moscow

Memories of the Russian Empire Free Walking Tour

Overview of the tour in Moscow

This walking tour is for those who want insight to the vast legacy of the Russian Empire that brought to the world great artists and scientists, painters and architects whose masterpieces, unlike their creators, miraculously escaped the horrors and disasters of the October Revolution. During our walk, you will see beautiful buildings and mansions of various architectural styles that have become an embodiment of its owners' success and zest for life. In addition, you will get to know why there was an attempt to blow up a monument of Peter the Great and which historical building was saved in the last minute by passionate soviet people. While the Kremlin, Red Square, and even Stalin's Moscow are crowded with foreign visitors, the places of interest that are proposed on this tour are mainly unknown to the average tourist. So, let's change this order of things.

This activity includes:

• The House of Derozhinskaia
• The Isakov’s apartment building
• The white palace on Prechistenska street
• The Kekusheva’s mansion
• Peter the Great Statue
• Red October
• Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
• Other historical buildings

Things to note

- Please, take appropriate to the weather clothes. - I also insist, especially in winter time, on filling your stomach with something traditional and tasty before our walk, don't forget to take snacks ;-) - I will be holding or reading e book with blue cover.

Free Cancellation

You are free to cancel a booking anytime. We kindly remind you to cancel bookings you cannot arrive for. Being reported as absent decreases your customer level points and the benefits you can enjoy.

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