swim inside : architecture : Raymond Loewy House by albert frey : palm springs

Designed by Palm Springs architect Albert Frey, built in 1946-47 as a bachelor retreat, and expanded later when Loewy got married… the house has been restored by metalware manufacturer Jim Gaudineer who said of the design, “When you slide open the glass walls, it’s almost like living outdoors.” With the lights off and the pool, alone, illuminated by a powerful submerged lamp, “the scene resembles a blue lagoon in a desert oasis, ” Loewy once wrote. Loewy’s home is a typical Palm Springs modernist villa with a low-slung pavilion and plenty of glass providing striking views of desert, mountains, and the pool and garden… making the private oasis complete. Loewy despised “bad modern” design, especially furniture, so the size, shape, and rooms of the home and furnishings were kept simple and spare. It is a demure house of small size but generous impact. The “Philippe Starck” of his day, Raymound Loewy — a frenchman turned American — was the go-to man for designing everything from the famous Coca-Cola Bottle, Air Force One’s paint scheme, Shell Oil’s logo and gas stations to locomotives and pencil sharpeners, as well as great automobile bodies such as the Studebaker Avanti. text and photos via faustian urge