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| An architectural innovator passed away on Friday, June 26th at the age of 89. Donald Wexler was one of the architects that put modernism on the map and helped shape the iconic landscape of Palm Springs. His use of steel, glass and concrete gained him the nickname, the "Man of Steel." |
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| "Wexler is all about logic and efficiency. His buildings fit together tightly, like parts of a machine. Nothing seems out of place, and details rarely distract from the whole. His approach to building dates back several decades, when the elegance of architecture was supposed to be a byproduct of research and good thinking. He is as interested in building technology as a general contractor and as aware of cost as a developer," |
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Wexler's 50 year career began by working with Richard Neutra. In early 1953 he moved to Palm Springs to work for William Cody and fell in love with the Coachella Valley. “After six months,” he recalls, “I didn’t want to live anywhere else.”
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Seven prefabricated steel houses that he designed were built, and they were immediately hailed as brilliant expressions of the Desert Modern style: light and elegant, with floor-to-ceiling windows, fluid interior layouts, multiple sliding doors opening onto exterior living spaces and pools, and design features, like deep overhangs, that accommodated sunlight and shadow.
Aimed at middle-class buyers, the steel houses could be built in 30 days or less. “We just wanted to do the most livable house we could, within the design criteria, keeping it as open as possible,” Mr. Wexler said in an interview with the public television station KCET in 2012. - William Grimes
Steel House No. 1- Palm Springs
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His buildings, never overwhelming, are filled with sophistication, ingenuity, and a marvelous ability to put every square inch to use in a universally economic and thoughtful manner. However, Wexler does not design the kind of building meant to knock your socks off; hence they remain timeless in their simplicity, in their classic proportions and refinement.
- Michael Stern
Dinah Shore House, 1964
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| Like many of our regional architects, Wexler was called upon to do a wide variety of building types — homes, offices, banks, and schools. Whatever building type was thrown his way, Wexler reacted with the intelligent response that he continually brought to bear on projects, regardless of the task at hand. To each of these structures, there is a simplicity that belies the complexity within.
- Michael Stern
Palm Springs Airport, 1965
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