Architect known for designing modern, famous homes in Palm Springs passes away
William Krisel, a mid-century modern architect whose butterfly roofs now define many Palm Springs neighborhoods, has died at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 92.
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The death was confirmed by Chris Menrad, a member of the executive board of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, and a longtime friend of Krisel, the Desert Sun reported. Krisel designed more than 30,000 homes in Southern California, according to the newspaper. His work in Palm Springs includes the “House of Tomorrow,” where Elvis honeymooned; Ocotillo Lodge; Las Palmas Estates in Vista Las Palmas; Canyon View Estates; and hundreds of homes on the Twin Palms neighborhood, according to the Palm Springs Modern Committee. He also designed the Sandpiper condo complex in Palm Desert.
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Perhaps Krisel’s most significant contribution to modern architecture in the 1950s and ’60s was his ability to translate the simple modern forms many designers were exploring at the time into the sort of mass-produced tract-home developments making up post-war suburbia, Menrad, who lives in a Krisel-designed home, told the Sun.
Krisel was born on Nov. 14, 1924, in Shanghai to diplomat parents and moved to Southern California when he was 13, attending Beverly Hills High. He served as a Chinese interpreter in World War II, then received his architecture degree from USC, graduating in 1949.
He is survived by a wife and two children.
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