Walter White: Alexander house (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The house for Dr. Franz Alexander and his wife was a rural retreat for the European psychoanalyst. With a long, rectangular shape and a unique roof shaped by curved steel beams with wooden planks, the house is sited to take advantage of the view of the mountains. The house is elevated off the ground (with garage underneath) and the main living areas open onto a deck, which overlooks the circular pool and backyard.
Walter S. White papers, Architecture and Design Collection; Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara
Architecture and Design Collection; Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara
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Walter White: Bates house (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The house White designed for Miles Bates in Palm Springs was never built, but would have been a much larger residence than the one built for Bates in Palm Desert. The plan for the house included an experiment in overlapping circles and half circles, with outdoor terraces and upward-sweeping roofs which delivered views of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Walter White: Breedlove house (La Quinta, Calif,)
In 1944, White built a 'Desert Dwelling' for his mother-in-law, Esther Breedlove in La Quinta. This small house is one of the earliest examples of White's work in the desert, and shows how his style was shaped by the environment. White used stand alone masonry walls (to move independently in case of earthquake), interspersed with wood or glass doors and windows, a low hipped roof, and header beams were bolted together to prevent warping. Eventually, White expanded the house with a wing consisting of two bedrooms and connecting bathroom, and he moved in with his family.
Walter White: Calor Gas Service office building
For office buildings for the Calor Gas Service company, White used simple corrugated metal sheets, which he folded around corners and edges of the buildings. White designed buildings in Merced and Susanville for the company, as well as designing graphics and the interior of a company airplane.
Walter White: Coachella Valley Farm (Indio, Calif.)
The Coachella Valley Farms development was initially designed to be the largest small-farm development in the world. With each homestead located on their own long and narrow two acre plots, the houses (with backyard pool) were near the road, with the majority of the plot dedicated to farming. and stables for livestock at the far end. The development was not successful, and eventually the area was renamed Bermuda Dunes and became a country club.
In this design for a drive-in and restaurant (unbuilt) by White and his friend Harry Webster, the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright can be seen by the use of horizontal lines and the linear design of the building.
Walter White, architect Harry Webster, architect
Walter White: Durham house (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The floor plan for the William Durham house in Palm Desert highlights the thoughtful planning behind a Walter White design. The plan shows, through a series of arrows, the view lines from each section of the house, as well as the specific angles of the sun at different point in time during the year. This careful siting allowed for maximum views with a minimum of direct summer sun on the main living areas of the house.
The White Energy Integration System (WEIS) was designed as an alternative energy power plant, which pulled air upwards and powered turbines to generate energy. The large structure (496 feet tall and 880,000 square feet of land) would also have contained a sewage treatment plant which also contributed by-products that were converted into energy. Unfortunately after detailed study by scientists in the federal government, it was concluded that the design would not produce the promised amount of energy, and the tower was never built.
Walter White: First Assembly of God church (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Walter White began designing homes in Colorado in the mid-60s, but it wasn't until 1968, when he received his Colorado architect license, that he was able to work on larger civic and commercial projects. The First Assembly of God Church in Colorado Springs was one of those commissions. The church had construction issues with the original design, and so the final plans changed from the original drawings.
Walter White: Garden of the Gods Golf Club (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Palm Desert developers Al and Margaret Hill purchased land overlooking the Garden of the Gods park, outside of Colorado Springs, and created a private club. White designed the two-story guest rooms-- a complex of three buildings with forty guest rooms overlooking the golf club and mountains.
This early design by White has been called his "ideal home design." The long, narrow house plan shows a solid wall facing the street, with an open, glass-enclosed side facing a private backyard. Both the plan and elevation highlight the influence of both Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler on White.
Walter White: Johnson house (Indio, Calif.)
The Philip Johnson house in Indio, was a large house with a Y-shaped plan. This splayed plan allowed for each room to have views in many directions.
Walter White: Johnson house (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The Paulette Herbert Johnson house in Palm Desert was one of White's last houses in the desert before he moved to Colorado Springs. The house was originally designed with a hypar (hyperbolic paraboloid) roof, but was constructed with a flat roof, for unknown reasons.
Walter White: Kanrich house (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The unbuilt George Kanrich house at the Tamarisk Country Club is a luxurious curved house facing a circular pool. The concave side of the house faced the driveway and contained the utilities and service sections of the house. The convex side faced out onto the pool and the roofline curved upwards so that the inhabitants could enjoy a view of the mountains.
Walter White: Kissing Camels guest cottages (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
White designed eighteen guest cottages for the Kissing Camels Golf Club. These one story one- and two- bedroom cottages utilized many of the hallmarks of the California Desert Modern design-- breezeblock entryways, floor to ceiling glass walls, and generous outdoor terraces.
Walter White: La Quinta units (La Quinta, Calif.)
Walter White designed and built the four houses which are considered the La Quinta Units (or Bungalows) on land adjacent to the Breedlove house, which he built for his mother-in-law. The four T-shaped houses were designed as middle-class dwellings for permanent residents of La Quinta. The uniquely shaped roof with wide overhangs, privacy walls surrounding the garden, and air conditioning highlighted some of the more desirable features of the houses.
Walter White: McManus guest cottages (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The plans for unbuilt duplex and triplex units wee commissioned by Pearl McCallum McManus. She inherited a large amount of land in and around Palm Springs and was a major proponent for the development of tourism in the area. McManus and her husband founded a real estate and development company, which hired many well-known architects, including Lloyd Wright, Paul Revere Williams, and A.Quincy Jones to design buildings in Palm Springs.
Walter White: Metro Homes (Palm Desert, Calif.)
White worked with the Metro Homes company to design small homes for subdivisions throughout California. In Palm Desert, the Metro Homes (also known as "Palm Desert Homes") were one- or two- bedroom homes (either oblong or T-shaped) with and without attached carports. The Palm Desert Corporation, the large landowner, did not allow only one architect and developer to design houses for an entire neighborhood, so only a small number of lots were built.
Walter White: Milliken house (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The long, low house for Charles Milliken sat on a corner lot with an imposing front of stucco, masonry, and wood, while the back of the house featured much more open and airy glass walls to enjoy the view and outdoor living.
Walter White: Pearson, Scott & Company (Indio, Calif.)
For the Pearson, Scott & Company building, White worked with architect Leopold Fischer to design the offices for the mortgage company. The building is no longer extant.
Walter White, architect Leopold Fischer, architect
Walter White: Prefabricated Mountain Cabins (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Walter White designed a number of Prefabricated Mountain Cabins through the years with the first one being The Yellowstone in 1965. The design started out as a small weekend home, with eventual designs encompassing permanent mountain residences. By utilizing steel beams and cedar planking, the cabins were strong, sturdy, and inexpensive to build and maintain.
Walter White: Pritzlaff house (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The first Herbert Pritzlaff house was designed by Cliff May, in 1947-1948, and was one of the earliest houses in the Palm Desert / Shadow Mountain region. The home burned to the ground in 1949, and White designed and built the replacement.
Walter White: Ratliff house (La Quinta, Calif.)
White designed this house for Truman and Marie Susan Ratliff; she was a school teacher and he farmed the property, growing alfalfa and citrus fruits. The sweeping roof was S-shaped, with a higher roofline above the dining and living rooms to take advantage of light and the view, while the lower portions of the roof cover the attached carport for needed shade.
Walter White: Safari USA offices (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The office building for Safari USA, a boat building company, utilized steel beams and corrugated sheet metal to provide visual interest and help shade portions of the building from the desert sun.
Walter White: Shadow Mountain Sun Lodges (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The Shadow Mountain Club was one of the first resorts in Palm Desert; the Sun Lodges were bungalows which could be purchased by individuals and then rented out when not in use. The land was owned by the corporation, making the Sun Lodges one of the first 'condominium' style developments in the area. These small houses fit the requirements of the local architecture review boards, and helped pave the way for future White commissions in the area.
Walter White: Smith solar house (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
For the Carroll and Dr. Marlene Smith house in the Black Forest area near Colorado Springs, White designed the house to utilize passive solar architecture in a domestic setting. The house is curved, to take advantage of the view, and contains many of his patented Heat Exchanger Windows.
Walter White: Stafford house (Escondido, Calif.)
For the Newt and Lillian Stafford house in Escondido, the clients built the original frame house, and White designed a shed-like roof, which was shaped like a butterfly's profile. With the angled roof, some of the interior walls did not reach up to the roof, but gave the appearance of the roof floating above the interior.
Walter White: Stewart house (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The house in Palm Desert for E.W, Stewart is one of the best examples of White's large residential commissions. The interior of the house is clearly divided into public and private zones, with a massive circular fireplace at the center of the living room / dining room combination.
Walter White: Turner house (Calhan, Colo.)
The Wayne Turner house in Calhan, Colorado is one of White's passive-solar houses with Heat Exchanger Windows. The houses were designed to trap heat inside during the cold winter months, and shade the house from the sun in the hot summer moths. The Heat Exchanger Windows reflected the light and heat away in the summer, and drew in the warmth of the sun in the winter.
Walter White: Valley Lumber Company (Palm Desert, Calif.)
For the Valley Lumber Company in Palm Desert, White designed an addition to the store and office building.
Walter White: White cabin (Los Angeles, Calif.)
After World War II, Walter White designed small cabin-like houses for returning service members in the Hollywood Hills, along Valevista Trail. White and his family lived in one of the cabins for a short time.
Walter White: White House (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
The large house White designed for his family at the Kissing Camels Estates outside of Colorado Springs, was the first large house White built for himself. With sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains, the house contained two bedrooms, a study connected to the living room with a roof-height circular fireplace, and an ample porte-cochere.
Walter White: Willcockson house (Indio, Calif.)
The Max E. Willcockson house in Indio is notable for White's first use of the hyperbolic-paraboloid roof. This dramatically sweeping feature appears from a distance to hover over the house (which was sited on a high sand dune to increase the drama). The orientation of the highest points of the roof (which was painted white to reflect the sun) are angled in such a way as to block the strongest and hottest rays of the sun, while also enjoying a view of the mountains.