William Krisel, Architect Who Helped Define California Modernism, Dies At 92
Krisel is particularly known for the scores of tract homes he designed in Palm Springs, which featured open floor plans, "butterfly" roofs and enough variation so they didn't look cookie-cutter.
William Krisel, a pioneering architect who brought his vision of modernism to Southern California tract housing, died Monday at age 92.
Tract housing often implies cookie-cutter. But in Palm Springs, Krisel varied homes' rooflines, paint schemes, and setbacks from the street so no two tract homes next to each other looked the same — despite all having one basic.
